S. 2086 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2086 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 6, 2014 Mr. Thune (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coats, and Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To address current emergency shortages of propane and other home heating fuels and to provide greater flexibility and information for Governors to address such emergencies in the future. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Reliable Home Heating Act. 2. Authority to extend emergency declarations for purposes of temporarily exempting motor carriers providing emergency relief from certain safety regulations (a) Defined term In this Act, the term residential heating fuel includes— (1) heating oil; (2) natural gas; and (3) propane. (b) Authorization If the Governor of a State declares a state of emergency caused by a shortage of residential heating fuel and, at the conclusion of the initial 30-day emergency period (or a second 30-day emergency period authorized under this subsection), the Governor determines that the emergency shortage has not ended, any extension of such state of emergency by the Governor, up to 2 additional 30-day periods, shall be recognized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as a period during which parts 390 through 399 of chapter III of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall not apply to any motor carrier or driver operating a commercial motor vehicle to provide residential heating fuel in the geographic area so designated as under a state of emergency. (c) Rulemaking The Secretary of Transportation shall amend section 390.23(a)(1)(ii) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to conform to the provision set forth in subsection (b). (d) Savings provision Nothing in this section may be construed to modify the authority granted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Field Administrator under section 390.23(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to offer temporary exemptions from parts 390 through 399 of such title. 3. Energy Information Administration notification requirement The Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, using data compiled from the Administration’s Weekly Petroleum Status Reports, shall notify the Governor of each State in a Petroleum Administration for Defense District if the inventory of residential heating fuel within such district has been below the most recent 5-year average for more than 3 consecutive weeks. 4. Propane and home heating fuel emergency transportation (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a covered emergency exemption issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall remain in effect until May 31, 2014, unless the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the Governors of affected States, determines that the emergency for which the exemption was provided ends before that date. (b) Covered emergency exemption defined In this section, the term covered emergency exemption means an exemption issued under section 390.23 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or extended under section 390.25 of such title that— (1) was issued or extended during the period beginning on February 5, 2014, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) provided regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations providing direct assistance supporting the delivery of propane and home heating fuels. (c) Rule of construction Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed to prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from issuing or extending a covered emergency exemption beyond May 31, 2014, under other Federal law.