II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3437 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 25, 2012 Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide assistance to States to carry out initiatives to promote the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel and public and private investment in natural gas vehicles and transportation infrastructure.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the State Natural Gas Act of 2012.

2.

Grants to States to promote natural gas use in transportation

The Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.) is amended— (1)by redesignating sections 25 and 26 (15 U.S.C. 717v, 717w) as sections 26 and 27, respectively; and (2)by inserting after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 717u) the following:

25.

Grants to States to promote natural gas use in transportation

(a)

Purposes

The purposes of this section are— (1)to provide assistance to States to carry out initiatives to promote— (A)the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel; and (B)public and private investment in natural gas vehicles and transportation infrastructure; and (2)to recognize that each State is different and initiatives are most effective when the initiatives are structured to meet the specific needs and challenges of an individual State. (b)

Grants

The Secretary of Energy (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall make grants available to States to independently carry out initiatives within the States to promote the purposes of this section. (c)

Eligibility

A State shall be eligible to receive a grant under this section if— (1)the State submits an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, and containing such information as the Secretary may prescribe, including a plan for initiatives to be carried out using the grant; and (2)the Secretary— (A)determines that the application and plan of the State promote the purposes of this section; and (B)approves the application. (d)

Minimum amount

Subject to the availability of funds under subsection (f), the minimum amount of a grant provided to a State that submits an application that is approved by the Secretary under this section shall be $1,000,000. (e)

Additional amounts

Subject to the availability of funds under subsection (f), in addition to the minimum amount that is provided under subsection (d), the Secretary shall increase the amount of grants available to eligible States to reflect the potential of applications and plans of the States to promote the purposes of this section (as determined by the Secretary), taking into consideration— (1)the relative amount of public and private funds that are likely to be leveraged by initiatives described in the plan of the State; (2)the degree that initiatives will support a need that is unlikely to be met by the private sector absent grant program funding; (3)the degree that initiatives will act as a bridge to private investment and sustainable market conditions; and (4)the amount of funds invested in public and private investment in States in natural gas transportation and infrastructure. (f)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2022.

.