[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2086 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2086

   To address current emergency shortages of propane and other home 
 heating fuels and to provide greater flexibility and information for 
          Governors to address such emergencies in the future.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 6, 2014

   Mr. Thune (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coats, and Mr. Blunt) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To address current emergency shortages of propane and other home 
 heating fuels and to provide greater flexibility and information for 
          Governors to address such emergencies in the future.

    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 ``Reliable Home Heating Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS FOR PURPOSES OF 
              TEMPORARILY EXEMPTING MOTOR CARRIERS PROVIDING EMERGENCY 
              RELIEF FROM CERTAIN SAFETY REGULATIONS.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this Act, the term ``residential heating 
fuel'' includes--
            (1) heating oil;
            (2) natural gas; and
            (3) propane.
    (b) Authorization.--If the Governor of a State declares a state of 
emergency caused by a shortage of residential heating fuel and, at the 
conclusion of the initial 30-day emergency period (or a second 30-day 
emergency period authorized under this subsection), the Governor 
determines that the emergency shortage has not ended, any extension of 
such state of emergency by the Governor, up to 2 additional 30-day 
periods, shall be recognized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration as a period during which parts 390 through 399 of 
chapter III of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall not apply 
to any motor carrier or driver operating a commercial motor vehicle to 
provide residential heating fuel in the geographic area so designated 
as under a state of emergency.
    (c) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Transportation shall amend 
section 390.23(a)(1)(ii) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to 
conform to the provision set forth in subsection (b).
    (d) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section may be construed to 
modify the authority granted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration's Field Administrator under section 390.23(a) of title 
49, Code of Federal Regulations, to offer temporary exemptions from 
parts 390 through 399 of such title.

SEC. 3. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

    The Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, using 
data compiled from the Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status 
Reports, shall notify the Governor of each State in a Petroleum 
Administration for Defense District if the inventory of residential 
heating fuel within such district has been below the most recent 5-year 
average for more than 3 consecutive weeks.

SEC. 4. PROPANE AND HOME HEATING FUEL EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
covered emergency exemption issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration shall remain in effect until May 31, 2014, unless the 
Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the Governors of 
affected States, determines that the emergency for which the exemption 
was provided ends before that date.
    (b) Covered Emergency Exemption Defined.--In this section, the term 
``covered emergency exemption'' means an exemption issued under section 
390.23 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or extended under 
section 390.25 of such title that--
            (1) was issued or extended during the period beginning on 
        February 5, 2014, and ending on the date of enactment of this 
        Act; and
            (2) provided regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle 
        operations providing direct assistance supporting the delivery 
        of propane and home heating fuels.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) may be 
construed to prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
from issuing or extending a covered emergency exemption beyond May 31, 
2014, under other Federal law.
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