83R19708 JAM-F
By: Raney, Pitts, Kacal, Cook, et al. H.B. No. 1115
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1115:
By: Isaac C.S.H.B. No. 1115
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility for grants for natural gas fueling
stations under the Texas natural gas vehicle grant program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 394.005(c), 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:
(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
area described by Section 394.010(a-1) [394.010(a)]; or
(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).
SECTION 2. Section 394.010, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections
(a-1), (a-2), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "State highway system" means the highways 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.
(2) "United States highway" means a highway designated
as part of the United States highway system by the American
Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials.
(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:
(1) along the interstate highways connecting Houston,
San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth; and
(2) along the state highway system or a United States
highway in counties contained wholly or partly in the triangular
area described by Subdivision (1).
(a-2) In awarding the grants, the commission shall provide
for:
(1) strategically placed natural gas vehicle fueling
stations in and between the Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort
Worth areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel in [along]
that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel;
(2) grants 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) 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 located not more than three miles from a
highway designated as part of the state highway system, a United
States highway, or an interstate highway system. The 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 a
highway designated as part of:
(A) the state highway system;
(B) a United States highway; or
(C) an interstate highway system.
(h) An application for a grant under this section must
contain a certification that the applicant is in compliance with
all laws, rules, and requirements regarding taxation of fuel
provided by the applicant at any fueling facility owned or operated
by the applicant existing at the time the application was filed.
(i) The commission may terminate a grant awarded under this
section without further obligation to the grant recipient if the
commission determines that the recipient was not in compliance with
a law, rule, or requirement described by Subsection (h) at the time
of application. This subsection does not create a cause of action
to contest an application or award of a grant.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.