SENATE DOCKET, NO. 82        FILED ON: 1/10/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1863

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Michael O. Moore

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the sale of natural gas as a motor fuel.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 82        FILED ON: 1/10/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1863

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1780 OF 2015-2016.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act relative to the sale of natural gas as a motor fuel.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 94½ of Chapter 164 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby struck in its entirety and replaced with the following new section:-

“Section 94½: (a) Natural gas sold by a fueling station for use in a motor vehicle shall be known as a special fuel as defined in section 1 of Chapter 64E and shall be subject to the regulations of said chapter, provided, however, that any gas company which sells compressed or liquefied natural gas for use as a motor vehicle fuel shall keep separate records, book, and accounts of such sales which are sufficient to allow the department to allocate costs and revenues; and provided, further, that such gas companies sale of compressed natural gas for use as a motor vehicle fuel and its investment in related infrastructure shall not reduce the availability or increase the costs of natural gas to said company’s customers who purchase natural gas for use other than as a motor vehicle fuel,

(b) Compressed natural gas to be sold by a fueling station for use in a motor vehicle shall be dispensed in gasoline gallon equivalents, which shall reflect the energy content of one gallon of gasoline, which is equal to 5.66 pounds of compressed natural gas,

(c) Liquefied natural gas to be sold by a fueling station for use in a motor vehicle shall be dispensed in diesel gallon equivalents, which shall reflect the energy content of one gallon of diesel, which is equal to 6.06 pounds of liquefied natural gas,

(c) The department may revise gallon equivalents to reflect the most recent and accurate energy content of motor vehicle fuels, taking into consideration the standards adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures

(d) The department may establish from time to time such reasonable rules and regulations consistent with this chapter as may be necessary to carry out the administration thereof.