(a)Creation; administration.
(1)There is created a used high fuel efficiency vehicle incentive program, which shall be administered by the Agency of Transportation and known as MileageSmart.
(2)Subject to State procurement requirements, the Agency may retain a contractor or contractors to assist with marketing, program development, and administration of MileageSmart.
(b)Program structure. MileageSmart shall structure high fuel efficiency purchase incentive payments by income to help all Vermonters benefit from more efficient driving and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, including Vermont’s most vulnerable. Specifically, MileageSmart shall:
(1)apply to purchases of used high fuel-efficient motor vehicles, which for purposes of this program shall be pleasure cars with a combined city/hi
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(a) Creation; administration.
(1) There is created a used high fuel efficiency vehicle incentive program, which shall be administered by the Agency of Transportation and known as MileageSmart.
(2) Subject to State procurement requirements, the Agency may retain a contractor or contractors to assist with marketing, program development, and administration of MileageSmart.
(b) Program structure. MileageSmart shall structure high fuel efficiency purchase incentive payments by income to help all Vermonters benefit from more efficient driving and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, including Vermont’s most vulnerable. Specifically, MileageSmart shall:
(1) apply to purchases of used high fuel-efficient motor vehicles, which for purposes of this program shall be pleasure cars with a combined city/highway fuel efficiency of at least 40 miles per gallon or miles-per-gallon equivalent as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency when the vehicle was new; and
(2) provide not more than one point-of-sale voucher worth up to $5,000.00 to an individual who is a member of a household with an adjusted gross income that is at or below 80 percent of the State median income; provided, however, that the Agency of Transportation may reduce the income eligibility threshold based on available funding or applicant volume, or both, in order to prioritize vouchers for households with lower income.
(c) EV infrastructure fees. For the first year that a plug-in electric vehicle, as defined in 23 V.S.A. § 4(85), purchased through MileageSmart is subject to the EV infrastructure fee pursuant to 23 V.S.A. § 361(b) or (c), the amount of the fee shall be an eligible expense under MileageSmart; provided, however, that this expense eligibility shall expire at such time as a mileage-based user fee for pleasure cars that are battery electric vehicles, as defined in 23 V.S.A. § 4(85)(A), takes effect in Vermont.
(d) Administrative costs. Up to 15 percent of any appropriations for MileageSmart may be used for any costs associated with administering and promoting MileageSmart.
(e) Outreach and marketing. The Agency, in consultation with any retained contractors, shall ensure that there is sufficient outreach and marketing, including the use of translation and interpretation services, of MileageSmart so that Vermonters who are eligible for an incentive can easily learn how to secure as many different incentives as are available, and such costs shall be considered administrative costs for purposes of subsection (d) of this section. (Added 2023, No. 62, § 19, eff. July 1, 2023; amended 2023, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 43, eff. July 1, 2024.)