1Urging the rejection of the recommendations for natural gas
2vehicle fuel standards recently proffered by the National
3Conference on Weights and Measures.

4WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States reserves to
5the states the right to regulate commerce and the weights and
6measures system within their borders; and

7WHEREAS, In 1905, the National Bureau of Standards called for
8a meeting of the states to discuss the lack of uniform standards
9for weights and measures in the United States, which was
10crippling economic growth; and

11WHEREAS, In 1906, participating states met again, which
12marked the birth of the National Conference on Weights and
13Measures; and

14WHEREAS, The National Conference on Weights and Measures has
15evolved into a not-for-profit corporation that ensures national
16standards keep pace with evolving technology and marketing
17practices; and

18WHEREAS, Natural gas vehicles and related infrastructure

1continue to develop, with new networks of natural gas vehicles
2and fueling stations being established across the country and
3within this Commonwealth; and

4WHEREAS, The Commonwealth provides incentives to encourage
5the development and deployment of natural gas vehicles and
6fueling stations in this Commonwealth; and

7WHEREAS, Natural gas is the cleanest burning alternative
8transportation fuel commercially available today; and

9WHEREAS, Greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas vehicles
10are 20-30% less than their diesel and gasoline counterparts; and

11WHEREAS, The utilization of natural gas as a motor fuel has
12increased significantly over the past five years due to stable
13and affordable pricing; and

14WHEREAS, In 1994, the National Conference on Weights and
15Measures established the gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) as the
16official unit of sale for compressed natural gas (CNG); and

17WHEREAS, The GGE is a consumer-friendly unit of measurement
18because it represents an amount of CNG which has the same energy
19content as a gallon of gasoline; and

20WHEREAS, The GGE standard puts natural gas in a unit which is
21familiar to consumers and allows consumers to evaluate the cost
22difference between natural gas and traditional motor fuels; and

23WHEREAS, Since 2011, an increasing number of long-haul
24trucking companies have begun converting their fuel source to
25liquefied natural gas (LNG); and

26WHEREAS, By the end of 2014, there is expected to be a
27nationwide network of LNG refueling stations; and

28WHEREAS, Because LNG only displaces diesel as a motor fuel,
29it is sold on a diesel gallon equivalent (DGE); and

30WHEREAS, The Clean Vehicle Education Foundation, in

1conjunction with the natural gas vehicle industry, submitted a
2request to the National Conference on Weights and Measures in
32013 to adopt a standard definition of a DGE; and

4WHEREAS, On January 19, 2014, the National Conference on
5Weights and Measures announced a recommendation to deny the DGE
6proposal and to repeal the previously adopted GGE standard; and

7WHEREAS, The National Conference on Weights and Measures
8further set forth recommended standards which would force
9consumers to have to buy natural gas as a motor fuel under the
10metric system using the kilogram unit of measurement; and

11WHEREAS, The recommended standards issued by the National
12Conference on Weights and Measures create inequitable treatment
13among different motor fuels, which will lead to consumer
14confusion; and

15WHEREAS, The recommended standards, if adopted, would create
16significant costs to natural gas fueling stations to replace
17existing natural gas fuel dispensers at a cost of approximately
18$70,000 each; and

19WHEREAS, The National Institute of Standards and Technology
20publishes the standards adopted by the National Conference on
21Weights and Measures; and

22WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is one of 44 states which automatically
23adopts the standards published by the National Institute of
24Standards and Technology; and

25WHEREAS, The National Conference on Weights and Measures is
26scheduled to vote on the recommended natural gas standards at
27its annual meeting in July 2014; therefore be it

28RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
29Commonwealth of Pennsylvania object to the recommended natural
30gas vehicle fuel standards proffered by the National Conference

1on Weights and Measures; and be it further

2RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge any State
3official involved with the National Conference on Weights and
4Measures and acting in his official capacity on behalf of the
5Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to strongly reject the recommended
6natural gas vehicle fuel standards proffered by the National
7Conference on Weights and Measures; and be it further

8RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
9the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Secretary of
10Agriculture and the Executive Director of the National
11Conference on Weights and Measures.