HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4674
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 11, 2022.
The committee on Transportation to whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3579) of David M. Rogers and others relative to the operation of electric buses by transit agencies and school bus operators, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4674) ought to pass.
For the committee,
WILLIAM M. STRAUS.
FILED ON: 3/18/2022
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4674
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
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An Act transitioning Massachusetts to electric buses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 161D the following chapter:-
CHAPTER 161E
ZERO-EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGY
Section 1. The purpose of this chapter is to transition all of the Commonwealth’s buses to zero-emissions technology in order to avoid pollution of our air, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the health and quality of life of Massachusetts residents.
Section 2. As used in this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
“Transit agency” or “transit agencies” means the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority created under chapter 161A and any of the regional transit authorities created under chapter 161B.
“Electric bus” means a bus with zero tailpipe emissions. Battery electric buses and fuel cell electric buses shall qualify as an electric bus.
Section 3. All transit agencies shall operate only electric buses by no later than December 31, 2037.
Section 4. Not later than December 31, 2022, each transit agency must submit an Electric Bus Rollout Plan (Rollout Plan) to the secretary of transportation that includes all of the following components: (i) a goal of full transition to electric buses by 2037 with careful planning that as much as possible avoids early retirement of conventional internal combustion engine buses; (ii) identification of the types of electric bus technologies a transit agency is planning to deploy, such as battery electric or fuel cell electric bus; (iii) a schedule for construction of facilities and infrastructure modifications or upgrades, including charging, fueling, and maintenance facilities, to deploy and maintain electric buses that identifies the general location of each facility, type of infrastructure, service capacity of an infrastructure, and a timeline for construction; (iv) a schedule for electric and conventional internal combustion engine bus purchases and lease options that identifies the bus types, fuel types, and number of buses; (v) a schedule for conversion of conventional internal combustion engine buses to electric buses, if any, that identifies the number of buses, bus types, the propulsion system being removed and converted to; (vi) a plan on how the transit agency plans to deploy electric buses; (vii) a training plan and schedule for electric bus drivers and maintenance and repair staff; and (viii) identification of potential funding sources.
Section 5. Transit agencies may request an extension or exemption from the electric bus requirements set forth in section 3 as provided in this section. A Request for Extension or Request for Exemption must be submitted to the Secretary of Transportation by November 30, 2037. A Request for Extension must demonstrate that at least one of the following circumstances exists beyond the transit agency’s control: (i) a delay in bus delivery caused by the bus manufacturer; (ii) a delay in bus delivery caused by setback of construction schedule; (iii) where the transit agency cannot finalize the electric bus infrastructure in time to operate the purchased buses after delivery; (iv) where available electric buses at the end of battery or fuel cell stack warranty period cannot meet a transit agency’s daily mileage needs, provided that the transit agency must show that the miles travelled between charges of a depot charging battery electric bus cannot meet the transit agency’s daily operation needs for any bus in the existing fleet; and (v) where a required electric bus type cannot be purchased by a transit agency due to financial hardship.