84R12566 JXC-D
By: Giddings H.B. No. 1961
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to authorizing the optional imposition of a county air
quality fee at the time other emissions-related inspection fees are
collected.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 382.221 to read as follows:
Sec. 382.221. COUNTY AIR QUALITY FEE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Department" means the Texas Department of Motor
Vehicles.
(2) "State-funded air quality program" means:
(A) the low-income vehicle repair assistance,
retrofit, and accelerated vehicle retirement program under Section
382.209; and
(B) a local initiative project program under
Section 382.220.
(b) An affected county that has incidents approaching, or
monitors incidents that exceed, the national ambient air quality
standards for ozone may by order adopt a county air quality fee to
be used by the county only for a county-funded version of a
state-funded air quality program. The county-funded program must be
overseen by the commission.
(c) A county may not discontinue a state-funded air quality
program in the county in anticipation of imposing a fee under this
section if the discontinuance would cause a violation of 42 U.S.C.
Section 7511d.
(d) A fee imposed under this section is not a Clean Air Act
fee.
(e) A county that adopts a fee under this section shall
notify the department, in a manner determined by the department, of
the fee and the fee amount not later than the 60th day before the
date the county imposes the fee.
(f) The amount of a fee imposed under this section may not
exceed the amount of a fee assessed in the county for an
emissions-related inspection.
(g) The county assessor-collector of a county imposing a fee
under this section shall collect the additional fee for a vehicle at
the time of registration, when other fees imposed under this
chapter and Chapter 548, Transportation Code, are collected under
Section 548.509, Transportation Code.
(h) The department shall collect the additional fee on a
vehicle that is owned by a resident of a county imposing a fee under
this section and that must be registered directly with the
department. The department shall send all fees collected for a
county under this subsection to the county treasurer. The
department may deduct for administrative costs an amount of not
more than one percent of the amount of fees collected under this
section.
(i) The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.