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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 9, 2013 02:02 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Dan Moul |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | The B.U.S. Act |
| According to the United States Department of Environmental Protection “…compared to gasoline or diesel vehicles, those powered by natural gas emit 80 percent fewer ozone precursors and over 95 percent fewer particulates. In addition to being cleaner, compressed natural gas is also 30 to 40 percent cheaper than gasoline or diesel on a same mileage basis.” With the abundance of natural gas discovered in our own backyard there is no doubt there is a significant price differential between diesel and natural gas which is anticipated for the foreseeable future. Right now, CNG costs roughly $2.25 per gasoline gallon equivalent as opposed to gasoline which is roughly $3.55 a gallon. LNG costs roughly $2.70 per diesel gallon equivalent as opposed to diesel which is roughly $4.00 a gallon. Transportation emissions account for almost a third of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. CNG and LNG are one of the cleanest burning fuels, and significantly reduce greenhouse gases when compared with diesel fuel or gasoline. Because CNG is a clean burning fuel, a transportation fleet can reduce their maintenance costs (extended intervals between services, prolong time for oil changes, pipes and mufflers last longer…etc.). By converting buses to use compressed natural gas engines, mass transit authorities not only make their buses safer and easier to maintain, but also save on fuel costs. For these and many others reason, I will be introducing legislation requiring mass transit authorities to convert their bus fleet. Under my legislation, known as The B.U.S. Act, each mass transit authority will submit an annual plan to establish goals and objectives to reach a 100 percent conversion to natural gas of its bus fleet. The plan will set out mechanisms for newly converting 10 percent of the bus fleet annually until all of its bus fleet is converted to natural gas, the amount of federal, state, and local funds received by the mass transit authority, and the projections of operating and capital costs and savings over a ten-year period. My legislation also establishes penalties for mass transit agencies that have not applied for a waiver and fail to convert their vehicles. |
Introduced as HB2036