Colorado’s Senate passed a bill that would require State agencies to purchase alternative-fuel fleet vehicles. Senate Bill 13-070 requires State entities to purchase vehicles that operate on compressed natural gas (CNG), or other alternative fuels, as long as the increased cost of the vehicle is not more than 10% of the cost of a comparable dedicated petroleum vehicle.

The bill also requires the executive director (or designated assignee) of a given agency to submit a report that details the number of vehicles purchased, since Jan. 1, 2008, that operate on CNG or other alternative fuels to the State Senate’s and House of Representatives’ transportation committees. The report must also detail the number of dedicated petroleum vehicles since that date, available alt-fuel infrastructure; a summary of the policy that exempts vehicles from the alt-fuel purchasing requirement (and the number of vehicles that are exempt); suggested legislative changes that could facilitate alt-fuel vehicle purchases; and a plan for installing alt-fuel infrastructure.

Related to this bill's goals, during the summer of 2012, Colorado's Governor John Hickenlooper promised support for a multi-state initiative to purchase large numbers of natural gas fleet vehicles.