HB 5470 — AN ACT CONCERNING HYBRID SCHOOL BUSES.

House of Representatives General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

5470422 February Session, 2026 LCOHouse Bill No.

24355470 ReferredHouse toof Representatives, April 7, 2026 The Committee on ENERGYEnergy ANDand TECHNOLOGYTechnology Introducedreported by:through REP.

(ET)STEINBERG ANof ACTthe CONCERNING136th HYBRIDDist., SCHOOLChairperson BUSES.of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING HYBRID SCHOOL BUSES.

(b)HB5470 [Except/ asFile provided in subsection (c) of this section, (1) on] On LCO 2435 1 of 3 Raised Bill No.

5470422 and1 afterHB5470 JanuaryFile 1,No. [2035] 2040, one hundred per cent of the school buses that provide transportation for all school districts in the state shall be zero-emission school buses, [or] alternative fuel school buses [, and (2)onandafterJanuary1,2040,onehundredpercentoftheschoolbuses that provide transportation for all school districts in the state shall be zero-emission] or hybrid school buses.

422 (b) [Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, (1) on] On and after January 1, [2035] 2040, one hundred per cent of the school buses that provide transportation for all school districts in the state shall be zero-emission school buses, [or] alternative fuel school buses [, and (2)onandafterJanuary1,2040,onehundredpercentoftheschoolbuses that provide transportation for all school districts in the state shall be zero-emission] or hybrid school buses.

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5470422 Sec.2 HB5470 File No.

422 Sec.

2 October 1, 2026 22a-202(h) ET Joint Favorable LCOHB5470 2435/ 3File ofNo. 3

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422 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Local and Regional School Potential See Below See Below Districts Savings Explanation Section 1 delays (until January 1, 2040) the requirement for all school buses to be zero-emission and allows alternative fuel and hybrid buses to be considered compliant.

The requirement is delayed for 10 years for school districts in an environmental justice community, and five years for all other districts.

This correspondingly delays, until FY 40, costs a district would incur in order to comply with the requirement, or allows a district to more gradually shift its school bus fleet toward compliance.

The expansion to alternative fuel and hybrid school buses potentially results in a savings to districts to the extent that hybrid or alternative fuel buses and fueling costs are less expensive than no emission or alternative fuel buses.

Section 2 expands the existing Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) matching grant program for school buses to include alternative fuel and hybrid school buses and does not result in a cost to DEEP as the expansion provides flexibility to grant recipients.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the costs associated with alternative fuel and hybrid school buses.

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422 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5470 AN ACT CONCERNING HYBRID SCHOOL BUSES.

SUMMARY This bill generally eases the current requirement for school districts to transition to zero-emission school buses by delaying the transition’s deadline for certain school districts and allowing alternative fuel and hybrid school buses to meet the requirement.

Current law requires that all school buses be zero-emission school buses by (1) January 1, 2030, in school districts entirely within, or that contain, an environmental justice community as of July 1, 2022, and (2) January 1, 2040, in other districts.

It also sets an interim requirement for school districts not located entirely within, or that do not contain, an environmental justice community, requiring that 100% of buses in these districts be either zero-emission school buses or alternative fuel school buses by January 1, 2035.

The bill instead requires all school buses to be either zero-emission, alternative fuel, or hybrid buses by January 1, 2040, regardless of the school district’s location.

Under the bill, a “hybrid school bus” is a school bus that uses (1) a combustion engine fueled by gasoline, diesel, liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or biofuels and (2) an electric motor capable of propelling the bus that is powered by an electric battery or battery pack, to provide vehicle propulsion from either the combustion engine or the electric motor, or both.Bylaw,an“alternativefuelschoolbus”isaschoolbusthatreduces emissions and is operated entirely or in part using liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or biofuels.

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422 Current law also generally requires the energy and environmental protectioncommissioner to (1)have agrant programto awardmatching funds needed for municipalities, school districts, and school bus operators to submit federal grant applications and maximize federal funding for zero-emission school buses and electric vehicle (EV) charging or fueling infrastructure and (2) give administrative and technical assistance to municipalities, school districts, and school bus operators transitioning to zero-emission school buses, applying for federal grants for them, and installing EV charging and fueling infrastructure.

The bill correspondingly expands these requirements to also cover alternative fuel and hybrid school buses.

It also makes technical and conforming changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2026 BACKGROUND Related Bill sSB 416, favorably reported by the Transportation Committee, (1) requires 90%, rather than 100%, of school buses to be zero-emission by and sets earlier interim deadlines for distressed municipalities;

(2) eliminates the requirement that environmental justice communities fully transition to zero-emission school buses by 2030;