83R1335 JAM-D
By: Raney 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) and (a-2) to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "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.
(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 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 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; or
(B) an interstate highway system.
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.