[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1603 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1603

To enable transportation fuel competition, consumer choice, and greater 
    use of domestic energy sources in order to reduce our Nation's 
                       dependence on foreign oil.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 22, 2011

Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mr. Lugar) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enable transportation fuel competition, consumer choice, and greater 
    use of domestic energy sources in order to reduce our Nation's 
                       dependence on foreign oil.

    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 ``Open Fuels Standard Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. OPEN FUELS STANDARD.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 32920. Open fuels standard
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Advanced alternative fuel blend.--The term `advanced 
        alternative fuel blend' means--
                    ``(A) a mixture containing--
                            ``(i) at least 85 percent denatured 
                        ethanol, by volume, or a lower percentage 
                        prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to section 
                        32901(b); and
                            ``(ii) gasoline or drop-in fuel;
                    ``(B) a mixture containing--
                            ``(i) at least 70 percent methanol, by 
                        volume; and
                            ``(ii) gasoline or drop-in fuel; and
                    ``(C) any other mixture of alcohols or liquid fuels 
                certified by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 
                (b)(2).
            ``(2) Annual covered inventory.--The term `annual covered 
        inventory' means the number of automobiles (as defined in 
        section 32901(a)(3)) that a manufacturer, during a given 
        calendar year, manufactures in the United States or imports 
        from outside of the United States, for sale in the United 
        States.
            ``(3) Fuel choice-enabling vehicle.--The term `fuel choice-
        enabling vehicle' means a automobile warranted by its 
        manufacturer--
                    ``(A)(i) absent certification authorizing the use 
                of an advanced alternative fuel blend under subsection 
                (b)(2), to operate on a mixture containing--
                                    ``(I) at least 85 percent denatured 
                                ethanol, by volume, or a lower 
                                percentage prescribed by the Secretary 
                                pursuant to section 32901(b); and
                                    ``(II) gasoline or drop-in fuel; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) after certification under subsection 
                        (b)(2), to operate on an advanced alternative 
                        fuel blend; or
                    ``(B) to operate on--
                            ``(i) natural gas;
                            ``(ii) hydrogen;
                            ``(iii) electricity;
                            ``(iv) a hybrid electric engine;
                            ``(v) a mixture of biodiesel and diesel 
                        fuel meeting the standard established by the 
                        American Society for Testing and Materials or 
                        under section 211(u) of the Clean Air Act (42 
                        U.S.C. 7545(u)) for fuel containing 5 percent 
                        biodiesel; or
                            ``(vi) any other fuel or means of powering 
                        covered automobiles prescribed by the 
                        Secretary, by regulation, that contains not 
                        more than 10 percent petroleum, by volume.
    ``(b) Open Fuels Standard.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each automobile manufacturer's annual 
        covered inventory shall be comprised of--
                    ``(A) not less than 50 percent fuel choice-enabling 
                vehicles in model years 2015, 2016, and 2017; and
                    ``(B) not less than 80 percent fuel choice-enabling 
                vehicles in model year 2018 and each subsequent model 
                year.
            ``(2) Certifications.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of the enactment of the Open Fuels Standard Act of 2011, 
        the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall 
        certify--
                    ``(A) the use of advanced alternative fuel blends 
                in fuel choice-enabling vehicles unless the Secretary 
                determines that such certification--
                            ``(i) is not technologically feasible;
                            ``(ii) would result in burdensome consumer 
                        costs;
                            ``(iii) negatively impacts automobile 
                        safety;
                            ``(iv) negatively impacts air quality;
                            ``(v) would not increase the use of 
                        domestic feedstock sources; or
                            ``(vi) is unlikely to enable reductions in 
                        foreign oil imports;
                    ``(B) the type and blend of advanced alternative 
                fuel blend that can be utilized by specific automobiles 
                in use on such date of enactment; and
                    ``(C) the type and blend of advanced alternative 
                fuel blend that can be utilized by new and existing 
                components of the Nation's transportation fueling 
                infrastructure for fuel choice-enabled vehicles.
            ``(3) Small manufacturer exemption.--At the request of a 
        manufacturer, the Secretary of Transportation shall exempt the 
        manufacturer from the requirement described in paragraph (1) if 
        the manufacturer's annual covered inventory is fewer than 
        10,000.
            ``(4) Credit trading among manufacturers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may establish, by 
                regulation, an open fuels standard credit trading 
                program to allow manufacturers whose annual covered 
                inventory exceeds the requirement described in 
                paragraph (1) to earn credits, which may be sold to 
                manufacturers that are unable to achieve such 
                requirement.
                    ``(B) Dual fuel credit.--Beginning in model year 
                2018, any automobile used to qualify for the open fuels 
                standard under this subsection cannot be used to 
                receive the dual fuel credit under section 32903.
    ``(c) Fuel Choice Comparison Tool.--The Secretary of 
Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the 
Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission, shall--
            ``(1) develop a model label for pumps in the United States 
        dispensing advanced alternative fuels to consumers that--
                    ``(A) identifies a single, readily comprehensible 
                metric that allows consumers to evaluate the relative 
                value, energy density, and expected automobile 
                performance of any particular advanced alternative fuel 
                blend; and
                    ``(B) includes appropriate warnings against the use 
                of such fuels in unwarranted engines, including 
                nonautomobile engines; and
            ``(2) make the label described in paragraph (1) available 
        for voluntary reproduction and adoption.
    ``(d) Study of Fuel Dispensing Infrastructure for Advanced 
Alternative Fuel Blends.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of the Open Fuels Standard Act of 2011, the Secretary of 
Transportation shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce of the House of Representatives that evaluates the need 
for standardized fueling equipment that facilitates the dispensing of 
advanced alternative fuel blends to fuel choice-enabling vehicles and 
prevents such fuel blends from being dispensed to incompatible 
automobiles.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of section for chapter 329 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``32920. Open fuels standard.''.
    (c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to 
carry out the amendment made by subsection (a).
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