Board advances zero-emission municipal fleet ordinance with 2022 deadline, funding waiver and reuse rules

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed on first reading an ordinance that would require newly procured city passenger vehicles to be zero-emission, while adding amendments that preserve the ordinance’s 12/31/2022 compliance target and create narrowly defined exceptions for departments lacking budget authority.

The ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor Katy Tang, originally set a citywide requirement that “any new passenger vehicle procured for the city fleet” be a zero-emission vehicle absent a waiver and that all city passenger vehicles become zero-emission by Dec. 31, 2022. Supervisors pressed for clarifying language and two substantive changes during debate before voting unanimously to pass the measure as amended.

The board kept the 2022 deadline but added three principal implementation provisions. First, departments must prioritize replacing the oldest light-duty passenger vehicles in their fleets when purchasing new vehicles. Second, departments may request a waiver if adequate appropriation has not been provided in that department’s budget to purchase sufficient zero-emission vehicles. Third, the city administrator will develop a…