HB 330: "An Act relating to the use of natural gas as a motor vehicle fuel in state owned vehicles."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 330 01 "An Act relating to the use of natural gas as a motor vehicle fuel in state 02 owned vehicles." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that 05 (1) it is in the best interest of the people of the state to implement a plan for 06 using natural gas as a fuel for motor vehicles operated by the state; 07 (2) the state must conform to stricter federal motor vehicle emissions 08 requirements imposed under 42 U.S.C. 7401 - 7625 (Clean Air Act of 1990); 09 (3) in order to meet the stricter federal motor vehicle emissions standards the 10 state could either use a fuel additive or use an alternative fuel like natural gas; fuel additives 11 have been found unacceptable, therefore, it is a far better choice for the state to use natural 12 gas as an alternative motor vehicle fuel; 13 (4) the federal government intends to purchase over 10,000 natural gas vehicles 14 before the end of the century;
01 (5) natural gas has been successfully used as a motor vehicle fuel in several 02 regions of the state and in various types of motor vehicles. 03 (b) It is the purpose of this Act to require the use of natural gas in a percentage of 04 the state motor vehicle fleet and to implement the use of natural gas over a definite period of 05 time. 06 * Sec. 2. AS 44.42.020(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) The department shall 08 (1) plan, design, construct, and maintain all state modes of 09 transportation and transportation facilities and all docks, floats, breakwaters, buildings, 10 and similar facilities; 11 (2) study existing transportation modes and facilities in the state to 12 determine how they might be improved or whether they should continue to be 13 maintained; 14 (3) study alternative means of improving transportation in the state with 15 regard to the economic costs of each alternative and its environmental and social 16 effects; 17 (4) develop a comprehensive, long-range intermodal transportation plan 18 for the state; 19 (5) study alternatives to existing modes of transportation in urban areas 20 and develop plans to improve urban transportation; 21 (6) cooperate and coordinate with and enter into agreements with 22 federal, state, and local government agencies and private organizations and persons in 23 exercising its powers and duties; 24 (7) manage, operate, and maintain state transportation facilities and all 25 docks, floats, breakwaters, and buildings, including all state highways, vessels, 26 railroads, pipelines, airports, and aviation facilities; 27 (8) study alternative means of transportation in the state, considering 28 the economic, social, and environmental effects of each alternative; 29 (9) coordinate and develop state and regional transportation systems, 30 considering deletions, additions, and the absence of alterations; 31 (10) develop facility program plans for transportation and state
01 buildings, docks, and breakwaters required to implement the duties set out in this 02 section, including but not limited to functional performance criteria and schedules for 03 completion; 04 (11) supervise and maintain all state automotive and mechanical 05 equipment, aircraft, and vessels, except vessels and aircraft used by the Department of 06 Fish and Game or the Department of Public Safety; of the state vehicles maintained 07 by the department, at least five percent shall be fueled by natural gas by June 30, 08 1995, at least 10 percent shall be funded by natural gas by June 30, 1997, and at 09 least 25 percent shall be fueled by natural gas by June 30, 2000, and thereafter; 10 (12) supervise aeronautics inside the state, under AS 02.10; 11 (13) complete and maintain a current inventory of public facilities, 12 including a projection of the serviceability of the facilities and projections of 13 replacements and additions to facilities needed to provide the level of services 14 programmed by the various user agencies, for municipalities with populations of less 15 than 12,000 and for unincorporated communities, and perform those duties on a 16 cooperative basis with larger municipalities; 17 (14) adopt energy performance standards for public facilities of the 18 state, the construction of which begins after July 1, 1980; the standards shall be based 19 on thermal and lighting energy standards established by the American Society of 20 Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers as adapted for application in 21 high latitude, cold climate environs; 22 (15) provide planning assistance, including but not limited to energy 23 audits and related technical services, to school districts and regional educational 24 attendance areas to develop and implement 25 (A) standards for the design, construction, and operation of rural 26 educational facilities; and 27 (B) energy conservation measures for rural educational facilities.