[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1742 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1742

 To establish a program to deploy and integrate plug-in electric drive 
                     vehicles in multiple regions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2009

  Ms. Eshoo introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 establish a program to deploy and integrate plug-in electric drive 
                     vehicles in multiple regions.

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

SECTION 1. LARGE-SCALE VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Deployment Program.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish a 
program to deploy and integrate plug-in electric drive vehicles in 
multiple regions. In carrying out the program, the Secretary may 
provide financial assistance described under subsection (d), consistent 
with the goals under subsection (b). The Secretary shall select regions 
based upon applications for assistance received pursuant to subsection 
(c).
    (b) Goals.--The goals of the program established pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall be--
            (1) to demonstrate the viability of a vehicle-based 
        transportation system that is not overly dependent on petroleum 
        as a fuel and contributes to lower carbon emissions than a 
        system based on conventional vehicles;
            (2) to facilitate the integration of advanced vehicle 
        technologies into electricity distribution areas to improve 
        system performance and reliability;
            (3) to demonstrate the potential benefits of coordinated 
        investments in vehicle electrification on personal mobility and 
        a regional grid;
            (4) to demonstrate protocols and standards that facilitate 
        vehicle integration into the grid; and
            (5) to investigate differences in each region and 
        regulatory environment regarding best practices in implementing 
        vehicle electrification.
    (c) Applications.--Any State or local government (or group of State 
or local governments) may apply to the Secretary of Energy for 
financial assistance in furthering the regional deployment of plug-in 
electric drive vehicles. Such applications may be jointly sponsored by 
electric utilities, automobile manufacturers, technology providers, car 
sharing companies or organizations, or other persons or entities.
    (d) Use of Funds.--Pursuant to applications received under 
subsection (c), the Secretary may make financial assistance available 
to any applicant or joint sponsor of the application to be used for any 
of the following:
            (1) Assisting persons located in the regional deployment 
        area, including fleet owners, in the purchase of new plug-in 
        electric drive vehicles by offsetting in whole or in part the 
        incremental cost of such vehicles above the cost of comparable 
        conventionally fueled vehicles.
            (2) Supporting the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles 
        by funding projects for the deployment of any of the following:
                    (A) Electrical charging stations for plug-in 
                electric drive vehicles, including battery exchange, 
                fast charging infrastructure, and other services, in 
                public or private locations, including street parking, 
                parking garages, parking lots, homes, gas stations, and 
                highway rest stops.
                    (B) Smart grid equipment and infrastructure to 
                facilitate the charging and integration of plug-in 
                electric drive vehicles.
            (3) Such other projects as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate to support the large-scale deployment of plug-in 
        electric drive vehicles in regional deployment areas.
    (e) Program Requirements.--The Secretary shall determine design 
elements and requirements of the program established pursuant to 
subsection (a), including--
            (1) the type of financial mechanism with which to provide 
        financial assistance;
            (2) criteria for evaluating applications submitted under 
        subsection (c), including the anticipated ability to promote 
        deployment and market penetration of vehicles that are less 
        dependent on petroleum as fuel source; and
            (3) reporting requirements for entities that receive 
        financial assistance under this section, including a 
        comprehensive set of performance data characterizing the 
        results of the deployment program.
    (f) Information Clearinghouse.--The Secretary shall, as part of the 
program established pursuant to subsection (a), collect and make 
available to the public information regarding the cost, performance, 
and other technical data regarding the deployment and integration of 
plug-in electric drive vehicles.
    (g) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out this section, such sums as may be necessary.
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