To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the system for enhancing automobile fuel efficiency, and for other purposes.

April 7, 2003

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Reed, Mr. Kennedy, and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the system for enhancing automobile fuel efficiency, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Automobile Fuel Efficiency Improvements Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. PHASED INCREASES IN FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS.

(a) PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES-

(1) MINIMUM STANDARDS- Subsection (b) of section 32902 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

`(b) PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES- Except as otherwise provided under this section, the average fuel economy standard for passenger automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer in a model year--

`(1) after model year 1984 and before model year 2006 shall be 25 miles per gallon;

`(2) after model year 2005 and before model year 2009 shall be 28 miles per gallon;

`(3) after model year 2008 and before model year 2012 shall be 32 miles per gallon;

`(4) after model year 2011 and before model year 2015 shall be 36 miles per gallon; and

`(5) after model year 2014 shall be 40 miles per gallon.'.

(2) HIGHER STANDARDS SET BY REGULATION- Subsection (c) of such section is amended--

(A) in the first sentence of paragraph (1)--

(i) by striking `Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the' and inserting `The'; and

(ii) by striking `amending the standard' and inserting `increasing the standard otherwise applicable';

(B) by striking paragraph (2); and

(C) by designating the text composed of the second and third sentences of paragraph (1) as paragraph (2) and realigning such paragraph, as so designated, flush with the left margin.

(b) NON-PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES- Subsection (a) of such section is amended--

(1) by striking `At least 18 months before each model year,' and inserting the following:

`(1) The average fuel economy standard applicable for automobiles (except passenger automobiles) manufactured by a manufacturer in a model year--

`(A) after model year 1984 and before model year 2006 shall be 17 miles per gallon;

`(B) after model year 2005 and before model year 2009 shall be 19 miles per gallon;

`(C) after model year 2008 and before model year 2012 shall be 21.5 miles per gallon;

`(D) after model year 2011 and before model year 2015 shall be 24.5 miles per gallon; and

`(E) after model year 2014 shall be 27.5 miles per gallon, except as provided under paragraph (2).

`(2) At least 18 months before the beginning of each model year after model year 2015,'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(3) If the Secretary does not increase the average fuel economy standard applicable under paragraph (1)(E) or (2), or applicable to any class under paragraph (2), within 24 months after the latest increase in the standard applicable under paragraph (1)(E) or (2), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing an explanation of the reasons for not increasing the standard. The report shall be submitted not later than 90 days after the expiration of the 24-month period.'.

SEC. 3. INCREASED INCLUSIVENESS OF DEFINITIONS OF AUTOMOBILE AND PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE.

(a) AUTOMOBILE-

(1) IN GENERAL- Paragraph (3) of section 32901(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--

(A) by striking `6,000 pounds' each place it appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting `12,000 pounds'; and

(B) in subparagraph (B)--

(i) by striking `10,000 pounds' and inserting `14,000 pounds'; and

(ii) in clause (ii), by striking `an average fuel economy standard' and all that follows through `conservation or'.

(2) SPECIAL RULE- Section 32908(a)(1) of such title is amended by striking `8,500 pounds' and inserting `14,000 pounds'.

(b) PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE- Paragraph (16) of section 32901(a) of such title is amended to read as follows:

`(16) `passenger automobile'--

`(A) means, except as provided in subparagraph (B), an automobile having a gross vehicle weight of 12,000 pounds or less that is designed to be used principally for the transportation of persons; but

`(B) does not include--

`(i) a vehicle that has a primary load carrying device or container attached;

`(ii) a vehicle that has a seating capacity of more than 12 persons;

`(iii) a vehicle that has a seating capacity of more than 9 persons behind the driver's seat; or

`(iv) a vehicle that is equipped with a cargo area of at least 6 feet in interior length that does not extend beyond the frame of the vehicle and is an open area or is designed for use as an open area but is enclosed by a cap and is not readily accessible directly from the passenger compartment.'.

(c) APPLICABILITY- The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to automobiles manufactured for model years after the automobile model year in which this Act is enacted.

SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTIES.

(a) INCREASED PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS- Subsection (b) of section 32912 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by inserting `(1)' after `STANDARDS- ';

(2) by striking `$5' and inserting `the dollar amount applicable under paragraph (2)';

(3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; and

(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(2)(A) The dollar amount referred to in paragraph (1) is $10, as increased from time to time under subparagraph (B).

`(B) Effective on October 1 of each year, the dollar amount applicable under subparagraph (A) shall be increased by the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent) by which the price index for July of such year exceeds the price index for July of the preceding year. The amount calculated under the preceding sentence shall be rounded to the nearest $0.10.

`(C) In this paragraph, the term `price index' means the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers published monthly by the Department of Labor.'.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Subsection (c)(1) of such section is amended--

(1) by striking subparagraph (B); and

(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively.

(c) APPLICABILITY- The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to automobiles manufactured for model years after the automobile model year in which this Act is enacted.

SEC. 5. ACCURATE FUEL ECONOMY TESTING.

(a) BIENNIAL REPORT ON TESTING QUALITY-

(1) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT-

(A) IN GENERAL- Chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 32920. Biennial report on testing quality

`(a) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT- Not later than October 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress a report on the quality of the testing for determining automobile fuel economy under this chapter for all currently available technologies for autmobiles.

`(b) CONTENT OF REPORT- The report shall include the following information:

`(1) An assessment of the accuracy of the fuel economy determined for automobiles in relation to actual highway and road vehicle fuel economy.

`(2) A discussion of changes in testing methodology that are planned to be made, together with an assessment of the effects that such changes are expected to have on the accuracy of the measures of automobile fuel economy resulting from the use of the testing methodology as changed.

`(c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT- The Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall consult on the preparation of the biennial report under this section.'.

(B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

`32920. Biennial report on testing quality.'.

(2) FIRST REPORT- The first report under section 32920 of title 49, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), shall be submitted to Congress in 2005.

(b) IMPROVEMENT OF PROCESS FOR MEASURING FUEL ECONOMY-

(1) STUDY-

(A) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY- The Secretary of Transportation shall provide for the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to carry out a study--

(i) to determine what practicable automobile fuel economy testing process provides the most accurate measures of actual automobile fuel economy in highway use, in urban use, and in combined highway and in urban use; and

(ii) to compare the average automobile fuel economy ratings calculated under the testing process determined under clause (i) for each category of automobile use described in that clause with the corresponding automobile fuel economy ratings calculated under the testing process in use under chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, on the date of the enactment of this Act.

(B) REPORT- Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study under subparagraph (A). The report shall include the following:

(i) DETERMINATIONS- The determination and comparisons made under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A).

(ii) ESTIMATE OF EQUIVALENT FUEL ECONOMY- An estimate of the average adjustment to automobile fuel economy ratings calculated under the testing process used for the purposes of chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, as of the date of enactment of this Act that is needed to conform those ratings closely to the automobile fuel economy ratings calculated under the testing process determined most accurate under subparagraph (A)(i).

(2) TESTING PROCEDURE REVISION-

(A) REQUIREMENT FOR REVISED PROCEDURE- Not later than 180 days after the report required under paragraph (1)(B) is submitted to Congress, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe in regulations--

(i) a revised testing procedure for accurately measuring the actual automobile fuel economy of each model of automobile; and

(ii) a requirement that the revised testing procedure be applied for the purposes of chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, to determine the average fuel economy of the automobiles manufactured in model years after model year 2006.

(B) MODEL FOR REVISED PROCEDURE- The testing procedure prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall be based on the testing process identified in the report required under paragraph (1)(B) as providing the most accurate measures of actual automobile fuel economy.

(3) COMPARABLE ADJUSTMENT IN AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS-

(A) REQUIREMENT FOR ADJUSTMENT- For automobiles manufactured in model years after model year 2006, the Secretary of Transportation shall amend each average fuel economy standard prescribed under section 32902 of title 49, United States Code, to take into account improved accuracy in the calculation of automobile fuel economy that results from use of the revised testing procedure applied as required under paragraph (2).

(B) CONDITION- The Secretary shall ensure that each average fuel economy standard applied as amended under subparagraph (A) is at least as stringent as the corresponding average fuel economy standard that the Secretary would have applied under section 32902 of title 49, United States Code, if the fuel economy testing procedure had not been revised as required under paragraph (2).

SEC. 6. STANDARDS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCY AUTOMOBILES.

Section 32917 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1) of subsection (b)--

(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--

(i) by striking `passenger'; and

(ii) by striking `to achieve' and all that follows and inserting `to achieve--'; and

(B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:

`(A) in the case of non-passenger automobiles, a fleet average fuel economy for that year of at least the average fuel economy standard applicable under subsection (a) of section 32902 of this title for the model year that includes January 1 of that fiscal year; and

`(B) in the case of passenger automobiles, a fleet average fuel economy for that year of at least the average fuel economy standard applicable under subsection (b) or (c) of such section for such model year.';

(2) in paragraph (2) of subsection (b)--

(A) by striking `Fleet average fuel economy is--' and inserting `For the purposes of paragraph (1), the fleet average fuel economy of non-passenger or passenger automobiles in a fiscal year is--';

(B) in subparagraph (A)--

(i) by striking `passenger automobiles' and inserting `the non-passenger automobiles or passenger automobiles, respectively, that are'; and

(ii) by striking `in a fiscal year' and inserting `in such fiscal year'; and

(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting `such' after `the number of'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(c) MINIMUM NUMBER OF EXCEPTIONALLY FUEL-EFFICIENT VEHICLES- The President shall prescribe regulations that require that--

`(1) at least 20 percent of the passenger automobiles leased for at least 60 consecutive days or bought by executive agencies in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel economy rating that is at least 5 miles per gallon higher than the average fuel economy standard applicable to the automobile under subsection (b) or (c) of section 32902 of this title for the model year that includes January 1 of that fiscal year; and

`(2) beginning in fiscal year 2009, at least 10,000 vehicles in the fleet of automobiles used by executive agencies in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel economy at least 5 miles per gallon higher than the average fuel economy standards applicable to such automobiles under section 32902 of this title for the model year that includes January 1 of that fiscal year.'.

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