1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1543 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3139
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Christine P. Barber and Joan Meschino
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act setting deadlines to electrify school buses and public fleets and establishing programs to
encourage private fleet electrification.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Christine P. Barber34th Middlesex1/18/2023Joan Meschino3rd Plymouth1/18/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/20/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex1/23/2023Steven Owens29th Middlesex1/28/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/1/2023Jennifer Balinsky Armini8th Essex2/4/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex2/8/2023David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex2/8/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/9/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex2/9/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/13/2023Jay D. Livingstone8th Suffolk2/14/2023Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/23/2023Christopher Richard Flanagan1st Barnstable2/24/2023Simon Cataldo14th Middlesex2/27/2023William J. Driscoll, Jr.7th Norfolk3/6/2023 1 of 5
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1543 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3139
By Representatives Barber of Somerville and Meschino of Hull, a petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 3139) of Christine P. Barber, Joan Meschino and others relative to setting deadlines
to electrify school buses and public fleets and establishing programs to encourage private fleet
electrification. Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act setting deadlines to electrify school buses and public fleets and establishing programs to
encourage private fleet electrification.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1.
2 Section 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is
3hereby amended by adding the following definitions:-
4 “Electric vehicles” are vehicles that rely solely on electric motors for propulsion and
5includes non-combustion vehicles.
6 “Emergency vehicle”, any publicly owned vehicle operated by a peace officer in
7performance of their duties, any authorized emergency vehicle used for fighting fires or
8responding to emergency fire calls, any publicly owned authorized emergency vehicle used by an
9emergency medical technician or paramedic, or used for towing or servicing other vehicles, or
10repairing damaged lighting or electrical equipment, any motor vehicle of mosquito abatement, 2 of 5
11vector control, or pest abatement agencies and used for those purposes, or any ambulance used
12by a private entity under contract with a public agency.
13 SECTION 2.
14 Section 1 of chapter 21N is hereby amended by inserting the following definitions:
15 “Electric vehicle”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90.
16 “Motor vehicles”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90.
17 “Motor vehicle fleet” is a set of at least twenty-five motor vehicles under the same
18ownership or control and registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
19 “Motor vehicle fleet serving a public purpose” is a motor vehicle fleet of which an
20portion is leased, rented, or contracted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or a municipality
21or any political subdivision thereof from a person or entity other than the Commonwealth of
22Massachusetts or a municipality to provide a public service or for its own use, including school
23buses and paratransit vehicles.
24 “Public motor vehicle fleet” is a motor vehicle fleet owned by the Commonwealth of
25Massachusetts, a transportation authority, a school district, a public university, a quasi-public
26agency, or a municipality or in the shared ownership of multiple municipalities, or any political
27subdivision thereof. A public motor vehicle fleet includes vehicles under the same ownership of
28the Commonwealth or a municipality, even if a portion of the motor vehicle fleet is under the
29management or control of separate secretariats, departments, agencies, or offices.
30 SECTION 3. 3 of 5
31 Chapter 21N is hereby amended by inserting after section 7 the following sections: -
32 Section 7A. The Secretary, in consultation with the department of energy resources,
33department of transportation, department of environmental protection, and department of public
34utilities, shall develop a transition to an electric school bus and motor vehicle fleet program and
35promulgate regulations to require the following motor vehicle fleet standards: (a) fifty percent of
36all public motor vehicle fleets and motor vehicle fleets serving a public purpose shall be electric
37vehicles by 2025; (b) seventy-five percent of all public motor vehicle fleets and motor vehicle
38fleets serving a public purpose shall be electric vehicles by 2030; and (c) one hundred percent of
39all public motor vehicle fleets and motor vehicle fleets serving a public purpose shall be electric
40vehicles by 2035.
41 In reaching the Commonwealth’s public fleet requirements defined in this section, the
42Secretary shall prioritize for electrification any vehicles cited as medium- or high-priority by the
43study commissioned pursuant to section 6 of chapter 448 of the acts of 2016. To meet the
44deadlines established in this section, the Secretary shall prioritize electric vehicle deployment in
45locations serving environmental justice populations as defined in section 62 of chapter 30 of the
46general laws.
47 Section 7B. Notwithstanding section 9A of chapter 7, vehicles subject to the electric
48vehicle public motor vehicle fleet program include: all public motor vehicle fleets, all motor
49vehicle fleets serving a public purpose, and all motor vehicle fleets that are owned, leased,
50rented, or contracted, by quasi-public agencies, excluding emergency vehicles. The Department
51of Energy Resources, with input from the Department of Environmental Protection, Department
52of Public Utilities, and Department of Transportation and the intergovernmental coordinating 4 of 5
53council established by the Acts of 2022, chapter 179, section 81, shall: (i) establish goals for
54private motor vehicle fleets conversion; (ii) identify and implement incentives to support electric
55vehicle purchases; (iii) work with owners of motor vehicle fleets used for public transportation
56licensed to operate in the Commonwealth pursuant to chapter 90 or chapter 159A to transition to
57electric vehicles; and (iv) work with owners of motor vehicle fleets used as commercial motor
58carriers, freight services, limousine services, and taxis registered to operate in the
59Commonwealth to transition to electric vehicles.
60 Section 7C. The Secretary, in consultation with the executive office for administration
61and finance, shall require that new motor vehicles purchased by the Commonwealth shall be
62electric vehicles according to the following deadlines: (i) sixty percent of all purchases in 2023;
63(ii) eighty percent of all purchases in 2024; (iii) ninety percent of all purchases in 2025; and (iv)
64one hundred percent of all purchases in 2026. The Secretary or designee, in consultation with the
65Executive Office of Administration and Finance shall establish a centralized joint procurement
66process for public fleets to reduce procurement costs.
67 Section 7D. The Department of Energy Resources shall design and implement an
68incentive program to encourage the conversion of private fleets to electric vehicles. Should an
69owner of a motor vehicle fleet fail to comply with electric vehicle program requirements, the
70Department of Energy Resources shall remove the incentive for that owner and require
71reimbursement of the incentive. As part of the incentive program, the Department of Energy
72Resources shall ensure a specific pool of funds, not less than ten percent of all funds allocated to
73the incentive program, is available to municipalities to promote the transition to electric vehicle
74motor vehicle fleet. 5 of 5
75 SECTION 4.
76 Beginning in 2024 and every five years thereafter through 2040, the Secretary shall
77submit a report to the Legislature that measures the Commonwealth’s progress towards
78implementation of the electric vehicle motor vehicle fleet program. The report shall: (i) assess
79the electric vehicle market in the Commonwealth; (ii) identify funding sources to serve as
80incentives for purchasing electric vehicles to offset costs to agencies, municipalities, and
81businesses; (iii) identify barriers to increased penetration of electric vehicles; and (iv)
82recommend legislative and regulatory action to address those barriers.
83 SECTION 5.
84 The Secretary may provide education, training, and technical assistance to motor vehicle
85fleet operators to support electric vehicle penetration. The Secretary may pursue federal funding
86opportunities to support electric vehicle penetration throughout the Commonwealth in
87accordance with the requirements of Chapter 21N.
88 SECTION 6.
89 The regulations required pursuant to sections 7A through 7D of said chapter 21N shall be
90promulgated and in effect not later than 270 days following the effective date.