Bill Text: TX HB3215 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the Texas natural gas vehicle grant program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-25 - Referred to Environmental Regulation [HB3215 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB3215-Introduced.html
83R10586 JXC-D | ||
By: Strama | H.B. No. 3215 |
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relating to the Texas natural gas vehicle grant program. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 394.001, Health and Safety Code, as | ||
added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, | ||
Regular Session, 2011, is amended by adding Subdivisions (10) and | ||
(11) to read as follows: | ||
(10) "School bus" has the meaning assigned by Section | ||
541.201, Transportation Code. | ||
(11) "Taxicab" means a private passenger vehicle that | ||
provides passenger taxicab transportation services for | ||
compensation. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 394.002, Health and Safety Code, as | ||
added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, | ||
Regular Session, 2011, is amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 394.002. PROGRAM. The commission shall establish and | ||
administer the Texas natural gas vehicle grant program to encourage | ||
an entity that has a heavy-duty or medium-duty motor vehicle, a | ||
school bus, or a taxicab to repower the vehicle with a natural gas | ||
engine or replace the vehicle with a natural gas vehicle. Under the | ||
program, the commission shall provide grants for eligible | ||
heavy-duty [ |
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buses, and taxicabs to offset the incremental cost for the entity of | ||
repowering or replacing the [ |
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vehicle, school bus, or taxicab. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 394.003, Health and Safety Code, as | ||
added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, | ||
Regular Session, 2011, is amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 394.003. QUALIFYING VEHICLES. (a) A heavy-duty or | ||
medium-duty motor vehicle is a qualifying vehicle that may be | ||
considered for a grant under the program if during the calendar year | ||
the entity: | ||
(1) purchased, leased, or otherwise commercially | ||
financed the vehicle as a new on-road heavy-duty or medium-duty | ||
motor vehicle that: | ||
(A) is a natural gas vehicle; | ||
(B) is certified to current federal emissions | ||
standards; | ||
(C) replaces an on-road heavy-duty or | ||
medium-duty motor vehicle of the same weight classification and | ||
use; and | ||
(D) is powered by an engine certified to: | ||
(i) emit not more than 0.2 grams of nitrogen | ||
oxides per brake horsepower hour; or | ||
(ii) meet or exceed the United States | ||
Environmental Protection Agency's Bin 5 standard for light-duty | ||
engines when powering the vehicle; or | ||
(2) repowered the on-road motor vehicle to a natural | ||
gas vehicle powered by a natural gas engine that: | ||
(A) is certified to current federal emissions | ||
standards; and | ||
(B) is: | ||
(i) a heavy-duty engine that is certified | ||
to emit not more than 0.2 grams of nitrogen oxides per brake | ||
horsepower hour; or | ||
(ii) certified to meet or exceed the United | ||
States Environmental Protection Agency's Bin 5 standard for | ||
light-duty engines when powering the vehicle. | ||
(a-1) A school bus or taxicab is a qualifying vehicle that | ||
may be considered for a grant under the program if during the | ||
calendar year the entity: | ||
(1) purchased, leased, or otherwise commercially | ||
financed the vehicle as a new school bus or taxicab that: | ||
(A) is a natural gas vehicle; | ||
(B) is certified to current federal emissions | ||
standards; | ||
(C) replaces a school bus or taxicab of the same | ||
weight classification and use; and | ||
(D) is powered by an engine that meets emission | ||
standards designated for the program by the commission under | ||
Subsection (a-2); or | ||
(2) repowered the school bus or taxicab to a natural | ||
gas vehicle powered by a natural gas engine that meets emission | ||
standards designated for the program by the commission under | ||
Subsection (a-2). | ||
(a-2) The commission by rule may establish emission | ||
standards applicable to school buses and taxicabs that qualify a | ||
school bus or taxicab to be considered for a grant under the | ||
program. | ||
(b) A heavy-duty or medium-duty motor vehicle, school bus, | ||
or taxicab is not a qualifying vehicle if the vehicle or the natural | ||
gas engine powering the vehicle: | ||
(1) has been awarded a grant under this chapter or | ||
Chapter 390 for a previous reporting period; or | ||
(2) has received a similar grant or tax credit in | ||
another jurisdiction if that grant or tax credit program is relied | ||
on for credit in the state implementation plan. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 394.004(a), Health and Safety Code, as | ||
added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, | ||
Regular Session, 2011, is amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Only an entity operating in this state that operates a | ||
heavy-duty or medium-duty motor vehicle, school bus, or taxicab may | ||
apply for and receive a grant under this chapter. | ||
SECTION 5. Sections 394.005(b), (c), (f), and (g), Health | ||
and Safety Code, as added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the | ||
82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, are amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(b) To be eligible for a grant under the program: | ||
(1) the use of the qualifying vehicle must be | ||
projected to result in a reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides | ||
of at least 25 percent as compared to the motor vehicle or engine | ||
being replaced, based on: | ||
(A) the baseline emission level set by the | ||
commission under Subsection (g); and | ||
(B) the certified emission rate of the new | ||
vehicle; and | ||
(2) the qualifying vehicle must: | ||
(A) replace a heavy-duty or medium-duty motor | ||
vehicle, school bus, or taxicab that: | ||
(i) is an on-road vehicle that has been | ||
owned, leased, or otherwise commercially financed and registered | ||
and operated by the applicant in Texas for at least the two years | ||
immediately preceding the submission of a grant application; | ||
(ii) satisfies any minimum average annual | ||
mileage or fuel usage requirements established by the commission; | ||
(iii) satisfies any minimum percentage of | ||
annual usage requirements established by the commission; and | ||
(iv) is in operating condition and has at | ||
least two years of remaining useful life, as determined in | ||
accordance with criteria established by the commission; or | ||
(B) be a heavy-duty or medium-duty motor vehicle, | ||
school bus, or taxicab repowered with a natural gas engine that: | ||
(i) is installed in an on-road vehicle that | ||
has been owned, leased, or otherwise commercially financed and | ||
registered and operated by the applicant in Texas for at least the | ||
two years immediately preceding the submission of a grant | ||
application; | ||
(ii) satisfies any minimum average annual | ||
mileage or fuel usage requirements established by the commission; | ||
(iii) satisfies any minimum percentage of | ||
annual usage requirements established by the commission; and | ||
(iv) is installed in an on-road vehicle | ||
that, at the time of the vehicle's repowering, was in operating | ||
condition and had at least two years of remaining useful life, as | ||
determined in accordance with criteria established by the | ||
commission. | ||
(c) As a condition of receiving a grant, the qualifying | ||
vehicle must be continuously owned, leased, or otherwise | ||
commercially financed and registered and operated in the state by | ||
the grant recipient until the earlier of the fourth anniversary of | ||
the date of reimbursement of the grant-funded expenses or until the | ||
date the vehicle has been in operation for 400,000 miles after the | ||
date of reimbursement. Not less than 75 percent of the annual use | ||
of the qualifying vehicle, either mileage or fuel use as determined | ||
by the commission, must occur in: | ||
(1) the counties any part of which are included in the | ||
areas [ |
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(2) counties designated as nonattainment areas within | ||
the meaning of Section 107(d) of the federal Clean Air Act (42 | ||
U.S.C. Section 7407). | ||
(f) A heavy-duty or medium-duty motor vehicle, school bus, | ||
or taxicab replaced under this program must be rendered permanently | ||
inoperable by crushing the vehicle, by making a hole in the engine | ||
block and permanently destroying the frame of the vehicle, or by | ||
another method approved by the commission that permanently removes | ||
the vehicle from operation in this state. The commission shall | ||
establish criteria for ensuring the permanent destruction of the | ||
engine or vehicle. The commission shall enforce the destruction | ||
requirements. | ||
(g) The commission shall establish baseline emission levels | ||
for emissions of nitrogen oxides for on-road heavy-duty or | ||
medium-duty motor vehicles, school buses, or taxicabs being | ||
replaced by using the emission certification for the engine or | ||
vehicle being replaced. The commission may consider deterioration | ||
of the emission performance of the engine of the vehicle being | ||
replaced in establishing the baseline emission level. The | ||
commission may consider and establish baseline emission rates for | ||
additional pollutants of concern, as determined by the commission | ||
after consultation with the advisory board. | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 394.009(a) and (e), Health and Safety | ||
Code, as added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the 82nd | ||
Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) In this section, "participating dealer" means a person | ||
who: | ||
(1) sells, leases, or otherwise commercially finances | ||
on-road heavy-duty or medium-duty natural gas vehicles, school | ||
buses, taxicabs, or heavy-duty or medium-duty natural gas engines; | ||
and | ||
(2) has satisfied all requirements established by the | ||
commission for participation in the program as a dealer. | ||
(e) The commission shall: | ||
(1) maintain and make available to the public online a | ||
list of all qualified dealers; and | ||
(2) establish requirements for participation in the | ||
program by sellers of on-road heavy-duty or medium-duty natural gas | ||
vehicles, school buses, taxicabs, and heavy-duty or medium-duty | ||
natural gas engines. | ||
SECTION 7. The heading to Section 394.010, Health and | ||
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 394.010. CLEAN TRANSPORTATION TRIANGLES [ |
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SECTION 8. Section 394.010, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections | ||
(a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows: | ||
(a) In this section, "state highway" means a highway in | ||
this state included in the plan providing for a system of state | ||
highways prepared by the executive director of the Texas Department | ||
of Transportation under Section 201.103, Transportation Code. | ||
(a-1) To ensure that natural gas vehicles purchased, | ||
leased, or otherwise commercially financed or repowered under the | ||
program have access to fuel, and to build the foundation for a | ||
self-sustaining market for natural gas vehicles in Texas, the | ||
commission shall award grants to support the development of a | ||
network of natural gas vehicle fueling stations along: | ||
(1) the interstate highways connecting Houston, San | ||
Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth; and | ||
(2) the interstate highways connecting San Antonio to | ||
Corpus Christi and Laredo and the state highways connecting Corpus | ||
Christi and Laredo. | ||
(a-2) In awarding the grants, the commission shall provide | ||
for: | ||
(1) strategically placed natural gas vehicle fueling | ||
stations: | ||
(A) in and between the Houston, San Antonio, and | ||
Dallas-Fort Worth areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel | ||
along that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel; and | ||
(B) in and between the Corpus Christi, Laredo, | ||
and San Antonio areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel | ||
along that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel; | ||
(2) the grants for each region described by Subsection | ||
(a-1)(1) or (2) to be dispersed through a competitive bidding | ||
process to offset a portion of the cost of installation of the | ||
natural gas dispensing equipment; | ||
(3) contracts that require the recipient stations to | ||
meet operational, maintenance, and reporting requirements as | ||
specified by the commission; and | ||
(4) for each region described by Subsection (a-1)(1) | ||
or (2), a listing, to be maintained by the commission and made | ||
available to the public online, of all natural gas vehicle fueling | ||
stations that have received grant funding, including location and | ||
hours of operation. | ||
(d) Stations funded by grants under this section must be | ||
publicly accessible and must be located, as applicable, not more | ||
than three miles from an interstate highway described by Subsection | ||
(a-1)(1) or not more than three miles from an interstate highway or | ||
state highway described by Subsection (a-1)(2) [ |
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commission shall give preference to: | ||
(1) stations providing both liquefied natural gas and | ||
compressed natural gas at a single location; and | ||
(2) stations located not more than one mile from an | ||
interstate highway [ |
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SECTION 9. Chapter 393, Health and Safety Code, as added by | ||
Chapter 589 (S.B. 20), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular | ||
Session, 2011, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |