Government Vehicles and Fleet Management Efficiency Amendment Act of 2011
Bill 19-354 

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A BILL IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Councilmember Tommy Wells introduced the following bill, which was referred to the Committee on   .

To require that all vehicles owned or leased by the District be under the control of the Mayor, to establish restrictions on the types of vehicles that may be purchased or leased by the District, to establish more stringent fuel economy standards that keep pace with innovation, to establish the allowed uses of government vehicles, to limit the addition of more vehicles to the District fleet, to designate the Department of Public Works the sole authority for fleet management, to require annual fleet-management reporting, and to establish requirements for developing optimum fleet size; to repeal Section 2 of An Act to authorize certain programs and activities of the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes; to repeal the EPA Miles Per Gallon Requirement for Passenger Automobiles Purchased by the District Act of 2000; and to repeal the Restrictions on the Use of Official Vehicles Act of 2000.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the “Government Vehicles and Fleet Management Efficiency Amendment Act of 2011”.

TITLE I- GOVERNMENT VEHICLES AND FLEET MANAGEMENT STANDARDS

Sec. 102. Definitions.

(1) “Compact-size” means a vehicle with interior passenger and cargo volumes of less than 110 cubic feet.

(2) “Emergency vehicle” means a vehicle authorized by the District to exceed the speed limit to transport people and equipment to and from situations in which speed is required to save lives or property, including a rescue vehicle, fire truck, or ambulance; and which is equipped with the audible and visual signals capable of being seen and heard from a distance of not less than 500 feet.

(3) “Employee” means an individual who performs a function of the District government and who receives compensation for the performance of such services.

(4) “Fleetshare” means the government motor pool system of vehicles that are available across agencies, reserved in advance, and billed to the agency according to use.

(5) “Government vehicle” or “vehicle” means any vehicle purchased or leased by the District government, including passenger vehicles.

(6) “Luxury-class vehicle” means a vehicle that is marketed by its manufacturer as a luxury vehicle.

(7) “Official duties” means activities with purposes that are directly associated with an employee’s function within the District government.

(8) “Passenger vehicle” means any automobile that is manufactured primarily for use in the transportation of not more than 10 individuals and that is not an automobile capable of off-highway operation. “Automobile capable of off-highway operation” means:

(A) Any automobile that has a significant feature other than 4-wheel drive, which is designated to equip such automobile for off-highway operation; and

(B) Either is a 4-wheel drive automobile or is rated at more than 6000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

(9) “Sport Utility Vehicle” or “SUV” means a four-wheel-drive vehicle marketed by its manufacturer as a sports utility vehicle, including crossover, compact and truck SUVs.

Sec. 103. All vehicles and watercraft owned or leased by the District of Columbia shall be under the direction and control of the Mayor.

Sec. 104. Restrictions on purchasing or leasing government vehicles.

(a) All vehicles purchased or leased by the District:

(1) Shall be the most cost-effective and lowest emission vehicle available, while still meeting the operational requirements of the District government; and

(2) Shall meet or exceed the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards at 49 U.S.C. § 329 for the model year of that vehicle.

(b) Vehicles that increase the size of an agency, department, or other District entity’s fleet above fiscal year 2011 inventory shall be acquired only when

(1) New or additional program responsibilities requiring travel have been assigned to an agency, department, or other District entity;

(2) No vehicles are available in the agency, department, or other District entity’s current fleet to meet the new or additional responsibilities;

(3) The travel needs cannot reasonably be accommodated through increased participation in Fleetshare; and

(4) Other more cost-effective travel options are not feasible.

(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the District shall not purchase or lease:

(A) Sport utility vehicles;

(B) Luxury-class vehicles;

(C) Vehicles with options exceeding those that come standard for ordinary operation; and

(D) Passenger vehicles larger than compact-size.

(2) The District may purchase or lease a vehicle prohibited in paragraph (1) of this subsection (“nonconforming vehicle” if a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle is insufficient and a nonconforming vehicle is essential to perform a designated task or duty.

(A) Requests to purchase or lease a nonconforming shall be in writing and include written justification by the requesting agency, department, or other District entity and submitted in advance of any purchase or lease or incurring any obligation to purchase or lease to the DPW Fleet Management Administration for review and approval.

(B) Written justification shall explain why an allowed vehicle is insufficient, why the nonconforming vehicle is essential to perform a designated task or duty, and any other information the Mayor determines is necessary.

Sec. 105. Use of government vehicles.

(a) Government vehicles shall be used only in the performance of official duties.

(b) Government vehicles shall not be used to travel between residence and workplace, except in the case of:

(1) An employee of the Metropolitan Police Department who resides in the District or a District government employee as may otherwise be designated by the Chief of the Department;

(2) At the discretion of the Fire Chief, an employee of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department who resides in the District and is on call 24 hours a day or is otherwise designated by the Fire Chief;

(3) The Mayor; and

(4) The Chairman of the Council.

(c) (1) No employee of the executive branch of the District government, except the Mayor, shall have an assigned driver, unless it is preauthorized in writing by the Mayor, who shall:

(A) Submit written authorization that includes justification for such services, to the Department of Public Works (DPW) Fleet Management Administration (FMA) prior to the employee using such services; and

(B) Report each authorization and its concomitant cost to the Council on a quarterly basis.

(2) An assigned driver shall not be offered as a perquisite in hiring negotiations or contracts.

Sec. 106. Fleet Management Authority

(a) DPW shall have the sole authority to establish specifications for and to procure, acquire, maintain, repair, and dispose of non-emergency government vehicles and motor equipment used by agencies under the direct control of the Mayor, except the following agencies (“excepted agencies”) may continue to procure, acquire, maintain, repair and dispose of non-emergency motor vehicles and motor equipment used within their agencies, in accordance with this act:

(1) Metropolitan Police Department;

(2) Department of Corrections;

(3) Fire and Emergency Medical Services; and

(4) Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

(b) The excepted agencies shall be responsible for establishing specifications for specialty equipment, including fire trucks, police cars, and police vans, and shall procure, acquire, maintain, repair, and dispose of such vehicles and motor equipment for their agency's use.

(c) Within 90 days of the effective date of this Act, DPW shall develop and implement:

(1) Uniform policies and standards for all phases of vehicle management from initial procurement to vehicle disposal; and

(2) A comprehensive fleet management program that ensures centralized control, accountability, uniform procedures, and consistent fleet data for all government vehicles under its authority.

(d) (1) Each agency, department, or other District entity shall implement and maintain a system of managing the daily use of vehicles that ensures:

(A) Safe operation of government vehicles;

(B) Maximum compliance with laws and regulations governing operation of any vehicle while on official business;

(C) Accountability of operators for notices of infraction received as a result of operating any vehicle while on government business or having assigned custody of a government vehicle;

(D) Cost-effective use of government resources;

(E) Complete knowledge of the nature of vehicle assignments and custody; and

(F) Appropriate operator qualification and training for vehicles operated.

(2) Each agency, department, or other District entity shall incorporate the system outlined in subsection (d)(1) into a written policy and submit it to the Office of Risk Management for review and approval prior to its implementation.

Sec. 107. Fleet Management Administration

(a) DPW shall conduct an annual physical inventory of all vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the District government. The inventory shall include:

(1) The agency, department, or other District entity where the vehicle is assigned;

(2) Year and make of the vehicle;

(3) Acquisition date and cost;

(4) General condition of the vehicle;

(5) Annual operating and maintenance costs;

(6) Current mileage; and

(7) For any vehicle dedicated to a single employee, a justification for such exclusive use.

(b) DPW shall maintain a fleet master file for each vehicle in the District fleet.

(c) DPW shall maintain a permanent record of all correspondence authorizing exceptions to acquisition and use of government vehicles.

Sec. 108. Optimal Fleet Size.

(a) Within 90 days of the effective date of this Act, DPW shall develop and deliver to each agency, department, or other District entity a vehicle allocation methodology (VAM) for determining the optimum fleet inventory. The VAM shall emphasize:

(1) The elimination of unnecessary or non-essential vehicles from each agency, department, or other District entity’s fleet inventory;

(2) Ensuring lifecycle cost-effectiveness of maintaining such inventory;

(3) The composition for agency, department, or other District entity’s fleets based on their missions;

(4) The examination of opportunities to enhance efficiency through expansion of the Fleetshare program and use of other carshare programs.

(b) Within 180 days of receiving the VAM, all agencies shall complete and return the VAM and shall report its essential fleet inventory targets to DPW.

(c) Within 90 days of its receipt of all VAMS, DPW shall review all VAMs and submit to Council plans to reduce existing fleet by September 30, 2014.

Sec. 109. Rulemaking.

(a) The Mayor, pursuant to Title 1 of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-501 et seq.), shall issue rules to implement the provisions of this act.

(b) The proposed rules shall be submitted to the Council for a 45-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the proposed rules, in whole or in part, by resolution within this 45-day review period, the proposed rules shall be deemed approved. Nothing in this section shall affect any requirements imposed upon the Mayor by Title 1 of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-501 et seq.)

TITLE II-CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

Sec. 201. Section 2 of An Act to authorize certain programs and activities of the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, effective October 26, 1973 (Public Law 93-140, 87 Stat. 504; D.C. Official Code § 50-202), is repealed.

Sec. 202. The EPA Miles Per Gallon Requirement for Passenger Automobiles Purchased by the District Act of 2000, effective October 19, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-172; D.C. Official Code § 50-203), is repealed.

Sec. 203. The Restrictions on the Use of Official Vehicles Act of 2000, effective October 19, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-172; D.C. Official Code § 50-204), is repealed.

TITLE III. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Fiscal impact statement.

The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Chief Financial Officer as the fiscal impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(3)).

Sec. 302. Effective date.

This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)) and publication in the District of Columbia register.