09-R311
2009 -- S 0491 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/25/09
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
CREATING A
SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION TO IDENTIFY
PROGRAMS THAT
REDUCE DIESEL POLLUTION LEVELS FROM HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES USED TO PERFORM STATE
WORK
Introduced
By: Senators Miller, Sosnowski,
Date Introduced: February 25, 2009
RESOLVED,
That a Senate commission be and the same is hereby
created consisting of
sixteen (16) members all appointed by the President of the
Senate as follows: three (3) of whom
shall be members of the Senate to be appointed by the
President of the Senate not more than two
(2) of
whom shall be from the same political party; one of whom shall be the Director
of the
Department of
Transportation or his/her designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the
Department of Environmental
Management or his/her designee; one of whom shall be the
Director of the Department
of Motor Vehicles or his/her designee; one of whom shall be a
representative from an environmental organization, to be appointed
by the President of the
Senate; one of whom shall
be a representative from a health advocacy organization, to be
appointed by the President of the Senate; of whom shall be a
medical/respiratory health
physician, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one
of whom shall be a representative
of organized labor, to be appointed by the President of
the Senate; one of whom shall be a
representative from the road building industry, to be appointed by
the President of the Senate; one
of whom shall be a representative from the Independent
Contractors Association, to be appointed
by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be a representative
from the building trades, to
be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom
shall be a representative from the
building contractors, to be appointed by the President of the
Senate; one of whom shall be a
representative from an urban community, to be appointed by the
President of the Senate; and one
of whom shall be a representative from the Rhode Island
Home Builders Association, to be
appointed by the President of the Senate.
The purpose of said
commission shall be to study the impact of and solutions for
addressing diesel emission pollution from heavy duty vehicles,
and to identify programs the state
can implement to reduce diesel pollution levels from the
heavy duty vehicles used to perform
state contracted work.
Said report shall
include, but not be limited to, findings and recommendations that
include the following:
(1) A summary of the
health impacts of diesel emissions from medical, environmental
and social service publications that have documented
studies to support the findings;
(2) A program to
inventory all heavy duty diesel vehicles in the state, including diesel
trucks and equipment used at ports, shipping terminals or
rail yards, and the appropriate entity to
implement such a program;
(3) A review of other
states in the region that have successfully addressed the impact of
diesel pollution from heavy duty vehicles including any
state funded programs and the entities
responsible for participating and implementing these programs;
(4) The appropriate
emissions control technology that shall be used on heavy duty diesel
vehicles used in publicly funded state work in order to
minimize and decrease the levels of diesel
particulate matter impacting the air quality of
about the estimated cost of retrofits for specific types of
vehicles, the levels of technology
currently available for retrofitting vehicles, and the
estimated amount of time required to retrofit a
vehicle;
(5) The types of
projects that shall require the use of heavy duty diesel vehicles that meet
the U.S. EPA 2007 on-road emission standards or have been
retrofitted with the appropriate
emissions control technology. This review shall also consider
any bidding and purchasing rules
that would need to be amended in order to properly award
contracts for the specified projects;
(6) The funding
mechanisms available to cover the cost and administration of a heavy
duty diesel vehicle retrofit program including the source
of funds, the administration of such
funds, and how priorities for retrofitting will be
established;
(7) An analysis of any
competitive advantages that may or may not be created for
contractors that successfully participate in a retrofit program;
and
(8) The reporting
requirements necessary to track the number of heavy duty diesel
vehicles in use, the number of retrofits that are achieved
under the program, and which state
entity is responsible for reviewing and analyzing such
reports.
Forthwith upon passage
of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at
the call of the President of the Senate and organize. The
President of the Senate shall appoint a
chairperson from among the legislators.
Vacancies in said
commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.
The membership of said
commission shall receive no compensation for their services.
All departments and
agencies of the state, shall furnish such advice and information,
documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as
is deemed necessary or
desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this
resolution.
The Joint Committee on
Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide
suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the commission shall report its findings and
recommendations to the
Governor and the General
Assembly no later than February 2, 2010 and said commission shall
expire on July 1, 2010.
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LC01374/SUB A
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