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An Act To Reduce Fuel Costs to State and Local Government
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §1812-E, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 207, is amended to read:
§ 1812-E.Purchasing of vehicles; fuel efficiency
Except for cars and light duty trucks purchased for law enforcement and other special use purposes as designated by the State Purchasing Agent, theThe State Purchasing Agent or any other department or agency of the State that has purchasing authority may not purchase or lease any car or light duty truck for use by the State or any department or agency of the State unless:the car has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 45 miles per gallon and the light duty truck has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 35 miles per gallon.
 
1.  1993 standards.     Beginning January 1, 1993, the car has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 30 miles per gallon and the light duty truck has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 24 miles per gallon;
 
2.  1997 standards.     Beginning January 1, 1997, the car has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 38 miles per gallon and the light duty truck has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 30 miles per gallon; and
 
3.  2000 standards.     Beginning January 1, 2000, the car has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 45 miles per gallon and the light duty truck has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 35 miles per gallon.
For the purposes of this section, the terms "car" means a vehicle classified as a car and "light duty truck" have the same meaning as in the federal Department of Energy Publication DOE/CE-0019/10, or any successor publicationmeans a vehicle classified as a truck for the purposes of the fuel economy information published by the United States Department of Energy pursuant to 49 United States Code, Section 32908(c)(3).
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §911  is enacted to read:
§ 911. County purchase of vehicles; fuel efficiency
Beginning January 1, 2018, a board of county commissioners or a department or agency of a county that has purchasing authority may not purchase or lease any car or light duty truck for use by the county or a department or agency of the county unless the car has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 45 miles per gallon and the light duty truck has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 35 miles per gallon. For the purposes of this section, "car" means a vehicle classified as a car and "light duty truck" means a vehicle classified as a truck for the purposes of the fuel economy information published by the United States Department of Energy pursuant to 49 United States Code, Section 32908(c)(3).
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5731  is enacted to read:
§ 5731. Municipal purchase of vehicles; fuel efficiency
Beginning January 1, 2018, a municipality or a department or agency of a municipality that has purchasing authority may not purchase or lease any car or light duty truck for use by the municipality or a department or agency of the municipality unless the car has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 45 miles per gallon and the light duty truck has a manufacturer's estimated highway mileage rating of at least 35 miles per gallon. For the purposes of this section, "car" means a vehicle classified as a car and "light duty truck" means a vehicle classified as a truck for the purposes of the fuel economy information published by the United States Department of Energy pursuant to 49 United States Code, Section 32908(c)(3).
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the law regarding state government purchases of cars and light duty trucks with respect to fuel efficiency requirements. The bill removes the current exception from the fuel efficiency requirement for vehicles purchased for law enforcement and other special use purposes. The bill also establishes fuel efficiency requirements, at the same level as the state requirements, for county and municipal government purchases of cars and light duty trucks.