Establishes "Fleet Conversion Task Force" in DEP.

S685 1R

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 685

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator BOB SMITH

District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes "Fleet Conversion Task Force"
in DEP.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy
Committee on February 12, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act
establishing a "Fleet Conversion Task Force"
in the Department of Environmental Protection.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� a.� The Legislature finds
and declares that:

���� (1) Commercial vehicle fleets
play a vital role in the economy, providing transportation and logistics
support to virtually every sector of the economy, including manufacturers,
distributors, agricultural and food service companies, and retailers;

���� (2) According to data
published by the United States Department of Transportation, there were
approximately 12 million automobiles and trucks in fleets on the road in 2013,
comprising five percent of all registered motor vehicles;

���� (3) Transitioning to
zero-emissions vehicles is a cornerstone of the State's plan to reduce its
greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to the "Global Warming Response
Act," P.L.2007, c.112 (C.26:2C-37 et seq.);

���� (4) This is because, in New
Jersey, the transportation sector emits 38 percent of the total Statewide
greenhouse gas emissions, according to the "2024 NJ Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Inventory Report Years 1990-2021," produced by the Department of
Environmental Protection;

���� (5) Thus, vehicle fleets are
responsible for approximately two percent of New Jersey's greenhouse gas
emissions, in addition to emitting other pollutants such as carbon monoxide,
particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide;
1
[
and
]
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���� (6) The Legislature and the
Department of Environmental Protection would benefit from the expertise and
experience of people working in the transportation sector as they develop and
implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicle fleets

1
;
and

����
(7) Effective fleet policy
must account for operational readiness, service continuity, total cost of
ownership, workforce impacts, and the diversity of duty cycles across public
and private fleets operating in New Jersey
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.

���� b.� The Legislature therefore
determines that it is in the public interest to create a Fleet Conversion Task
Force to study and make recommendations on the process of converting motor
vehicle fleets from fossil fuel-powered to zero-emission vehicles, and
1
modernizing
motor vehicle fleets through zero-emission, near zero-emission, and other
emission-reducing technologies, operational efficiencies, and resilience
strategies, consistent with
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the State's
1
[
policies to
reduce
]
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greenhouse gas
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[
emissions from
the transportation sector
]

reduction goals
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.

���� 2.� a.� There is established
in the Department of Environmental Protection a Fleet Conversion Task Force.�
The duty of the task force shall be to
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:

����
(1)
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study
the challenges faced by commercial motor vehicle fleet owners and operators in
converting their fleets to zero emission vehicles, including the fiscal impact
on small businesses
1
[
, to
]

and
impacts on fleet reliability, mission readiness, service continuity, total cost
of ownership and workforce and training requirements for fleet operators;

����
(2)
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coordinate
with the necessary stakeholders to develop a cost-effective ecosystem to
support the transition to zero-emission motor vehicle fleet; and
1
[
to
]

����
(3)
1

formulate recommendations for policy changes that could ease compliance with
any existing laws or policies, and recommendations for new policies that could
more effectively and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
commercial motor vehicles.

���� b.� The task force shall be
composed of 15 members, as follows:

���� (1) the Commissioner of
Environmental Protection, or a designee, who shall serve ex-officio as chair;

���� (2) the Commissioner of
Transportation, or a designee, who shall serve ex-officio as vice-chair;

���� (3) the President of the Board
of Public Utilities, or a designee, who shall serve ex-officio;

���� (4) the Executive Director of
the New Jersey Transit Corporation, or a designee, who shall serve ex-officio;

���� (5) the Executive Director of
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, or a designee, who shall serve
ex-officio;

���� (6) the Executive Director of
the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, or a designee, who shall serve
ex-officio;

���� (7) two members of the public,
appointed by the Senate President, with knowledge, expertise, or experience in
zero-emission vehicles, one of whom shall represent privately owned fleets and
one of whom shall represent publicly owned fleets;

���� (8) two members of the public,
appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, with knowledge, expertise, or
experience in zero-emission vehicles, one of whom shall represent privately
owned fleets and one of whom shall represent publicly owned fleets; and

���� (9) five members of the public
appointed by the Governor as follows:

���� (a) one representative from an
environmental justice organization;

���� (b) one representative from a
labor organization that represents trucking workers or other workers involved
with motor vehicle fleets;

���� (c) two representatives of
automotive original equipment manufacturers, with experience in medium- and
heavy-duty vehicles, at least one of whom shall have
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direct
1
experience

1
with
fleet deployment or fleet operation
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in zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; and

���� (d) one representative of
publicly owned fleets, with knowledge, expertise, or experience in
zero-emission vehicles.

���� c.� The members of the task
force shall be appointed no later than 90 days after the effective date of this
act.� The task force shall organize as soon as practicable after the
appointment of the task force's members.� The task force may appoint a secretary
who need not be part of the task force.� The presence of eight members shall
constitute a quorum.

���� d.� The task force shall meet
regularly as the task force determines or at the call of the chair.� A true
copy of the minutes of each meeting of the task force shall be published and
maintained on the Department of Environmental Protection's Internet website.�
The task force shall hold public hearings in various regions of the State and
shall solicit feedback from the following entities:

���� (1) public fleets, including
county, city, electric utility, water district, solid waste, wastewater,
education, emergency, and law enforcement fleets;

���� (2) regional trucking and
drayage companies, small-, medium- and large-sized business enterprises,
national carriers operating in New Jersey, and first and final mile e-commerce
and air cargo couriers;

���� (3) public and investor-owned
utilities;

���� (4) class 1, 2, and 3
railroads, as applicable to New Jersey;

���� (5) producers of electric
vehicle infrastructure;

���� (6) producers and sellers of
petroleum products, biofuels, natural gas, propane, and hydrogen;

���� (7) environmental organizations
and environmental justice advocates;

���� (8) labor organizations;

���� (9) the New Jersey Motor
Vehicle Commission;

���� (10) automobile dealers, automotive
original equipment manufacturers, and manufacturers of internal combustion and
electric vehicles, including light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles; and

���� (11) local governments.

���� e.� The members of the task
force shall serve without compensation, but the department may, within the
limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force,
reimburse members for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of
their official duties.

���� f.� Any vacancies in the
membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.

���� g.� The Department of
Environmental Protection shall provide stenographic, clerical, and other
administrative assistance and professional staff as the task force requires to
carry out the task force's work.� The task force shall be entitled to call to
the task force's assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees
of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or
agency as the task force may require and as may be available for the task
force's purposes.�
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Nothing
in this section shall be construed to limit or direct the independent advisory
role of the task force.
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���� h.� The task force shall
report its findings and recommendations
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,
which shall include whether or not to extend the term of the task force or
convert the task force to a permanent fleet advisory council,
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to the
Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the
Legislature no later than
1
[
two years
]

18 months
1
following
the initial organizational meeting of the task force.�
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The
task force shall serve, during those 18 months, in an advisory capacity to the
Governor and the Legislature on fleet modernization, transition, and
implementation.
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�
A written copy of the task force's report shall be provided to the chair of the
Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the chair of the Assembly
Environment, Natural Resources and Solid Waste Committee, or their successor
committees.�

���� i.� Thirty days after the
submission of the report required pursuant to subsection h. of this section,
the task force shall dissolve.

����
1
j.�
The task force may establish subcommittees as necessary to examine specific
issues, including, but not limited to, fleet operations, infrastructure
readiness, workforce and training needs, fiscal impacts, and regional or
sector-specific fleet considerations.
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���� 3.� This act shall take effect
immediately
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[
,
]
1

and shall expire 30 days after the submission of the report required pursuant
to subsection h. of section
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[
1
]

2
1
of this
act
1
,unless
otherwise provided by law, rule, or regulation
1
.