S4077 2R

An Act establishing an electric school bus ²[pilot]² program, supplementing Title ²[34] 26² of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.1999, c.23.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) a. No later than six months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the ²[New Jersey Economic Development Authority, hereinafter, “authority,” in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, the]² Department of Environmental Protection²[, and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission,]² shall ²[develop and]² implement a three-year “Electric School Bus ²[Pilot]² Program” to determine the operational reliability and cost effectiveness of replacing diesel-powered school buses with electric school buses for the daily transportation of students.

b. On or after the date of implementation of the ²[pilot]² program developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and once each year for the next two years thereafter, ²[the authority, in consultation with the Department of Education and]² the Department of Environmental Protection²[,]² shall select for participation in the ²[pilot]² program no less than six school districts ²[or] and² school bus contractors that operate school buses, as described in section 1 of P.L.1996, c.96 (C.39:3B-1.1), so that during the third year of the ²[pilot]² program, no less than a total of 18 school districts ²[or] and² school bus contractors shall have been selected for participation in the ²[pilot]² program amongst the northern, central, and southern regions of the State. ²The department shall choose school districts and school bus contractors to participate in the program based on a competitive grant solicitation.

In each year, the department shall use its best efforts to select a mix of school districts that operate their own bus fleets and school districts that contract for school bus services. Any school bus contractor applying to participate in the program shall apply in conjunction with a specific school district.² In each year, at least ²[one] half² of the school districts or school bus contractors selected by the ²[authority] department, and at least half of the grant funding awarded by the department in each year² shall be located in a “low-income, urban, or environmental justice community” as defined in section 2 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-2) ²and from those selected, the department shall use its best efforts, in each year, to select, an equal number of grantees from the northern, central, and southern regions of the State respectively, subject to deviation based on the applicant pool. Grants shall be awarded in a manner that both prioritizes equity and tests a variety of technological and funding approaches, including but not limited to outright purchase, leased buses, leveraging of other funding sources, and vehicle-to-grid or vehicle-to-building technologies.² ²[The authority shall design a transparent outreach and application process to facilitate the selection of school districts and school bus contractors.]

For purposes of this subsection: “northern,” when referring to region of the State, means the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Union, Sussex, and Warren; “central,” when referring to regions of the State, means the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset; and “southern,” when referring to regions of the State, means the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, and Salem.²

c. (1) Under the ²[pilot]² program, the ²[authority] department² shall award grants to school districts or school bus contractors selected to participate in the ²[pilot]² program to purchase or lease electric school buses and to purchase or lease and install electric school bus charging infrastructure in coordination with any State department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as necessary. Pursuant to any outright purchase or lease arrangement entered into by a school district or school bus contractor participating in the ²[pilot]² program, an electric school bus and charging infrastructure vendor purchase or lease arrangement shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(a) an electric school bus having a minimum range of ²[110] 90² miles per full charge ²[and an on-board telematics monitoring system with external Internet interface], or 30 percent more range per full charge than the daily maximum miles used by the school district or school bus contractor, whichever is greater²;

(b) an electric school bus and charging infrastructure, as appropriate ²[, having “vehicle-to-grid” and “vehicle-to-building” electric vehicle charging capability, and any associated equipment and technology to meet that capability]²;

(c) appropriate training for bus maintenance personnel²[,] and² bus drivers, and ²[bus inspectors]² other relevant personnel; and

(d) electric school bus and charging infrastructure shop manuals and wiring schematics for troubleshooting and a complete list of component parts.

(2) Monies for the “Electric School Bus ²[Pilot]² Program” shall be used by the ²[authority] Department of Environmental Protection² to provide grants, pursuant to this subsection, ²over the three-year period. In the first year, grants shall be provided in accordance with this act² in the amount of $15,000,000 ²[per year,] for electrification. Subject to the availability of funds, grants shall continue to be provided in accordance with this act in the amount of $15,000,000 per year² for a total of $45,000,000 over the three-year period. The ²[authority] department² may use available monies to provide grants, pursuant to this subsection, singly or in combination, from the following sources: societal benefits charge revenues received pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60); ²[the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Incentive Fund established pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-7); ]² or the “Global Warming Solutions Fund” established pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-50)²; any appropriations made by the Legislature for the program established pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any other sources of available funding². ²Up to five percent of the monies made available to the program may be used to administer the ²[pilot]² program.

The department shall determine the amount of each grant provided pursuant to this subsection after consulting with government and education stakeholders and non-profit policy experts and shall award grants in a manner that provides for the most efficient and highest efficacy use of the grant.

The department shall also collect data from on-board telematics monitoring systems in order to evaluate parameters such as idle time, driving time, energy consumption, and frequency of charging. All electric school buses deployed by grant recipients shall have telematic system capabilities.²

d. ²[The] At least once every six months, the² school districts or school bus contractors selected to participate in the ²[pilot]² program shall submit ²[quarterly reports] a report² to the ²[authority] department² detailing the cost to operate the electric school buses, including electric school bus maintenance records and transponder data, and details of any reliability issues related to the operation of the electric school buses. ²The first report shall be submitted six months after the school district or school bus contractor first begins operating electric school buses.²

e. (1) The ²[authority] department² shall establish a committee, chaired by a representative of the ²[authority] department², which also includes a representative of the Board of Public Utilities ²[, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission] and the Economic Development Authority². The committee shall meet ²[monthly] at least monthly² to review the ²[quarterly]²reports ², troubleshoot,² and recommend solutions to any issue raised in a ²[quarterly]² report submitted by a ²[pilot]² program participant ²or other issues regarding the program. Twice per year the committee shall meet and consult with the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.² The ²[authority] department² shall collect any additional information and data necessary to complete any report required to be submitted to the Governor and Legislature pursuant to subsection f. of this section.

(2) The committee shall ²[require] permit² a recipient of any grant under any State agency-administered program for the provision of an electric school bus and electric school bus charging infrastructure prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to submit any additional information and data to the committee to compliment any data received by the committee from pilot program participants pursuant to this subsection.

f. The ²[authority] department², in collaboration with the Board of Public Utilities²[, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission,] and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority² shall ²[publish and]² submit an “Electric School Bus ²[Pilot]² Program” report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature. The ²[initial]² report shall be submitted within ²[14] 6² months after the ²[effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and every eight months thereafter throughout the duration of the pilot] conclusion of the² program.

²[Each] The department may use available monies, singly or in combination from the following sources, to procure professional services to assist with the development of the report: societal benefits charge revenues received pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60); the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Incentive Fund established pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-7); or the “Global Warming Solutions Fund” established pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-50).

The² submitted report shall include:

(1) a description and comprehensive review of the ²[pilot]² program, including but not limited to, an evaluation of the ²[pilot]² program’s effectiveness;

(2) a summary description of all grants ²[and loans used for the purchase or lease of electric school buses from any State] provided under the² program, ²including² the names of ²[those] the² recipients, the amount of funding each ²[State program]² recipient received, ²[and]² the current status of the funds provided to each recipient², and an itemization of the total project budget including vehicle costs, hardware costs, installation costs, training costs, and administrative costs²;

(3) ²[an analysis of the data received from each pilot program grantee and the steps taken to fix problems that have been identified by the analysis provided by the grantee;

(4)]² an analysis of the operational reliability and cost effectiveness of the use of electric school buses and charging infrastructure by each grantee ²and steps taken by the grantee to fix any operational problems²;

²[(5)] (4)² an ²[analysis of the potential environmental] estimate of the emission² benefits of ²the² electric school buses and charging infrastructure ²funded under this program²;

²[(6)] (5)² any ²[improvements in the] preliminary findings from grant recipients pertaining to² design or operation of electric school buses and charging infrastructure ²[that may be needed] and potential improvements²to make the buses and charging infrastructure safer, more economical or environmentally advantageous;

²[(7)] (6) as applicable, depending on deployment of grant recipients,² an analysis of the potential costs and benefits of using electric school bus batteries for storing power to be returned to the electric grid or to school buildings during periods of peak electric power demand;

²[(8) a description of the vendor management system and the cross-vendor comparison used to assess] (7) an assessment of² reliability ²[and costs between the different vendors supplying] of² electric school buses and charging infrastructure; and

(9)] (8)² an analysis of any additional external changes that the use of electric school buses and charging infrastructure may require regarding electric service rate schedules, school bus inspection standards, or any other major considerations.

In addition to the information included pursuant to paragraphs (1) through ²[(9)] (8)² of this subsection, the final report shall include ²[a recommendation of how to make the pilot program permanent by expanding the program Statewide through the] recommendations regarding the² establishment of grant and loan programs to provide assistance to school districts and school bus contractors for the replacement of their bus fleets ²[as school buses come to the end of their legal life cycles] and on optimization of electric school bus grant programs to most efficiently and effectively distribute available funds to maximize environmental and health benefits².

²[g. The authority, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, the Commissioner of Transportation, the Commissioner of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the collection and reporting of information to the authority, pursuant to subsections d. through f. of this section, as determined by the authority.] The final report shall also include recommendations for how additional funding may be distributed in the most efficient and effective manner to maximize the number of electric school buses operating in the State.²

2. Section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60) is amended to read as follows:

12. a. Simultaneously with the starting date for the implementation of retail choice as determined by the board pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-53), the board shall permit each electric public utility and gas public utility to recover some or all of the following costs through a societal benefits charge that shall be collected as a non-bypassable charge imposed on all electric public utility customers and gas public utility customers, as appropriate:

(1) The costs for the social programs for which rate recovery was approved by the board prior to April 30, 1997. For the purpose of establishing initial unbundled rates pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-52), the societal benefits charge shall be set to recover the same level of social program costs as is being collected in the bundled rates of the electric public utility on the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.). The board may subsequently order, pursuant to its rules and regulations, an increase or decrease in the societal benefits charge to reflect changes in the costs to the utility of administering existing social programs. Nothing in P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) shall be construed to abolish or change any social program required by statute or board order or rule or regulation to be provided by an electric public utility. Any such social program shall continue to be provided by the utility until otherwise provided by law, unless the board determines that it is no longer appropriate for the electric public utility to provide the program, or the board chooses to modify the program;

(2) Nuclear plant decommissioning costs;

(3) The costs of demand side management programs that were approved by the board pursuant to its demand side management regulations prior to April 30, 1997. For the purpose of establishing initial unbundled rates pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-52), the societal benefits charge shall be set to recover the same level of demand side management program costs as is being collected in the bundled rates of the electric public utility on the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.). Within four months of the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.), and every four years thereafter, the board shall initiate a proceeding and cause to be undertaken a comprehensive resource analysis of energy programs, and within eight months of initiating such proceeding and after notice, provision of the opportunity for public comment, and public hearing, the board, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall determine the appropriate level of funding for energy efficiency , plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and Class I renewable energy programs that provide environmental benefits above and beyond those provided by standard offer or similar programs in effect as of the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.); provided that the funding for such programs be no less than 50 percent of the total Statewide amount being collected in electric and gas public utility rates for demand side management programs on the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) for an initial period of four years from the issuance of the first comprehensive resource analysis following the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al..), and provided that 25 percent of this amount shall be used to provide funding for Class I renewable energy projects in the State. In each of the following fifth through eighth years, the Statewide funding for such programs shall be no less than 50 percent of the total Statewide amount being collected in electric and gas public utility rates for demand side management programs on the effective date of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.), except that as additional funds are made available as a result of the expiration of past standard offer or similar commitments, the minimum amount of funding for such programs shall increase by an additional amount equal to 50 percent of the additional funds made available, until the minimum amount of funding dedicated to such programs reaches $140,000,000 total. After the eighth year the board shall make a determination as to the appropriate level of funding for these programs. Such programs shall include a program to provide financial incentives for the installation of Class I renewable energy projects in the State, and the board, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall determine the level and total amount of such incentives as well as the renewable technologies eligible for such incentives which shall include, at a minimum, photovoltaic, wind, and fuel cells. The board shall simultaneously determine, as a result of the comprehensive resource analysis, the programs to be funded by the societal benefits charge, the level of cost recovery and performance incentives for old and new programs and whether the recovery of demand side management programs' costs currently approved by the board may be reduced or extended over a longer period of time. The board shall make these determinations taking into consideration existing market barriers and environmental benefits, with the objective of transforming markets, capturing lost opportunities, making energy services more affordable for low income customers and eliminating subsidies for programs that can be delivered in the marketplace without electric public utility and gas public utility customer funding;

(4) Manufactured gas plant remediation costs, which shall be determined initially in a manner consistent with mechanisms in the remediation adjustment clauses for the electric public utility and gas public utility adopted by the board; [and]

(5) The cost, of consumer education, as determined by the board, which shall be in an amount that, together with the consumer education surcharge imposed on electric power supplier license fees pursuant to subsection h. of section 29 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-78) and the consumer education surcharge imposed on gas supplier license fees pursuant to subsection g. of section 30 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-79), shall be sufficient to fund the consumer education program established pursuant to section 36 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-85); and

(6) No later than six months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a portion of the costs of the “Electric School Bus ²[Pilot]² Program” administered by the ²[New Jersey Economic Development Authority] Department of Environmental Protection², for the purposes provided in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. There is established in the Board of Public Utilities a nonlapsing fund to be known as the "Universal Service Fund." The board shall determine: the level of funding and the appropriate administration of the fund; the purposes and programs to be funded with monies from the fund; which social programs shall be provided by an electric public utility as part of the provision of its regulated services which provide a public benefit; whether the funds appropriated to fund the "Lifeline Credit Program" established pursuant to P.L.1979, c.197 (C.48:2-29.15 et seq.), the "Tenants' Lifeline Assistance Program" established pursuant to P.L.1981, c.210 [(C.48:2-29.31 et seq.)] (C.48:2-29.30 et seq.), the funds received pursuant to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s.8621 et seq., and funds collected by electric and [natural] gas public utilities, as authorized by the board, to offset uncollectible electricity and natural gas bills should be deposited in the fund; and whether new charges should be imposed to fund new or expanded social programs.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.362, s.13)

¹3. This act shall take effect immediately.¹