Revision: March 5, 2010, midnight
HB 1240-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
03Mar2010… 0551h
2010 SESSION
05/03
HOUSE BILL 1240-FN
AN ACT relative to the use of state-owned vehicles.
SPONSORS: Rep. McGuire, Merr 8; Rep. K. Gould, Rock 5; Rep. Irwin, Hills 3
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill authorizes the director of plant and property management to transfer or sell state-owned vehicles to ensure that the state fleet is used efficiently. The bill also expands reporting requirements for use of state-owned light duty trucks and the personal use of state vehicles.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03Mar2010… 0551h
10-2511
05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to the use of state-owned vehicles.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Section Heading. Amend the section heading of RSA 21-I:19-g to read as follows:
21-I:19-g Use of State-Owned [Passenger Automobiles] Vehicles.
2 Department of Administrative Services; Use of State-Owned Vehicles. Amend RSA 21-I:19-g, III to read as follows:
III. If state-owned passenger vehicles are assigned to a state agency and such vehicles [on average] are not used for travel at or above the break-even mileage requirement during such year, the director of plant and property management shall [transfer a vehicle or vehicles and] declare them surplus [until the agency’s re-computed average passenger vehicle mileage is at or above the break-even mileage] and transfer or otherwise dispose of such vehicle or vehicles. [Average vehicle mileage shall be calculated by the total miles driven by an agency’s passenger vehicles divided by the total number of passenger vehicles.] An agency may within [60] 90 days after the end of the fiscal year apply to the fiscal committee of the general court to retain such vehicle or vehicles. If such agency presents a clear and convincing case for the continued assignment of a vehicle or vehicles to the agency, the fiscal committee may permit the agency to retain a vehicle or vehicles. In granting an agency the authority to retain such vehicle or vehicles, favorable consideration shall be given to the most fuel efficient use of the existing fleet. The director of plant and property management shall either sell [or transfer the vehicle or vehicles declared to be surplus pursuant] the vehicle or vehicles declared to be surplus, transfer them to a centralized state vehicle pool, or [to this section] transfer them to any state agency having employees who travel more than the break-even mileage requirement as set by the department of administrative services and who are being reimbursed for travel in privately-owned vehicles. The term “agency” as used in this section includes a department, institution, board, division, and commission. The director of plant and property management may develop measures to determine or improve fleet efficiency in addition to those set forth in this section. Such measures may be shared with the fiscal committee for their information and consideration.
3 New Paragraphs; Use of State-Owned Vehicles; Light Duty Trucks. Amend RSA 21-I:19-g by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraphs:
III-a. In this section:
(a) “Light duty truck” shall mean any of the following which have a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds: a passenger van seating up to 8 people, a pick-up truck, a sport utility vehicle, or a cargo van.
(b) “Passenger vehicle” shall mean a passenger sedan or station wagon.
III-b. The department of administrative services shall annually report to the fiscal committee of the general court all light duty trucks whose mileage is at or below the break-even mileage requirement during such year.
4 New Paragraph; Use of State-Owned Vehicles; Annual Report. Amend RSA 21-I:19-g by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
V-a. State employees shall accurately report to their agency payroll personnel all personal use of any state-owned motor vehicle of any type, including but not limited to any commuting miles. The agency shall annually report all personal use of state-owned vehicles in that agency, as well as such other information regarding vehicles and vehicle usage, to the department of administrative services as directed by the department.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
10-2511
11/04/09
HB 1240-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the use of state-owned vehicles.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill will increase state revenue by $1,508,650 in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or on state, county, and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Administrative Services states the proposed bill will require employees to pay mileage to the state for personal use of state-owned vehicles. According to the Department, current practice only obligates state agencies to report personal use of these vehicles annually for IRS W2 reporting purposes. The Department states it relies on self-reporting from the agencies and individual employees and it uses the IRS commuting rule (each one-way commute between the home and office times $1.50) to calculate a value to be reported as income. The Department states this current methodology does not provide an estimate of miles traveled, however it does provide an estimate of the total number of vehicles being used for personal commuting (211 vehicles). As part of its effort to comply with Chapter 134, Laws of 2009, which mandates that all permanently assigned vehicles must be reported to the Governor and Executive Council, the Department preliminarily estimated the average number of miles (52 miles) traveled during each round-trip commute (i.e. an average number of personal miles traveled in a state-owned vehicle). The Department states should more permanently assigned vehicles be reported, this estimate could change. The Department also estimated that each vehicle would be used for commuting 5 days a week for 50 weeks, for a total annual estimate of round-trip commutes of 250 per vehicle. Using these assumptions, the Department calculated estimated annual personal miles traveled of 2,743,000. The Department assumed a reimbursement rate equal to the current IRS mileage rate of $0.55 per mile, which would generate estimated total revenue of $1,508,650 per fiscal year, to be deposited in the general fund due to the absence of provisions to the contrary. The Department also assumed an effective date on the proposed bill of July 1, 2010, so the additional revenue would begin in FY 2011 and continue each year thereafter, as the Department projected the number of vehicles with personal use, the driving patterns, and the reimbursement rate would remain relatively consistent.