Amendment ID: S2819-88

Amendment 88

An Act to Promote Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleets by 2035

Ms. Edwards, Ms. DiZoglio, Messrs. Lesser and Moore, Ms. Jehlen, Messrs. Eldridge and Gomez, Ms. Comerford, Ms. Rausch, Mr. Lewis, Ms. Chang-Diaz and Mr. Feeney move that the proposed new text be amended by inserting the following;

SECTION XX. SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 21N is hereby amended by inserting the following definitions:

“Motor vehicles”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90.

“Motor vehicle fleet”, a set of at least twenty-five motor vehicles under the same ownership or control registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

“Motor vehicle fleet serving a public purpose”, a motor vehicle fleet of which a portion is leased, rented, or contracted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or a municipality or any political subdivision thereof from a person or entity other than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or a municipality to provide a public service or for its own use, including school buses and paratransit vehicles.

“Public motor vehicle fleet”, a motor vehicle fleet owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a transportation authority, a school district, a public university, a quasi-public agency, or a municipality or in the shared ownership of multiple municipalities, or any political subdivision thereof. A public motor vehicle fleet includes vehicles under the same ownership of the Commonwealth or a municipality, even if a portion of the motor vehicle fleet is under the management or control of separate secretariats, departments, agencies, or offices.

“Electric vehicle”, as defined in section 16(a) of Chapter 25A.

SECTION 2. Chapter 21N is hereby amended by inserting after Section 7, the following sections: Section 7A. To contribute to the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, the Secretary, in consultation with the department of energy resources, department of transportation, department of environmental protection, and department of public utilities, shall enforce targets for public fleet electrification and public transit electrification.

SECTION 3. Chapter 21N is hereby amended by inserting after section 7 the following sections: -

Section 7B. The secretary, in consultation with the department of energy resources, department of transportation, department of environmental protection, and department of public utilities, shall develop a transition to an electric motor vehicle fleet program and promulgate regulations to require the following motor vehicle standards: (a) fifty percent of all public motor vehicle fleets and motor vehicle fleets serving a public purpose shall be electric vehicles by 2025; (b) seventy-five percent of all public motor vehicle fleets and motor vehicle fleets serving a public purpose shall be electric vehicles by 2030; and (c) one hundred percent of all public motor vehicle fleets motor vehicle fleets serving a public purpose shall be electric vehicles by 2035.

In reaching the Commonwealth’s public fleet requirements defined in this section, the Secretary shall prioritize for electrification any vehicles cited as medium- or high-priority by the study commissioned pursuant to section 6 of chapter 448 of the acts of 2016.  To meet the deadlines established in this section, the secretary shall prioritize electric vehicle deployment in locations serving environmental justice populations as defined in the general laws or, in the absence of a statutory definition, environmental justice policy of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, as may be amended.

Section 7C. The secretary, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance, shall require that new motor vehicles purchased or leased by the Commonwealth shall be electric vehicles according to the following deadlines: (i) forty percent of all purchases and leases in 2022; (ii) sixty percent of all purchases and leases in 2023; (iii) eighty percent of all purchases and leases in 2024; (iv) ninety percent of all purchases and leases in 2025; and (v) one hundred percent of all purchases and leases in 2026.

Section 7D. The Department of Energy Resources shall design an incentive program to encourage conversion of private fleets to electric vehicles. Should an owner of a motor vehicle fleet fail to comply with electric vehicle program requirements, the Department of Energy Resources shall remove the incentive for that owner and require reimbursement of the incentive.  As part of the incentive program, the Department of Energy Resources shall ensure a specific pool of funds, not less than ten percent of all funds allocated to the incentive program, is available to municipalities to promote the transition to electric vehicle motor vehicle fleet.

Section 7E. Beginning in 2023 and every five years thereafter through 2040, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Legislature that measures the Commonwealth’s progress towards implementation of the electric motor vehicle fleet program. The report shall: (i) assess the electric vehicle market in the Commonwealth; (ii) identify funding sources to serve as incentives for purchasing electric vehicles to offset costs to agencies, municipalities, and businesses; (iii) identify barriers to increased penetration of electric vehicles; and (iv) recommend legislative and regulatory action to address those barriers.