[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1721 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1721

   To require the Secretary of Transportation to develop a national 
               transportation low emissions energy plan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2009

  Mr. Sanders introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Transportation to develop a national 
               transportation low emissions energy plan.

    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 ``Transportation Low Emissions Energy 
Plan 2020 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) President Obama has stated a goal of deploying 
        1,000,000 plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles by 2015;
            (2) the United States needs to develop--
                    (A) the electric recharging infrastructure to fuel 
                those vehicles; and
                    (B) uniform standards and protocols for deployment 
                and integration of recharging infrastructure to serve 
                commercial vehicles as well as consumer vehicles; and
            (3) plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles offer a number of 
        benefits, including emissions reductions, decreasing dependence 
        on imported oil, and advanced energy storage for the electric 
        grid.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Plan.--The term ``Plan'' means the national 
        transportation low emissions energy plan developed under 
        section 4.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation, acting in coordination with the Secretary of 
        Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION LOW EMISSIONS ENERGY PLAN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a stakeholder-driven 
process to develop, not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, a national transportation low emissions energy 
plan.
    (b) Requirements.--The Plan shall--
            (1) project the near- and long-term need for and location 
        of electric drive vehicle refueling infrastructure at strategic 
        locations across all major national highways, roads, and 
        corridors;
            (2) identify infrastructure and standardization needs for 
        electricity providers, infrastructure providers, vehicle 
        manufacturers, and electricity purchasers; and
            (3) establish an aspirational goal of achieving strategic 
        deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure by 2020.
    (c) Stakeholders.--In developing the Plan, the Secretary shall 
involve, on a voluntary basis, stakeholders that include--
            (1) the heads of other Federal agencies;
            (2) State and local officials;
            (3) representatives of--
                    (A) energy utilities;
                    (B) the vehicles industry;
                    (C) the freight and shipping industry;
                    (D) clean technology firms;
                    (E) the hospitality industry;
                    (F) the restaurant industry; and
                    (G) highway rest stop vendors; and
            (4) such other stakeholders as the Secretary may determine 
        to be necessary.
    (d) Public Charge Access Ports.--The Plan shall--
            (1) prioritize the development of--
                    (A) standardized public charge access ports with 
                wireless or smart card billing capability; and
                    (B) level I and level II charge port systems (that 
                charge an electric vehicle over a period of 8 to 14 
                hours and 4 to 8 hours, respectively) that will meet 
                the energy requirements of the majority of plug-in 
                hybrid and battery electric vehicles;
            (2) examine the feasibility of level III charge port 
        systems that can charge an electric vehicle over a period of 10 
        to 20 minutes; and
            (3) focus on infrastructure that provides consumers with 
        the lowest cost while providing convenient charge system 
        access.
    (e) LEEP Coordinator.--The Secretary may designate 1 full-time 
position within the Department of Transportation to be known as the 
``LEEP coordinator'' with responsibility to oversee--
            (1) the development of the Plan; and
            (2) the implementation of the regional pilot projects under 
        section 5.

SEC. 5. PILOT PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may establish 4 pilot projects to 
demonstrate electric drive vehicles and infrastructure--
            (1) in rural locations; and
            (2) in commercial use.
    (b) Requirements.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) establish the pilot projects after the publication of 
        the Plan;
            (2) use the Plan to determine which regions of the United 
        States are most ready to demonstrate electric vehicle 
        infrastructure;
            (3) carry out the pilot projects in different regions of 
        the United States; and
            (4) ensure that--
                    (A) at least 1 pilot project is carried out in a 
                rural region of the United States; and
                    (B) at least 1 pilot project is focused on freight 
                issues.
    (c) Financial Resources.--In carrying out the regional pilot 
projects, the Secretary shall coordinate the use of appropriate 
financial incentives, grant programs, and other Federal financial 
resources to ensure that electric infrastructure delivery entities are 
able to participate in the regional pilot projects.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums 
as are necessary--
            (1) to develop the Plan;
            (2) to pay the salary and expenses of the LEEP coordinator 
        described in section 4(e); and
            (3) to carry out the regional pilot projects under section 
        5.
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