Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 7 § 9A

Current through Chapter 223 of the 2024 Legislative Session

Section 7:9A - State passenger vehicles and light duty pickup trucks; regulations governing use; report; personal use prohibited; purchase of hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles; acquisition; report

The secretary shall promulgate regulations governing the use of state passenger vehicles and light duty pickup trucks. Said regulations shall be aimed at proscribing the purchase or lease of such passenger vehicles and light duty pickups unless documentary evidence available prior to any such purchase or lease indicates that the passenger vehicle or light duty pickup will likely be driven, by the assigned employee or department, more than fifteen thousand business miles per year, excluding commuting miles, subject to such exceptions deemed by said secretary to be appropriate, given the intended use of the particular vehicle.

Said regulations shall provide for the enforcement of this mileage guideline, including a system for annual reevaluation of the use of all state passenger vehicles and light duty pickups, and subsequent disposition of any vehicle or pickup whose use unreasonably fails to meet this guideline.

The secretary shall submit an annual report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the utilization of passenger vehicles and light duty pickups that are owned, leased or assigned to any agency within the executive branch of state government. Said report shall include the following:

(a) a complete listing of passenger vehicles and light duty pickups, including the year, make, registration number, and actual monthly mileage of any vehicle leased, owned, or assigned to each agency; the name, position number, and position title of the employee assigned to each vehicle; and a detailed explanation of the need for each vehicle. Said report shall not include vehicles with confidential plates, as established by the executive office for administration and finance through administrative action; provided, that said report shall state the number of confidential plates that have been issued;

(b) a complete listing of passenger vehicles and light duty pickups that were subject to disposition during the prior month identifying the former state vehicle by the year, make, registration number, and actual monthly mileage, and the name, position number, and position title of the employee last assigned to each vehicle;

(c) a complete listing of new leases entered into by any agency and new purchases made by agencies for which the secretary shall identify the funding source; said list shall include the year, make, registration number, and actual monthly mileage of any vehicle leased, owned, or assigned to each agency; the name, position number, and position title of the employee assigned to each vehicle; and a detailed explanation of the need for each vehicle;

(d) a complete listing of the name, office location, position number and position title of any employee authorized by the secretary to use a passenger vehicle or light duty pickup to travel from the employee's place of residence to the employee's place of work; the year, make, registration number and actual monthly mileage of the vehicle assigned to such employee; and a detailed explanation of the need for such authorization.

The secretary shall ensure that all employees shall be prohibited from using motor vehicles for personal uses.

When purchasing new motor vehicles, the commonwealth shall purchase hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90, to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with the ability of such vehicles to perform their intended functions, at a rate of not less than 5 per cent annually for all new motor vehicle purchases so that, taking into account the existing number of such vehicles owned and operated by the commonwealth, not less than 50 per cent of the motor vehicles owned and operated by the commonwealth shall be hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles by the year 2018.

The division of operational services shall forward to the department of energy resources all requests for motor vehicle acquisitions by agencies of the commonwealth. The department of energy resources shall thereafter report to the division of operational services regarding the availability of a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle that shall achieve the intended use designated by the requesting agency. The division of operational services, in consultation with the departments of energy resources and environmental protection, shall adopt a fuel efficiency standard for passenger vehicles owned or operated by the commonwealth.

The operational services division, in consultation with the department of energy resources, shall develop a system of protocols for the acquisition of alternative fuel vehicles and hybrids, including identifying the potential for acquisition of heavy, medium and light-duty vehicles, based on the anticipated mileage and usage of such vehicles, and the effectiveness of single-fuel or dual-fuel alternative fuel vehicles for the particular purpose identified.

The division of operational services, jointly with the department of energy resources, and the executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall submit to the secretary of administration and finance, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight an annual statement on or before July 1 each year detailing the progress in meeting the requirements of this section. This report shall include the percentage of fuel used for the alternative fuel vehicles owned and operated by the commonwealth that qualifies as alternative fuel, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90, and the amount and cost of non-alternative fuel foregone as a consequence of the use of alternative fuel.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 7, § 9A

Amended by Acts 2012 , c. 165, §§  51, 52, 53 eff. 1/1/2013.

Amended by Acts 2008 , c. 169, § 1, eff. 7/2/2008.