By: Zaffirini, Hinojosa S.B. No. 911
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, 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
areas [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. The heading to Section 394.010, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 394.010. CLEAN TRANSPORTATION TRIANGLES [TRIANGLE].
SECTION 3. 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:
(1) "Affected county" has the meaning assigned by
Section 386.001.
(2) "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:
(1) along the interstate highways connecting Houston,
San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth;
(2) along the interstate highways connecting San
Antonio to Corpus Christi and Laredo and the state highways
connecting Corpus Christi and Laredo;[,] and
(3) in nonattainment areas and affected counties of
the state.
(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 in
that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel;
(B) in and between the Corpus Christi, Laredo,
and San Antonio areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel in
that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel;[,] and
(C) in nonattainment areas and affected counties
of the state, to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel in those
areas relying solely on natural gas fuel;
(2) the 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. In awarding grants for stations under this
section, the [The] commission shall give preference to:
(1) stations providing both liquefied natural gas and
compressed natural gas at a single location;
(2) stations located not more than one mile from an
interstate highway [system]; and
(3) stations located in the triangular areas described
by Subsections (a-2)(1)(A) and (B) [area between the Houston, San
Antonio, and Dallas-Fort Worth areas].
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.