42 U.S.C. § 16091 — Clean school bus program

(a) Definitions. This section defines several terms used later. "Administrator" means the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Alternative fuel" means liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or biofuels. A "clean school bus" is a school bus that the Administrator certifies either reduces emissions and runs at least partly on alternative fuel, or is a zero-emission school bus. An "eligible contractor" is a for-profit, not-for-profit, or nonprofit business that can sell, lease, license, or service clean or zero-emission buses (or the equipment to charge, fuel, or maintain them) to bus owners, or that can arrange financing for those deals. "Eligible recipient" covers several groups: local or state government bodies that run school bus service or buy buses; eligible contractors; nonprofit school transportation associations; charter schools handling their own bus purchases; and Indian Tribes, tribal organizations, or tribally controlled schools that run bus service for Bureau-funded schools or buy their own buses. For contractors and nonprofit associations, the Administrator must set timely rules requiring notice to, and approval from, the public school systems the buses will serve. A "high-need local educational agency" is a school district that the Secretary of Education identifies as having a high percentage of children counted under the federal poverty-based funding formula in section 6333(c) of title 20, using the best data available. "School bus" has the meaning given in the federal motor vehicle safety law (49 U.S.C. § 30125(a)). A "zero-emission school bus" is a school bus the Administrator certifies to have a drivetrain that, no matter how it's driven, releases zero exhaust of any listed air pollutant (or its precursors) and zero greenhouse gas. (b) Program for replacement of existing school buses with clean school buses and zero-emission school buses. (1) Establishment: The Administrator must run a program that awards, on a competitive basis: grants and rebates to eligible recipients to replace old buses with clean school buses; grants and rebates to replace old buses with zero-emission buses; contracts with eligible contractors to provide rebates for clean-bus replacements; and contracts with eligible contractors to provide rebates for zero-emission-bus replacements. (2) Allocation of funds: Each year, the Administrator must give 50% of program money to replacing buses with zero-emission buses, and 50% to replacing buses with either clean or zero-emission buses. (3) Considerations: For the second half of the money, the Administrator must weigh the lowest overall replacement cost, local conditions like route length and weather, which technologies cut emissions the most, and whether the funding will scale up new technology or make it as affordable as old technology — and no single factor gets to dominate. (4) Priority of applications: The Administrator may favor applicants who plan to replace buses serving a high-need school district, a Bureau-funded school, or a district getting certain federal payments for children living on Indian land; who serve rural or low-income areas; or who plan to bring in extra money through public-private partnerships, other grants, or school bonds. (5) Use of school bus fleet: Every bus bought with this money must stay in the fleet it was bought for at least 5 years — unless the award went to a contractor whose contract with the school district ends early, in which case the bus can move to another district that qualifies for the same or higher priority under paragraph (4), as long as the geographic limits below are respected. The buses must be maintained, run, and charged or fueled the way the manufacturer or the state says to. And no clean or zero-emission bus bought this way can be built or modified with equipment — like an unvented diesel heater — that pollutes the air inside the bus. (6) Awards: The Administrator can cover up to 100% of the cost of replacing buses and building charging or fueling infrastructure. When deciding whether to give a grant, a rebate, or both, the Administrator picks whichever best helps replace the buses. (7) Deployment and distribution: The Administrator must try to get clean and zero-emission buses used nationwide and spread the awards geographically. No state's eligible recipients can receive, combined, more than 10% of a given year's program funding. (8) Annual report: By January 31 each year, the Administrator must tell Congress how many applications came in, how much money went out and to whom, what criteria were used to choose recipients, and anything else the Administrator thinks is useful. (c) Education and outreach. (1) Within 120 days of November 15, 2021, the Administrator had to build an education and outreach program explaining the awards program. (2) That outreach program must be built together with interested stakeholders. (3) It must: explain how to apply for awards and meet award requirements; describe the available technologies and their benefits; explain the costs and benefits of joining the program; share best practices and technical information about buying and using clean and zero-emission buses, building the charging or fueling infrastructure (including planning with the local electric utility), and workforce training and registered apprenticeships that meet specific federal labor rules — plus anything else the Administrator thinks is needed; and include relevant information from the annual report described above. (d) Administrative costs. The Administrator can spend up to 3% of each year's program money on running the program itself. (e) Regulations. The Administrator can issue whatever regulations, guidance, forms, and instructions are needed to run the program well, make sure it cuts emissions, and maximize public health benefits. (f) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized $1,000,000,000 for each year from 2022 through 2026, staying available until spent. Of each year's billion dollars, $500 million must go to clean or zero-emission buses, and $500 million must go specifically to zero-emission buses.