House File 2746 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT
OVERSIGHT
(SUCCESSOR TO HF 849)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to state employee vehicle usage.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
3 TLSB 6602HV 81
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. STATE=OWNED OR LEASED PASSENGER VEHICLES.
1 2 1. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, each state
1 3 agency receiving an appropriation by the general assembly
1 4 shall review the employee policy for daily or short=term
1 5 travel including but not limited to the usage of motor pool
1 6 vehicles under the department of administrative services, the
1 7 employee mileage reimbursement for the use of a personal
1 8 vehicle, and the usage of private automobile rental companies.
1 9 Following the review, the agency shall implement revisions
1 10 in the employee policy for daily or short=term travel as
1 11 necessary to maximize cost savings. Each such agency shall
1 12 report to the general assembly's standing committees on
1 13 government oversight regarding the policy revisions
1 14 implemented and the savings realized from the changes. An
1 15 initial report shall be submitted on or before December 1,
1 16 2006, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, compiled on a
1 17 quarterly basis thereafter, and a follow=up report shall be
1 18 submitted on or before December 1, 2007. The department of
1 19 administration services shall develop a standardized format
1 20 for the report.
1 21 2. The department of administrative services shall, at the
1 22 beginning of each fiscal year, notify in writing each state
1 23 agency, that use of motor pool vehicles is an optional service
1 24 provided by the department of administrative services. The
1 25 notice shall state that an agency's use of motor pool vehicles
1 26 shall only occur when deemed cost effective in accordance with
1 27 travel policies adopted under subsection 1.
1 28 3. The department of administrative services shall issue a
1 29 request for proposals or utilize another competitive bidding
1 30 process to serve the department's daily overflow needs. The
1 31 request for proposals or competitive bidding process shall
1 32 include but not be limited to all of the following:
1 33 a. Costs and terms associated with a three=year agreement.
1 34 b. Daily and weekly rates for the following car classes:
1 35 compact size, intermediate size, standard size, full size,
2 1 premium size, midsize, sport utility vehicle, luxury cars,
2 2 pick=up trucks, minivans, and cargo vans.
2 3 c. All rates must include unlimited miles, full collision
2 4 damage waiver coverage, and minimum financial responsibility
2 5 liability meeting state requirements.
2 6 d. Provide information on capabilities in reference to the
2 7 following services:
2 8 (1) The number of locations throughout the state that
2 9 could service state employees.
2 10 (2) Vehicle pick=up or delivery service options.
2 11 (3) One=way options and charges.
2 12 (4) Management reporting capabilities and customization
2 13 options.
2 14 (5) Nationwide airport capabilities.
2 15 (6) Electronic booking capabilities.
2 16 (7) Available safety features and roadside assistance
2 17 programs.
2 18 (8) The ability to provide real=time data reporting
2 19 relative to rental usage on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis,
2 20 including fuel costs on a per mile basis.
2 21 Sec. 2. DETERMINATION OF COST EFFECTIVENESS. Prior to the
2 22 purchase of any daily trip passenger vehicles, the department
2 23 of administrative services shall determine whether it is more
2 24 cost effective to purchase or lease the vehicles.
2 25 Documentation of that determination shall be maintained at the
2 26 central office of the department.
2 27 Sec. 3. Section 8A.362, Code 2005, is amended to read as
2 28 follows:
2 29 8A.362 FLEET MOTOR VEHICLE USAGE MANAGEMENT == POWERS AND
2 30 DUTIES == FUEL ECONOMY REQUIREMENTS.
2 31 1. The director may provide for the assignment to a state
2 32 officer or employee or to a state agency, of one or more motor
2 33 vehicles which may be required by the state officer or
2 34 employee or state agency, after the state officer or employee
2 35 or state agency has shown the necessity for such
3 1 transportation. The director may assign a motor vehicle
3 2 either for part=time or full=time use. The director may
3 3 revoke the assignment at any time.
3 4 2. The director may cause all state=owned motor vehicles
3 5 owned, leased, or rented by the state to be inspected
3 6 periodically. Whenever the inspection reveals that repairs
3 7 have been improperly made on the motor vehicle or that the
3 8 operator is not giving the motor vehicle the proper care, the
3 9 director shall report this fact to the head of the state
3 10 agency to which the motor vehicle has been assigned, together
3 11 with recommendation for improvement.
3 12 3. The director shall provide for a record system for the
3 13 keeping of records of the total number of miles state=owned
3 14 motor vehicles owned, leased, or rented by the state are
3 15 driven and the per=mile cost of operation of each motor
3 16 vehicle. Every state officer or employee shall keep a record
3 17 book to be furnished by the director in which the officer or
3 18 employee shall enter all purchases of gasoline, lubricating
3 19 oil, grease, and other incidental expense in the operation of
3 20 the motor vehicle assigned to the officer or employee, giving
3 21 the quantity and price of each purchase, including the cost
3 22 and nature of all repairs on the motor vehicle. Each operator
3 23 of a state=owned motor vehicle owned, leased, or rented by the
3 24 state shall promptly prepare a report at the end of each month
3 25 on forms furnished by the director and forwarded to the
3 26 director, giving the information the director may request in
3 27 the report. Each month the director shall compile the costs
3 28 and mileage of state=owned motor vehicles owned, leased, or
3 29 rented by the state from the reports and keep a cost history
3 30 for each motor vehicle and the costs shall be reduced to a
3 31 cost=per=mile basis for each motor vehicle. The director
3 32 shall call to the attention of an elected official or the head
3 33 of any state agency to which a motor vehicle has been assigned
3 34 any evidence of the mishandling or misuse of a state=owned
3 35 motor vehicle owned, leased, or rented by the state which is
4 1 called to the director's attention.
4 2 A motor vehicle operated under this subsection shall not
4 3 operate on gasoline other than gasoline blended with at least
4 4 ten percent ethanol, unless under emergency circumstances. A
4 5 state=issued credit card used to purchase gasoline shall not
4 6 be valid to purchase gasoline other than gasoline blended with
4 7 at least ten percent ethanol, if commercially available. The
4 8 motor vehicle shall may also be affixed with a brightly
4 9 visible sticker which notifies the traveling public that the
4 10 motor vehicle is being operated on gasoline blended with
4 11 ethanol. However, the sticker is not required to be affixed
4 12 to an unmarked vehicle used for purposes of providing law
4 13 enforcement or security.
4 14 4. a. The director shall provide for the purchase, lease,
4 15 or rental of all motor vehicles for all branches of the state
4 16 government, except the state department of transportation,
4 17 institutions under the control of the state board of regents,
4 18 the department for the blind, and any other state agency
4 19 exempted by law. The director shall purchase, lease, or rent
4 20 new vehicles in accordance with competitive bidding procedures
4 21 for items or services as provided in this subchapter. The
4 22 director may purchase used or preowned vehicles at
4 23 governmental or dealer auctions if the purchase is determined
4 24 to be in the best interests of the state.
4 25 b. The director, and any other state agency, which for
4 26 purposes of this subsection includes but is not limited to
4 27 community colleges and institutions under the control of the
4 28 state board of regents, or local governmental subdivisions
4 29 purchasing, leasing, or renting new motor vehicles, shall
4 30 purchase, lease, or rent new passenger vehicles and light
4 31 trucks so that the average fuel efficiency for the fleet of
4 32 new passenger vehicles and light trucks purchased, leased, or
4 33 rented in that year equals or exceeds the average fuel economy
4 34 standard for the vehicles' model year as established by the
4 35 United States secretary of transportation under 15 U.S.C. }
5 1 2002. This paragraph does not apply to vehicles purchased,
5 2 leased, or rented for law enforcement purposes or used for
5 3 off=road maintenance work, or work vehicles used to pull
5 4 loaded trailers.
5 5 c. Not later than February 15 of each year, the director
5 6 shall report compliance with the corporate average fuel
5 7 economy standards published by the United States secretary of
5 8 transportation for new motor vehicles, other than motor
5 9 vehicles purchased, leased, or rented by the state department
5 10 of transportation, institutions under the control of the state
5 11 board of regents, the department for the blind, and any other
5 12 state agency exempted from the requirements of this
5 13 subsection. The report of compliance shall classify the
5 14 vehicles purchased, leased, or rented for the current vehicle
5 15 model year using the following categories: passenger
5 16 automobiles, enforcement automobiles, vans, and light trucks.
5 17 The director shall deliver a copy of the report to the
5 18 department of natural resources. As used in this paragraph,
5 19 "corporate average fuel economy" means the corporate average
5 20 fuel economy as defined in 49 C.F.R. } 533.5.
5 21 d. The director shall assign motor vehicles available for
5 22 use to maximize the average passenger miles per gallon of
5 23 motor vehicle fuel consumed. In assigning motor vehicles, the
5 24 director shall consider standards established by the director,
5 25 which may include but are not limited to the number of
5 26 passengers traveling to a destination, the fuel economy of and
5 27 passenger capacity of vehicles available for assignment, and
5 28 any other relevant information, to assure assignment of the
5 29 most energy=efficient vehicle or combination of vehicles for a
5 30 trip from those vehicles available for assignment. The
5 31 standards shall not apply to special work vehicles and law
5 32 enforcement vehicles. The standards shall apply to the
5 33 following agencies:
5 34 (1) State department of transportation.
5 35 (2) Institutions under the control of the state board of
6 1 regents.
6 2 (3) Department for the blind.
6 3 (4) Any other state agency exempted from obtaining
6 4 vehicles for use through the department.
6 5 e. As used in paragraph "d", "fuel economy" means the
6 6 average number of miles traveled by an automobile per gallon
6 7 of gasoline consumed as determined by the United States
6 8 environmental protection agency administrator in accordance
6 9 with 26 U.S.C. } 4064(c).
6 10 5. Of all new passenger vehicles and light pickup trucks
6 11 purchased by the director, a minimum of ten percent of all
6 12 such vehicles and trucks purchased shall be equipped with
6 13 engines which utilize alternative methods of propulsion
6 14 including but not limited to any of the following:
6 15 a. A flexible fuel, which is any of the following:
6 16 (1) A fuel blended with not more than fifteen percent
6 17 gasoline and at least eighty=five percent ethanol.
6 18 (2) A fuel which is a mixture of diesel fuel and processed
6 19 soybean oil. At least twenty percent of the mixed fuel by
6 20 volume must be processed soybean oil.
6 21 (3) A renewable fuel approved by the office of renewable
6 22 fuels and coproducts pursuant to section 159A.3.
6 23 b. Compressed or liquefied natural gas.
6 24 c. Propane gas.
6 25 d. Solar energy.
6 26 e. Electricity.
6 27 This subsection does not apply to vehicles and trucks
6 28 purchased and directly used for law enforcement or purchased
6 29 and used for off=road maintenance work or to pull loaded
6 30 trailers.
6 31 6. All used motor vehicles owned by the state which are
6 32 turned in to the director shall be disposed of by public
6 33 auction, and the sales shall be advertised in a newspaper of
6 34 general circulation one week in advance of sale, and the
6 35 receipts from the sale shall be deposited in the depreciation
7 1 fund to the credit of the state agency turning in the vehicle;
7 2 except that, in the case of a used motor vehicle of special
7 3 design, the director may, instead of selling it at public
7 4 auction, authorize the motor vehicle to be traded for another
7 5 vehicle of similar design. If a vehicle sustains damage and
7 6 the cost to repair exceeds the wholesale value of the vehicle,
7 7 the director may dispose of the motor vehicle by obtaining two
7 8 or more written salvage bids and the vehicle shall be sold to
7 9 the highest responsible bidder.
7 10 7. The director may authorize the establishment of motor
7 11 pools consisting of a number of state=owned motor vehicles
7 12 owned, leased, or rented under the director's supervision.
7 13 The director may store the motor vehicles in a public or
7 14 private garage. If the director establishes a motor pool, any
7 15 state officer or employee desiring the use of a state=owned
7 16 motor vehicle owned, leased, or rented by the state on state
7 17 business shall notify the director of the need for a vehicle
7 18 within a reasonable time prior to actual use of the motor
7 19 vehicle. The director may assign a motor vehicle from the
7 20 motor pool to the state officer or employee. If two or more
7 21 state officers or employees desire the use of a state=owned
7 22 motor vehicle owned, leased, or rented by the state for a trip
7 23 to the same destination for the same length of time, the
7 24 director may assign one vehicle to make the trip.
7 25 8. The director shall require that a sign be placed on
7 26 each state=owned motor vehicle, and on each vehicle leased or
7 27 rented for a period greater than three months, in a
7 28 conspicuous place which indicates its ownership use by the
7 29 state. This requirement shall not apply to motor vehicles
7 30 requested to be exempt by the director or by the commissioner
7 31 of public safety. All state=owned motor vehicles shall
7 32 display registration plates bearing the word "official" except
7 33 motor vehicles requested to be furnished with ordinary plates
7 34 by the director or by the commissioner of public safety
7 35 pursuant to section 321.19. The director shall keep an
8 1 accurate record of the registration plates used on all state=
8 2 owned motor vehicles.
8 3 9. All fuel used in state=owned automobiles, leased, or
8 4 rented passenger vehicles shall be purchased at cost from the
8 5 various installations or garages of the state department of
8 6 transportation, state board of regents, department of human
8 7 services, or state motor pools throughout the state, unless
8 8 the state=owned sources for the purchase of fuel are not
8 9 reasonably accessible. If the director determines that state=
8 10 owned sources for the purchase of fuel are not reasonably
8 11 accessible, the director shall authorize the purchase of fuel
8 12 from other sources. The director may prescribe a manner,
8 13 other than the use of the revolving fund, in which the
8 14 purchase of fuel from state=owned sources is charged to the
8 15 state agency responsible for the use of the motor vehicle.
8 16 The director shall prescribe the manner in which oil and other
8 17 normal motor vehicle maintenance for state=owned motor
8 18 vehicles owned, leased, or rented by the state may be
8 19 purchased from private sources, if they cannot be reasonably
8 20 obtained from a state motor pool. The director may advertise
8 21 for bids and award contracts in accordance with competitive
8 22 bidding procedures for items and services as provided in this
8 23 subchapter for furnishing fuel, oil, grease, and vehicle
8 24 replacement parts for all state=owned motor vehicles owned,
8 25 leased, or rented by the state. The director and other state
8 26 agencies, when advertising for bids for gasoline, shall also
8 27 seek bids for ethanol blended gasoline.
8 28 Sec. 4. Section 8A.363, subsection 1, Code 2005, is
8 29 amended to read as follows:
8 30 1. A state officer or employee shall not use a state=
8 31 owned motor vehicle owned, leased, or rented by the state for
8 32 personal private use. A state officer or employee shall not
8 33 be compensated for driving a privately owned motor vehicle
8 34 unless it is done on state business with the approval of the
8 35 director. In that case the state officer or employee shall
9 1 receive an amount to be determined by the director. The
9 2 amount shall not exceed the maximum allowable under the
9 3 federal internal revenue service rules per mile,
9 4 notwithstanding established mileage requirements or
9 5 depreciation allowances. However, the director may authorize
9 6 private motor vehicle rates in excess of the rate allowed
9 7 under the federal internal revenue service rules for state
9 8 business use of substantially modified or specially equipped
9 9 privately owned vehicles required by persons with
9 10 disabilities. A statutory provision establishing
9 11 reimbursement for necessary mileage, travel, or actual
9 12 expenses to a state officer falls under the private motor
9 13 vehicle mileage rate limitation provided in this section
9 14 unless specifically provided otherwise. Any peace officer
9 15 employed by the state as defined in section 801.4 who is
9 16 required to use a private motor vehicle in the performance of
9 17 official duties shall receive the private vehicle mileage rate
9 18 at the rate provided in this section. However, the director
9 19 may delegate authority to officials of the state, and
9 20 department heads, for the use of private vehicles on state
9 21 business up to a yearly mileage figure established by the
9 22 director. If a state motor vehicle has been assigned to a
9 23 state officer or employee, the officer or employee shall not
9 24 collect mileage for the use of a privately owned motor vehicle
9 25 unless the state motor vehicle assigned is not useable.
9 26 Sec. 5. Section 8A.364, subsection 1, Code 2005, is
9 27 amended to read as follows:
9 28 1. A fleet management revolving fund is created in the
9 29 state treasury under the control of the department. There is
9 30 appropriated from moneys in the state treasury not otherwise
9 31 appropriated the sum of twenty=five thousand dollars to the
9 32 revolving fund. All purchases of gasoline, oil, tires,
9 33 repairs, and all other general expenses incurred in the
9 34 operation of state=owned motor vehicles owned, leased, or
9 35 rented by the state, and all salaries and expenses of
10 1 employees providing fleet management services shall be paid
10 2 from this fund.
10 3 Sec. 6. Section 8A.366, Code 2005, is amended to read as
10 4 follows:
10 5 8A.366 VIOLATIONS == WITHDRAWING USE OF VEHICLE.
10 6 If any state officer or employee violates any of the
10 7 provisions of sections 8A.361 through 8A.365, the director may
10 8 withdraw the assignment of any state=owned motor vehicle to
10 9 any such state officer or employee of any motor vehicle owned,
10 10 leased, or rented by the state.
10 11 EXPLANATION
10 12 Under current law, the state, through the department of
10 13 administrative services, owns and operates a fleet of daily
10 14 trip passenger vehicles. This bill requires each state agency
10 15 receiving an appropriation to review its policies concerning
10 16 the use of passenger vehicles, with the goal of developing a
10 17 policy for daily or short=term travel that maximizes cost
10 18 savings, with reports to the legislative government oversight
10 19 committees.
10 20 The bill requires the department of administrative services
10 21 to notify each agency that the agency shall use a motor pool
10 22 vehicle only when it is deemed cost=effective. The department
10 23 is also required to develop a request for proposals or other
10 24 competitive process for the lease or rental of vehicles to
10 25 serve daily overflow needs. The department is also required
10 26 to determine whether it is more cost=effective to purchase or
10 27 lease vehicles before it purchases any daily trip vehicles.
10 28 The bill exempts leased or rented vehicles from a statutory
10 29 requirement stating that 10 percent of passenger vehicles and
10 30 light pickup trucks utilize "alternative methods of
10 31 propulsion".
10 32 LSB 6602HV 81
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