BILL NUMBER: S2492
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
enacting the advanced clean fleets law
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To enact a New York version of California's landmark Advanced Clean
Fleets regulation to deploy zero emission medium- and heavy-duty vehi-
cles everywhere feasible
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 19-0306-b of the
Environmental Conservation Law to provide that it shall be a goal of the
state that 50% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles offered for sale or
lease, or sold or leased, for registration be zero-emissions by 2031,
that 80% of such vehicles offered for sale or lease or sold or leased be
zero-emission by 2036, and that 100% of such vehicles offered for sale
or lease or sold or leased by zero-emission by 2041 for all operations
where feasible. This amendment essentially condenses the zero-emission
vehicle (ZEV) transition goals created in Ch. 423 of 2021, which stated
that 100% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles should be ZEVs by 2045
wherever feasible.
Section two of the bill makes conforming amendments to paragraph b of
subdivision 2 of section 19-0306-b of the Environmental Conservation
Law.
Section three of the bill-adds a new section 19-0306-c to the Environ-
mental Conservation Law to create the Advanced Clean Fleets Law for
medium- and heavy-duty vehicles:
Subdivision one of this section names it the Advanced Clean Fleets Law.
Subdivision two of this section sets definitions.
Subdivision three of this section provides that all fleet operators
covered by this act shall produce a report to the Department of Environ-
mental Conservation (DEC) within one year on the makeup of the opera-
tor's truck inventory and how it is used.
Paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this section provides that,
commencing in the year 2029, no fleet operator may newly purchase or
lease a drayage truck, defined as on-road vehicles that transport cargo
between a maritime terminal and intermodal rail facility, distribution
center, or other near-port location, unless such truck is a zero-emis-
sion vehicle (ZEV) or near zero-emission vehicle (NZEV) model.
Paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section provides that,
commencing in the year 2037, no fleet operator shall maintain or drive a
drayage truck upon the public highways of this state unless it is a ZEV
or NZEV model.
Paragraph (c ) of subdivision four of this section provides that,
commencing in the year 2042, no fleet operator of any medium- or heavy-
duty vehicle shall maintain or drive such vehicles in this state unless
they are ZEV or NZEV models.
Paragraph (d) of subdivision four of this section provides that,
commencing in the year 2029, no high priority fleet operator, defined as
entities with $50 million or more in annual gross revenues and who own,
operate, or control at least one vehicle with a gross vehicle weight
rating of greater than 8,500 pounds or who own, operate, or control at
least fifty vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than
8,500 pounds, shall newly purchase or lease a truck unless it is a ZEV
or NZEV model.
Also commencing in 2029, high priority fleet operators must begin
replacing non-ZEV or NZEV models that have reached the end of their
useful life, defined as occurring when the model year for the truck has
exceeded eighteen years, or such truck has been driven more than 800,000
miles, whichever is sooner. High priority fleet operators shall not be
required to replace trucks at the end of their useful lives, however, if
they deem such replacement to be unnecessary, i.e. if they are downsiz-
ing their fleet and don't need a replacement.
Paragraph (e) of subdivision four of this section allows the DEC Commis-
sioner to exempt fleet operators from the requirements of paragraphs (a)
through (d) of this subdivision if no such ZEV or NZEV model is avail-
able which meets the needs of the operator. The department must also
maintain a list online of truck models not yet available as ZEVs or
NZEVs.
Subdivision five of this section provides that DEC shall establish a
navigation program to help fleet operators comply with the provisions of
this act, which shall include information about available ZEV or NZEV
models as well as information on programs to assist with the purchase or
lease of ZEV or NZEV trucks. The department must also conduct an
outreach and education campaign to inform fleet operators about the
provisions of this act.
Subdivision six of this section provides that DEC shall publish an annu-
al report on the state of the trucking industry's transition to ZEV or
NZEV models as well as estimated aggregate annual mileage and tailpipe
emissions.
Subdivision seven of this section sets civil fines for violations
between $500 and $18,000 for a first offense and up to $26,000 for
subsequent offenses. These fine levels are based on similar penalties
prescribed in Environmental Conservation Law § 71-2103 for illegally
selling, leasing, importing, delivering, purchasing, or registering
vehicles which violate the state's emission standards. The Commissioner
may in their discretion grant a grace period of up to one year for an
operator to come into compliance.
Section four sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's landmark 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
(CLCPA) set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions economywide 40%
by 2030 and 80% by 2050 from 1990 levels. The Climate Action Council's
Final Scoping Plan, which is the planning document that lays out a road-
map for how New York State may achieve these goals, calls for 40% or
more of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales and 10% of medium- and
heavy-duty vehicles total to be zero-emission by 2030 (Scoping Plan:
Full Report, December 2022, New York State Climate Action Council,
p.147.). By 2050, the scoping plan declares, the transportation sector
must shift almost completely to ZEVs (Scoping Plan: Full Report, Decem-
ber 2022, New York State Climate Action Council, p.148). Recognizing the
need for this transition, New York has recently begun to offer several
programs to entice MHD vehicle operators to purchase ZEV models, includ-
ing the Drive Clean Rebate, which offers up to $2,000 for EV purchases
or leases; the New York State Truck Voucher Incentive program, offering
up to $385,000 for the purchase or lease of EV trucks or buses, and the
Charge Ready NY program, offering $4,000 per Level 2 charging port
(Scoping Plan: Full Report, December 2022, New York State Climate
Action Council, pp. 150-151).
The policy envisioned in this bill, which is recommended on pp. 159 -
160 of the scoping plan, is based on California's groundbreaking
Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, which was formally adopted by
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in April 2023. CARB designed
the ZEV purchasing goals of the ACF with the fleet owners most able to
shoulder the cost of ZEV purchases as well as those that pose the great-
est public health concerns in mind. For this reason, the ACF sets earli-
er 100% ZEV timetables for "drayage trucks," which are vehicles that
make short-distance trips from seaports or rail yards in overburdened
communities, as well as "high priority" fleets, defined as entities with
$50 million or more in gross annual revenue and that own, operate, or
control at least one vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater
than 8,500 pounds or entities that own, operate, or control at least 50
or more vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than
8,500 pounds.
The ACF Law envisioned by this legislation takes a similar approach,
setting the following fleet requirements for different types of opera-
tors:
- By 2029: All newly purchased or leased drayage trucks must be zero-em-
ission (ZEV) or near zero-emission vehicles (NZEV)
- Also by 2029: All newly purchased or leased trucks in high priority
fleets must be ZEV or NZEV and high priority fleet operators must begin
replacing current trucks with such models once they reach the end of
their useful lives
- By 2037: All existing drayage trucks must be ZEV or NZEV
- By 2042: All medium- and heavy-duty trucks everywhere must be ZEV or
NZEV
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), who would be in
charge of enforcing the law, would have discretion to waive the above
requirements if they determine that no ZEV or NZEV model exists which
meets a fleet operator's needs.
Fleet operators would also be required to submit a report to DEC detail-
ing the current makeup of their inventory, estimated daily and annual
mileage, details on storage facilities, and other information, and DEC
in turn would be required to publish an annual report on the state of
the trucking industry's compliance with this act. Willful noncompliance
with the Advanced Clean Fleets Law would be subject to the same civil
fines in place for violations of the state's vehicle emissions standards
in ECL § 71-2103.
Replicating the ZEV purchasing requirements of California's historic
Advanced Clean Fleets rule is both smart public policy, ensuring that
the state is better able to meet the carbon reduction emissions of the
CLCPA, and necessary for social and environmental justice, as the heav-
iest trucks are disproportionately concentrated in communities already
bearing the brunt of air and noise pollution. As the CLCPA's draft scop-
ing plan notes, "(d)iesel trucks and port equipment are one of the larg-
est sources of local air pollution in Disadvantaged Communities.
Although they comprise only a small portion of total vehicles in the
State, diesel trucks and buses are responsible for 30% of total particu-
late matter and NOX emissions from mobile sources. Replacing (them) with
ZEV trucks...is a critical component of climate justice and would have a
substantial impact on improving air quality statewide, especially in
Disadvantaged Communities."
(Scoping Plan: Full Report, December 2022, New York State Climate Action
Council, p. 159). With a pandemic-fueled surge in overnight package
deliveries, this burden in disadvantaged communities is only expected to
grow in the coming decades. Ultimately, an Advanced Clean Fleets law can
work in tandem with other policies such as investments into alternative
modes of freight transportation to solve our state and city's last mile
trucking program. Bills such as this represent a commonsense step
forward on the path to a fossil fuel-free future.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S6298A - Referred to Environmental Conservation
2023: S6298 - Referred to Environmental Conservation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S2492: 19-0306-b environmental conservation law, 19-0306-b(1) environmental conservation law