Transportation (Electric Vehicles)

HB 253 adds a new exemption from vehicle registration in Pennsylvania for new or leased motor vehicles (excluding motorcycles and motorized bicycles) that achieve at least 40 miles per gallon in city driving, as certified by the U.S. EPA and Department of Energy's 2024 Fuel Economy Guide. This exemption applies only during the vehicle's first two years of registration, after which standard registration rules apply. The bill directly affects owners of qualifying fuel-efficient vehicles who would otherwise need to pay registration fees during those initial two years. It modifies Pennsylvania's vehicle registration statutes to align with federal fuel efficiency standards without changing existing registration requirements for other vehicles. The exemption is limited to vehicles meeting specific EPA-defined efficiency thresholds.