WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has introduced the STATE Natural Gas Act, which would allow states to determine the best way to invest in the natural gas industry.

The bill will encourage the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel and encourage private investment in natural gas vehicles and transportation infrastructure. To do so, it would create a grant program to offer states funding to develop initiatives that encourage the use of natural gas as a fuel and encourage public and private investment in natural gas vehicles and transportation infrastructure.

States would apply for grants through the Department of Energy and would be awarded based on several criteria, including the amount of public and private funds state plans are likely to leverage, the degree that initiatives will support a need that is unlikely to be met by the private sector absent grant program funding, the degree that initiatives will act as a bridge to private investment and sustainable market conditions and each state’s public and private investment in natural gas transportation and infrastructure.

Senator Casey has also introduced the NGEAR Act to speed the transition of natural gas fueled vehicles by creating a rebate for the purchase of natural gas buses and extending tax credits for natural gas filling stations.