House passes compressed natural gas bill



Associated Press - May 12, 2009 12:35 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma House has approved legislation that encourages Oklahomans to use alternative energy sources.

Lawmakers approved the bill 90-4 Tuesday and sent it to the Senate for final consideration.

The bill is part of House Speaker Chris Benge's statewide energy initiative effort. It extends an existing tax credit on the purchase of a qualified clean-burning vehicle for five years for compressed and liquefied natural gas and electric cars.

The credit is equal to 50% of the cost of converting a vehicle to operate on a qualified fuel, as well as those originally equipped to do so.

The legislation also includes a tax credit for businesses wanting to build infrastructure to fuel such vehicles, along with a $2,500 tax credit for consumers installing home-fueling stations.

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