SR 7: Relating to vehicles powered by propane or compressed natural gas.
00 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 7 01 Relating to vehicles powered by propane or compressed natural gas. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE: 03 WHEREAS the United States imports more than 60 percent of its petroleum, two- 04 thirds of which is used, in the form of gasoline and diesel fuel, to power vehicles; and 05 WHEREAS the demand for petroleum imports is increasing; and 06 WHEREAS most worldwide petroleum reserves are located in politically volatile 07 countries, making the United States vulnerable to supply disruptions; and 08 WHEREAS the price of gasoline and diesel fuel in the state is substantially higher 09 than in other states and places a burden on the citizens of the state; and 10 WHEREAS the state has an abundance of natural gas; and 11 WHEREAS propane provides safe, clean, reliable, efficient, and secure energy; and 12 WHEREAS propane is the alternative fuel most used today for transportation in the 13 United States; and 14 WHEREAS propane is a proven, clean-burning fuel utilized by more than 200,000 15 buses, taxis, delivery vehicles, and other fleet vehicles across the United States; and 16 WHEREAS powering vehicles with compressed natural gas is an existing, proven
01 technology, with more than 8,000,000 vehicles powered by compressed natural gas in service 02 and more than 12,000 compressed natural gas refueling stations worldwide; and 03 WHEREAS the United States Department of Energy states that compressed natural 04 gas can be used as a replacement for gasoline in light-duty vehicles and as a replacement for 05 diesel in heavy-duty vehicles; and 06 WHEREAS the federal government is expected to institute a carbon gas cap-and- 07 trade system to fight climate change and fund renewable energy programs; and 08 WHEREAS both vehicles powered by propane and vehicles powered by compressed 09 natural gas emit fewer harmful emissions, such as greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, 10 particulate matter, toxic and carcinogenic pollutants, and carbon dioxide, than vehicles 11 powered by gasoline or diesel fuel; and 12 WHEREAS vehicles powered by compressed natural gas produce 25 percent less 13 greenhouse gases than vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel fuel; and 14 WHEREAS studies indicate that maintenance costs for vehicles powered by propane 15 or compressed natural gas are lower than for vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel fuel; and 16 WHEREAS the federal government provides and is expected to increase incentives 17 for use of alternative fuels; and 18 WHEREAS, at the current prices of various fuels, any additional cost to purchase or 19 convert state and municipal vehicles to run on propane or compressed natural gas would be 20 quickly recouped; 21 BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate requests the governor to direct all state agencies 22 to consider vehicles powered by propane or compressed natural gas when existing vehicles 23 are replaced or new vehicles are added to the state's fleet of vehicles; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate urges the governor to take advantage of the 25 incentives being offered by the federal government if the incentives benefit the state; and be it 26 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate will not commit state funds to assist 27 communities in the purchase of vehicles that are not powered by propane or compressed 28 natural gas if the population of the community is more than 25,000 and the community has a 29 supply of propane or natural gas unless analysis clearly proves that use of propane or 30 compressed natural gas is not economically or technologically effective; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate requests all communities with a population
01 of more than 25,000 to consider installing one or more fast-fill compressed natural gas 02 stations to facilitate the use of compressed natural gas by area residents.