House Bill 1510

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH GOALS TO PROMOTE PUBLIC ACCESS TO COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG) FUELING STATIONS AROUND THE STATE; TO AMEND AMEND SECTION 25-1-77, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE BUREAU OF FLEET MANAGEMENT TO ENTER INTO CERTAIN AGREEMENTS TO ATTAIN THE GOALS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) The Legislature declares that it is in the public interest to promote public access to compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations in the state.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of public access CNG fueling stations located along the interstate highway system in the state.

(3) It shall be the goal to have at least one public CNG fueling station located approximately every one hundred (100) miles along the entire interstate highway system in the state by the year 2016. The goal shall increase to at least one public CNG fueling station approximately every fifty (50) miles by the year 2026.

(4) The Department of Finance and Administration through the Bureau of Fleet Management may take steps to meet the goal set forth in this section by cooperating with or entering into partnership agreements with private entities to construct the necessary CNG fueling stations for use by the public, state agencies and political subdivisions of the state. Any agreement to construct a CNG fueling station pursuant to this section shall be subject to the public bidding requirement.

SECTION 2. Section 25-1-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

25-1-77. (1) There is created the Bureau of Fleet Management within the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management, Department of Finance and Administration, for the purposes of coordinating and promoting efficiency and economy in the purchase, lease, rental, acquisition, use, maintenance and disposal of vehicles by state agencies. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration may employ a Fleet Management Officer to manage the bureau and carry out its purposes. The bureau may employ other suitable and competent personnel as necessary. The bureau shall encourage the use of fuel efficient or hybrid vehicles appropriate for the state agency's intended purpose and, when feasible, the use of alternative fuels or energy sources, including, but not limited to, ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas or electric power. The bureau shall prepare a fiscal analysis of the cost-effectiveness of using alternative fuel or energy source vehicles by state agencies, and submit a report of that fiscal analysis to the Legislature by December 15, 2009. Not later than July 1, 2014, at least seventy-five percent (75%) of all vehicles to which the bureau holds title in the name of the state must have a fuel economy estimate by the United States Environmental Protection Agency of forty (40) miles per gallon or higher for highway driving.

(2) The Bureau of Fleet Management shall perform the following duties:

(a) To hold title in the name of the State of Mississippi to all vehicles currently in possession of state agencies as defined in Section 25-9-107(d) and to assign vehicles to such agencies for use; however, the bureau shall exempt any agency or agency vehicles from the provisions of this paragraph (a) if it determines that state or federal law requires that title be vested only in the agency;

(b) To establish rules and regulations for state agency use of vehicles;

(d) To acquire fleet management software and require agencies to provide necessary information for the bureau to properly monitor the size, use, maintenance and disposal of the state's fleet of vehicles; the bureau shall communicate regularly with the fleet managers of each state agency to determine strengths and weaknesses of the various fleet operations; the bureau shall disseminate information to the agencies so that each can take advantage of any beneficial practices being incorporated at other entities; the bureau shall promulgate rules and regulations concerning the mileage reimbursement practices of each state agency;

(e) To carry out responsibilities relative to budget recommendations as provided in Section 27-103-129;

(f) To reassign vehicles in the possession of any state agency if the bureau believes that another state agency can make more efficient use of a vehicle; however, the state agency receiving the reassigned vehicle shall pay to the previous agency's special fund, or if no special fund exists to the State General Fund, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) wholesale value for the vehicle or the estimated amount for which the vehicle would have sold at auction, as shall be determined by the bureau, whichever is less;

(g) To investigate at any time the vehicle usage practices of any state agency; and

(h) To require each agency to submit to the bureau a vehicle acquisition/use/disposal plan on an annual basis. From the plans received, the bureau shall evaluate the proposed plans and shall submit a recommendation to the Legislature prior to January 1 of each year.

(3) No state department, institution or agency shall purchase, rent, lease or acquire any motor vehicle, regardless of the source of funds from which the motor vehicle is to be purchased, except under authority granted by the Department of Finance and Administration. The Bureau of Fleet Management, Department of Finance and Administration, shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the purchase, rental, lease or acquisition of any motor vehicle by a state department, institution or agency with regard to the appropriateness of the vehicle to its intended use. The Bureau of Fleet Management, Department of Finance and Administration, shall only grant authority to purchase, rent, lease or acquire a motor vehicle which is the lowest cost vehicle to carry out its intended use. Before the disposal or sale of any vehicle, the Bureau of Fleet Management shall make a determination that the lifetime use and mileage of the vehicle has been maximized and that it would not be feasible for another state agency to use the vehicle.

(4) The department, institution or agency shall maintain proper documentation which provides the intended use of the vehicle and the basis for choosing the vehicle. Such documentation shall show that the department, institution or agency made diligent efforts to purchase, rent, lease or acquire a vehicle that is the lowest cost vehicle for its intended use. Such documentation shall be updated as needed when the intended use of the vehicle or any other facts concerning the vehicle are changed. All such documentation shall be approved by the State Fleet Officer prior to purchase, rental, lease or acquisition or change in use of any vehicle and shall be maintained and made available for review by the State Auditor, any other reviewing agency and the Legislature. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall immediately notify the department head of any agency that has a vehicle found to be in violation of the bureau's rules and regulations. At the same time, the bureau shall notify the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Lieutenant Governor of its findings regarding any such vehicle. If the violation is not rectified within five (5) days of the notice, then the bureau may seize the vehicle and dispose of it as the bureau deems to be in the best interest of the State of Mississippi.

(5) On or before September 1 of each year, the Bureau of Fleet Management shall prepare and deliver to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee a report containing any irregularities that it finds concerning purchases of state-owned vehicles.

(6) The Department of Public Safety and the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks may retain any vehicle seized pursuant to the forfeiture laws of this state, and the total number of vehicles assigned to each such agency shall not be reduced by the number of seized vehicles which the agency retains.

(7) The Bureau of Fleet Management, upon request, shall grant an exemption from the provisions of this section for only any vehicle assigned to a sworn officer of the Department of Public Safety and used in undercover operations when the bureau determines that compliance could jeopardize the life, health or safety of the sworn officer.

(8) The Bureau of Fleet Management is authorized to enter into partnership agreements with private entities to construct the necessary compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations for this state, as prescribed under Section 1 of this act.

(9) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any state institution of higher learning.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.