Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) has proposed the Light-Duty Natural Gas Vehicle Parity Act of 2018 (HR 6476), a companion to the Senate version of the bill (S 3226) introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). Both bills are designed to ensure that federal regulations treat light-duty NGVs and electric vehicles equally, which would level the playing field for NGVs. The bills would also remove the eligibility-based design restrictions that are imposed on dual-fuel NGVs. These two bills follow the introduction in June of HR 5959, the Natural Gas Parity Act, which targets heavy-duty trucks and fleet vehicles.
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) submitted a proposal to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for temporarily increasing federal gasoline and diesel taxes to partially fund the Highway Trust Fund infrastructure program. It would increase the gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon and the diesel tax by 20 cents per gallon, phased in over three years, and then expire in 2028. The proposal would also increase the tax on the wholesale price of electric vehicle batteries by 10 percent. It does not raise taxes on natural gas fuels.
NGVAmerica has posted a webinar for fleets that covers details about funding opportunities for new NGVs through Volkswagen settlement grant programs, including general requirements for submitting funding applications.
Reversing his predecessor Scott Pruitt’s move to allow the sale of more dirty “glider” trucks, acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced that the agency would enforce an Obama-era rule limiting production and sale of remanufactured diesel big rigs to 300 finished gliders a year per manufacturer. Glider trucks are fitted with used diesel engines that predate emission controls and can release about 40 percent more particulate matter and 10 percent more NOx than is allowed for new trucks.