State lawmakers in Illinois have restarted a bid to eliminate vehicles in the state's fleet that travel less than 7,000 miles per year, which represented 25 percent of the state's vehicles in 2011.

The bill (H.B. 3764) was introduced by Rep. Sue Scherer on Feb. 27.

State lawmakers have been pursuing this reduction since a report released in November of 2011 by the state's Office of the Auditor General made the recommendation. The audit determined it would be more cost-effective for the state to reimburse employees for the use of their personal cars.

Police and other emergency vehicles would be exempt. Vehicles that recorded less than 7,000 miles in the 2010 fiscal-year would be deemed surplus property and sold using a competitive sealed bid process before July 1, 2016. Proceeds of the sale would be deposited in the state's general fund.

Barb Bonansinga, acting deputy director for agency services at the Department of Central Management Services, has testified that the state now maintains a fleet of about 12,000 vehicles, including 9,000 passenger vehicles and trucks used by the state's Department of Transportation.

Bonansinga has determined that about 2,201 vehicles reported less than 7,000 annual miles in the 2013 fiscal year, including 64% trucks and 36% cars. These vehicles are used primarily for law enforcement (20%), field territory (18%), maintenance and repair functions (15%), and security (12%).

"CMS is in the process of combining FY14 fleet data from agencies and will be performing an analysis of that information which we will use in our efforts to reduce any vehicles that are not cost effective for the state to maintain," Bonansinga said in an e-mail. "We will be benchmarking with other fleets and industry experts to determine the most cost effective options for state employees when business travel is necessary."

An earlier bill attempting the same reduction passed the state's House and Senate in May of 2013 but failed to garner the governor's signature.