S. 1741 — Introduced in Senate

II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1741 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 18, 2023Mr. Grassley (for himself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers from participating in the renewable fuel program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the No Fuel Credits for Batteries Act of 2023. 2. Revisions to credit program (a) Amendments Section 211(o)(5) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(5)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A)— (A) in clause (ii), by striking and at the end; (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (iv) for the prohibition of generation of credits by electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers (as defined in section 3(a) of the No Fuel Credits for Batteries Act of 2023). ; (2) in subparagraph (B)— (A) by striking A person and inserting the following: (i) In general Except as provided in clause (ii), a person ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (ii) Exception A person that is an electric vehicle original equipment manufacturer (as defined in section 3(a) of the No Fuel Credits for Batteries Act of 2023) may not, for the purpose of complying with paragraph (2), use or transfer all or a portion of the credits to another person. ; and (3) in subparagraph (E)— (A) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; (B) by striking Administrator; and (ii) for the use and inserting the following: Administrator; (ii) for the use ; (C) by striking regulations providing: (i) for the generation and inserting the following: regulations providing— (i) for the generation ; and (D) by adding at the end the following: (iii) for the prohibition of the generation, use, or transfer of the appropriate amount of credits by electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers (as defined in section 3(a) of the No Fuel Credits for Batteries Act of 2023) for additional renewable fuel. . (b) Regulations Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall promulgate a final rule to carry out the amendments made by subsection (a). (c) Effective date The amendments made by subsection (a) take effect on January 1, 2024. 3. Ineligibility for renewable fuel standard (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (2) Electric vehicle original equipment manufacturer The term electric vehicle original equipment manufacturer means the original equipment manufacturer of— (A) an electric light-duty vehicle; or (B) an electric light-duty truck. (3) Proposed eRIN program The term proposed eRIN program means the program governing the generation of renewable identification numbers representing renewable electricity by electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers, as described in— (A) the proposed rule of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2023–2025 and Other Changes (87 Fed. Reg. 80582 (December 30, 2022)) (or any successor or substantially related proposal); (B) the regulatory impact analysis of the Assessment and Standards Division of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis: RFS Standards for 2023–2025 and Other Changes, with docket number EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0427–0267, and dated November 2022; and (C) the memorandum of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Examples of RIN generation under the proposed RFS eRIN provisions, with docket number EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0427–0032, and dated November 22, 2022. (4) Renewable fuel The term renewable fuel has the meaning given the term in section 211(o)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)). (5) Renewable fuel program The term renewable fuel program means the renewable fuel program under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)). (6) Renewable identification number The term renewable identification number has the meaning given the term Renewable Identification Number (RIN) in section 80.1401 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation). (b) Rule required Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall promulgate a final rule revising the regulations for carrying out the renewable fuel program that— (1) in accordance with the amendments made by section 2(a), makes electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers ineligible for the generation, use, or transfer of renewable electricity renewable identification numbers for compliance with, or any other purpose under, the renewable fuel program; (2) withdraws the proposed eRIN program; (3) maintains the current equivalence value for renewable electricity as described in section 80.1415 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act); and (4) eliminates the provisions of the proposed rule described in subsection (a)(3)(A) affiliated with the proposed eRIN program. (c) Effective date of regulations The final rule required under subsection (b) shall take effect on January 1, 2024. 4. Savings provision Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act limits the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to approve new fuel pathways or review existing fuel pathways under the renewable fuel program under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)).