Clean School Bus Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1750 To establish the Clean School Bus Grant Program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 5, 2019 Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. SMITH, Mr. SAND- ERS, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- sources A BILL To establish the Clean School Bus Grant Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean School Bus Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘‘elec- 8 tric school bus’’ means a school bus that is pro- 9 pelled— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1750 IS (A) to a significant extent by an electric 1 motor that— 2 (i) draws electricity from a battery; 3 and 4 (ii) is capable of being recharged from 5 an external source of electricity; or 6 (B) by 1 or more hydrogen fuel cells. 7 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 8 ty’’ means— 9 (A) 1 or more local, regional, or State gov- 10 ernmental entities responsible for— 11 (i) providing school bus service to 1 or 12 more public school systems; or 13 (ii) purchasing school buses for use by 14 1 or more public school systems; 15 (B) 1 or more contracting entities that 16 provide school bus service to 1 or more public 17 school systems; 18 (C) a nonprofit school transportation asso- 19 ciation; or 20 (D) a tribally controlled school (as defined 21 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 22 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1750 IS (3) FUEL CELL.—The term ‘‘fuel cell’’ has the 1 meaning given the term in section 803 of the Energy 2 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16152). 3 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 4 the Clean School Bus Grant Program established 5 under subsection (b)(1). 6 (5) SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘‘school bus’’ has 7 the meaning given the term ‘‘schoolbus’’ in section 8 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code. 9 (6) SCRAP.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘scrap’’ 11 means, with respect to a school bus engine re- 12 placed using funds awarded under the program, 13 to recycle, crush, or shred the engine within 14 such period and in such manner as determined 15 by the Secretary. 16 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘scrap’’ does 17 not include selling, leasing, exchanging, or oth- 18 erwise disposing of an engine described in sub- 19 paragraph (A) for use in another motor vehicle 20 in any location. 21 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Energy. 23 (b) CLEAN SCHOOL BUS GRANT PROGRAM.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1750 IS (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 1 tablish in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Re- 2 newable Energy of the Department of Energy a pro- 3 gram, to be known as the ‘‘Clean School Bus Grant 4 Program’’, for awarding grants on a competitive 5 basis to eligible entities for the replacement of cer- 6 tain existing school buses. 7 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 8 grant under the program, an eligible entity shall 9 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 10 in such manner, and containing such information as 11 the Secretary shall require, including— 12 (A) a certification that no public work or 13 service normally performed by a public em- 14 ployee will be privatized or subcontracted in 15 carrying out a project under the grant; and 16 (B) to ensure a fair assessment of total 17 workforce impact, a detailed accounting of the 18 workforce of the eligible entity at the time of 19 application, including— 20 (i) the number of employees, orga- 21 nized by salary; 22 (ii) the bargaining unit status of each 23 employee; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1750 IS (iii) the full- or part-time status of 1 each employee; and 2 (iv) the job title of each employee. 3 (3) PRIORITY OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 5 give highest priority under the program to pro- 6 posed projects of eligible entities that— 7 (i) serve the neediest students, as de- 8 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 9 (ii) will most reduce emissions, as de- 10 scribed in subparagraph (C). 11 (B) NEEDIEST STUDENTS DESCRIBED.— 12 The neediest students referred to in subpara- 13 graph (A)(i) are students who are eligible for 14 free or reduced price lunches under the Richard 15 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 16 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 17 (C) MOST EMISSIONS-REDUCING PROJECTS 18 DESCRIBED.—The projects that will most re- 19 duce emissions referred to in subparagraph 20 (A)(ii) are projects that— 21 (i) will replace the most polluting die- 22 sel school buses with the cleanest running 23 electric school buses, as indicated by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1750 IS (I) the age of the school buses to 1 be replaced; 2 (II) the emissions control tech- 3 nologies on the school buses to be re- 4 placed; 5 (III) the annual vehicle miles 6 traveled by the school buses to be re- 7 placed; 8 (IV) the source of electricity or 9 hydrogen used to power the electric 10 school buses; and 11 (V) any other factors the Sec- 12 retary determines to be relevant; or 13 (ii) will complement the use of grant 14 funds through other activities that— 15 (I) will enable broader deploy- 16 ment of electric vehicles, such as se- 17 curing additional sources of funding 18 through public-private partnerships 19 with utilities, grants from other enti- 20 ties, or issuance of school bonds; or 21 (II) will achieve further reduc- 22 tions in emissions, such as installing 23 solar panels to power electric school 24 buses purchased with grant funds. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1750 IS (D) TIE.—In the event that 2 or more eli- 1 gible entities seeking grants to purchase electric 2 school buses under the program meet the prior- 3 ities described in subparagraph (A), the Sec- 4 retary may consider— 5 (i) whether the grant will benefit stu- 6 dents in a region that is in nonattainment 7 of a national ambient air quality standard 8 under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 9 U.S.C. 7409); and 10 (ii) whether the eligible entity, or 11 whether the school system or school that 12 would be served by the eligible entity, has 13 taken other action to reduce emissions dur- 14 ing the transportation of students, such as 15 instituting a no-idling policy. 16 (4) USE OF SCHOOL BUS FLEET.—Each electric 17 school bus acquired with funds provided under the 18 program— 19 (A) shall be operated as part of the school 20 bus fleet for which the grant was made for not 21 less than 5 years; 22 (B) shall be maintained, operated, and 23 charged according to manufacturer rec- 24 ommendations or State requirements; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1750 IS (C) may not be manufactured or retro- 1 fitted with, or otherwise have installed, a power 2 unit or other technology that creates air pollu- 3 tion within the school bus, such as an unvented 4 diesel passenger heater. 5 (5) GRANT AWARDS.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use 7 funds made available to carry out the pro- 8 gram— 9 (i) to award grants for— 10 (I) the replacement of existing 11 diesel school bus fleets with electric 12 school buses; 13 (II) the implementation of re- 14 charging infrastructure or other infra- 15 structure needed to charge or main- 16 tain electric school buses; 17 (III) workforce development and 18 training, to support the maintenance, 19 charging, and operations of electric 20 school buses; and 21 (IV) planning and technical ac- 22 tivities to support the adoption and 23 implementation of electric school 24 buses; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1750 IS (ii) to develop resources to inform, en- 1 courage, and support eligible entities in ap- 2 plying for and fulfilling the requirements 3 of grants awarded under the program, in- 4 cluding materials to support the workforce 5 development and training described in 6 clause (i)(III) and the planning and tech- 7 nical activities described in clause (i)(IV). 8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive 9 a grant under the program, the Secretary 10 shall— 11 (i) require that grant recipients— 12 (I) replace diesel school buses 13 with electric school buses; 14 (II)(aa) not later than 1 year 15 after receiving the electric school bus 16 purchased using a grant under the 17 program, scrap the diesel engine of 18 the school bus being replaced; or 19 (bb) receive a waiver under para- 20 graph (6); 21 (III) do not, as a result of receiv- 22 ing the grant— 23 (aa) lay off, transfer, or de- 24 mote any current employee; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1750 IS (bb) reduce the salary or 1 benefits of any current employee 2 or worsen the conditions of work 3 of any current employee; and 4 (IV) provide current employees 5 with training to effectively operate, 6 maintain, or otherwise adapt to new 7 technologies relating to electric school 8 buses; and 9 (ii) permit grant recipients to receive 10 and retain any funds or benefits received 11 from— 12 (I) scrapping a diesel engine; 13 (II) transferring or repurposing a 14 diesel school bus as authorized under 15 a waiver under paragraph (6); and 16 (III) the resale or reuse of other 17 parts of a school bus replaced using 18 grant funds. 19 (C) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 20 (i) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The max- 21 imum amount of a grant under the pro- 22 gram is $2,000,000. 23 (ii) AMOUNTS FOR PURCHASE OF 24 ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1750 IS (I) IN GENERAL.—For any grant 1 under the program, the amount of 2 funds awarded for the purchase of an 3 electric school bus shall not exceed 4 110 percent of the amount equal to 5 the difference between— 6 (aa) the cost of an electric 7 school bus; and 8 (bb) the cost of a diesel 9 school bus. 10 (II) DETERMINATION OF COST 11 OF SCHOOL BUSES.—In determining 12 the amount of funds under subclause 13 (I), the Secretary may determine the 14 cost of a school bus for the purpose of 15 calculating the marginal cost under 16 that subclause through— 17 (aa) a competitive solicita- 18 tion process for the manufacture 19 of the school bus; 20 (bb) a cooperative purchase 21 agreement permitted by the laws 22 of the State in which the grant 23 recipient is located; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1750 IS (cc) another method that the 1 Secretary determines to be ap- 2 propriate. 3 (iii) AMOUNTS FOR SUPPORTING AC- 4 TIVITIES.—For any grant under the pro- 5 gram, the amount of funds awarded for 6 the purposes described in subclauses (II) 7 through (IV) of subparagraph (A)(i), or 8 other purposes related to those subclauses, 9 as determined by the Secretary, shall not 10 exceed $600,000. 11 (D) BUY AMERICA.— 12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 13 in clause (ii), any electric school bus pur- 14 chased using funds awarded under the pro- 15 gram shall comply with the requirements 16 described in section 5323(j) of title 49, 17 United States Code. 18 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 19 (I) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 20 provide any waiver to the require- 21 ments described in clause (i) in the 22 same manner and to the same extent 23 as the Secretary of Transportation 24 may provide a waiver under section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1750 IS 5323(j)(2) of title 49, United States 1 Code. 2 (II) PERCENTAGE OF COMPO- 3 NENTS AND SUBCOMPONENTS.—The 4 Secretary may grant a waiver in ac- 5 cordance with section 5323(j)(2)(C) of 6 title 49, United States Code, when a 7 grant recipient procures an electric 8 school bus using funds awarded under 9 the program for which the cost of 10 components and subcomponents pro- 11 duced in the United States— 12 (aa) for each of fiscal years 13 2020 through 2024, is more than 14 60 percent of the cost of all com- 15 ponents of the school bus; and 16 (bb) for fiscal year 2025 and 17 each fiscal year thereafter, is 18 more than 70 percent of the cost 19 of all components of the school 20 bus. 21 (6) WAIVER.—On request of a grant recipient, 22 the Secretary may grant a waiver under paragraph 23 (5)(B)(i)(II)(bb) to authorize a grant recipient— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1750.IS S1750 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 14 •S 1750 IS (A) to transfer a diesel school bus replaced 1 using grant funds under the program under an 2 agreement— 3 (i) between— 4 (I) the grant recipient; and 5 (II) an entity described in sub- 6 section (a)(2) that serves an area that 7 is in attainment of national ambient 8 air quality standards under the Clean 9 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 10 (ii) that provides that— 11 (I) not later than 1 year after the 12 transfer subject to the agreement, the 13 entity receiving a school bus from the 14 grant recipient will scrap a number of 15 diesel engines of school buses that is 16 equal to the number of school buses 17 being received; and 18 (II) any diesel engines described 19 in subclause (I) are older and more 20 polluting than the diesel engines in 21 the school buses being received; and 22 (iii) provided to the Secretary; or 23 (B) to delay the requ [Text truncated for display. 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