[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3833 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3833

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot program 
 to facilitate the use of natural gas buses at public airports through 
 grants for energy demonstration and commercial application of energy 
                  technology, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2004

    Mr. Crowley (for himself, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, and Mr. Owens) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 
Science, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot program 
 to facilitate the use of natural gas buses at public airports through 
 grants for energy demonstration and commercial application of energy 
                  technology, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Airport Bus Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
a pilot program for awarding grants on a competitive basis to eligible 
entities for facilitating the use of natural gas buses at public 
airports through airport bus replacement and fleet expansion programs 
under this section.
    (b) Requirements.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and publish in the 
Federal Register grant requirements on eligibility for assistance, and 
on management, transfer, and ultimate disposition of buses, including 
certification requirements to ensure compliance with this Act.
    (c) Solicitation.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit proposals for grants 
under this section.
    (d) Eligible Recipients.--A grant shall be awarded under this 
section only to a public agency responsible for bus service at a public 
airport.
    (e) Types of Grants.--
            (1) In general.--Grants under this section may be for the 
        purposes described in paragraph (2), paragraph (3), or both.
            (2) Replacement bus grants.--A grant under this section may 
        be used for the acquisition of replacement buses pursuant to 
        subsection (f).
            (3) Fleet expansion bus grants.--A grant under this section 
        may be used for the acquisition of not more than 10 buses to 
        expand a fleet of airport buses at any single airport.
    (f) Replacement Bus Grants.--
            (1) Replacement.--For each bus acquired under a replacement 
        bus grant, 1 older model year bus shall be retired from active 
        service and crushed as provided in paragraph (2).
            (2) Bus acquisition.--Buses acquired under a replacement 
        bus grant shall be acquired in the following order:
                    (A) First, new buses will replace buses 
                manufactured before model year 1977, and the older 
                buses replaced shall be crushed.
                    (B) If all buses manufactured before model year 
                1977 owned or operated by the grant recipient have been 
                replaced, additional new buses will replace diesel-
                powered buses manufactured before model year 1991, 
                which shall either--
                            (i) be crushed; or
                            (ii) be exchanged by the grant recipient 
                        for buses manufactured before model year 1977 
                        from another bus fleet, with that bus then 
                        being crushed.
                Exchanges made under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be made 
                without profit or other economic benefit to the grant 
                recipient.
            (3) Priority of grant applications.--The Secretary shall 
        give priority to awarding grants to applicants emphasizing the 
        replacement of buses manufactured before model year 1977.
    (g) Conditions of Grant.--A grant provided under this section shall 
include the following conditions:
            (1) All buses acquired with funds provided under the grant 
        shall be operated as part of the airport bus fleet for which 
        the grant was made for a minimum of 5 years.
            (2) Funds provided under the grant may only be used--
                    (A) to pay the cost, except as provided in 
                paragraph (3), of new natural gas airport buses, 
                including State taxes and contract fees; and
                    (B) to provide--
                            (i) up to 10 percent of the price of the 
                        natural gas buses acquired, for necessary 
                        natural gas infrastructure if the 
                        infrastructure will only be available to the 
                        grant recipient; and
                            (ii) up to 15 percent of the price of the 
                        natural gas buses acquired, for necessary 
                        natural gas infrastructure if the 
                        infrastructure will be available to the grant 
                        recipient and to other bus fleets.
            (3) The grant recipient shall be required to provide--
                    (A) in the case of a replacement bus acquired as 
                described in subsection (f)(2)(A) to replace a bus 
                manufactured before model year 1977, 10 percent of the 
                total cost of the bus, but not more than $10,000;
                    (B) in the case of a replacement bus acquired as 
                described in subsection (f)(2)(B)(ii) to replace a 
                diesel-powered bus manufactured before model year 1991 
                for exchange for a bus manufactured before model year 
                1977, 10 percent of the total cost of the bus, but not 
                more than $10,000; and
                    (C) in the case of a replacement bus acquired as 
                described in subsection (f)(2)(B)(i) to replace a 
                diesel-powered bus manufactured before model year 1991, 
                25 percent of the total cost of the bus, but not more 
                than $25,000.
    (h) Buses.--Funding under a grant made under this section may be 
used to acquire only new airport buses--
            (1) with a gross vehicle weight of greater than 14,000 
        pounds;
            (2) that are powered by a heavy duty engine;
            (3) that emit not more than--
                    (A) for buses manufactured in model years 2001 and 
                2002, 2.5 grams per brake horsepower-hour of nonmethane 
                hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen and .01 grams per 
                brake horsepower-hour of particulate matter; and
                    (B) for buses manufactured in model years 2003 
                through 2006, 1.8 grams per brake horsepower-hour of 
                nonmethane hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen and .01 
                grams per brake horsepower-hour of particulate matter; 
                and
            (4) that are powered substantially by electricity 
        (including electricity supplied by a fuel cell), or by 
        liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, liquefied 
        petroleum gas, hydrogen, propane, or methanol or ethanol at no 
        less than 85 percent by volume.
    (i) Deployment and Distribution.--The Secretary shall seek to the 
maximum extent practicable to achieve nationwide deployment of natural 
gas airport buses through the program under this section, and shall 
ensure a broad geographic distribution of grant awards, with a goal of 
no State receiving more than 10 percent of the grant funding made 
available under this section for a fiscal year.

SEC. 3. FUEL CELL BUS DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall establish a program for entering into cooperative agreements with 
private sector fuel cell bus developers for the development of fuel 
cell-powered airport buses, and subsequently with not less than 2 
public agencies using natural gas-powered airport buses and such 
private sector fuel cell bus developers to demonstrate the use of fuel 
cell-powered airport buses.
    (b) Cost Sharing.--The non-Federal contribution for activities 
funded under this section shall be not less than--
            (1) 20 percent for fuel infrastructure development 
        activities; and
            (2) 50 percent for demonstration activities and for 
        development activities not described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Funding.--No more than $25,000,000 of the amounts authorized 
under section 5 may be used for carrying out this section for the 
period encompassing fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
    (d) Reports to Congress.--
            (1) Initial report.--Not later than 3 years after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to 
        Congress a report that--
                    (A) evaluates the process of converting natural gas 
                infrastructure to accommodate fuel cell-powered airport 
                buses; and
                    (B) assesses the results of the development and 
                demonstration program under this section.
            (2) Updated report.--Not later than October 1, 2006, the 
        Secretary shall transmit to Congress a updated version of the 
        report transmitted under paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

     In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Airport bus.--The term ``airport bus'' means a bus 
        operated by a public agency to provide transportation between 
        the facilities of a public airport.
            (2) Public airport.--The term ``public airport'' has the 
        meaning such term has under section 47102 of title 49, United 
        States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

     There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Transportation for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
            (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
            (3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
            (4) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
            (5) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
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