By: Turner, Howard, Giddings H.B. No. 2321
(Senate Sponsor - Watson)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2017;
May 12, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
Resources & Economic Development; May 18, 2017, reported favorably
by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 4; May 18, 2017, sent to
printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and
accelerated vehicle retirement programs and local initiative
projects.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 382.201, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (4-a) to read as follows:
(4-a) "Purchase" means a transaction in which a person
buys a vehicle.
SECTION 2. Section 382.202(g), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) The commission shall:
(1) use part of the fee collected under Subsection (e)
to fund county [low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and
accelerated vehicle retirement] programs and projects as provided
by Section 382.220 [created under Section 382.209]; and
(2) to the extent practicable, distribute available
funding created under Subsection (e) to participating counties in
reasonable proportion to the amount of fees collected under
Subsection (e) in those counties or in the regions in which those
counties are located.
SECTION 3. Sections 382.209(b) and (e), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission shall provide funding for local
low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated
vehicle retirement programs as provided by Section 382.220 [with
available funds collected under Section 382.202, 382.302, or other
designated and available funds]. The programs shall be
administered in accordance with Chapter 783, Government Code.
Program costs may include call center management, application
oversight, invoice analysis, education, outreach, and advertising.
Not more than 10 percent of the money provided to a local low-income
vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle
retirement program [under this section] may be used for the
administration of the program [programs], including program costs.
(e) A vehicle is not eligible to participate in a low-income
vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle
retirement program established under this section unless:
(1) the vehicle is capable of being operated;
(2) the [registration of the] vehicle:
(A) is registered in a county implementing the
program [is current]; or [and]
(B) [reflects that the vehicle] has been
registered in a [the] county implementing the program for at least
12 of the 15 months preceding the application for participation in
the program;
(3) the commissioners court of the county
administering the program determines that the vehicle meets the
eligibility criteria adopted by the commission, the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Public Safety Commission;
(4) if the vehicle is to be repaired, the repair is
done by a repair facility recognized by the Department of Public
Safety, which may be an independent or private entity licensed by
the state; and
(5) if the vehicle is to be retired under this
subsection and Section 382.213, the replacement vehicle is a
qualifying motor vehicle.
SECTION 4. Sections 382.210(a), (b), and (f), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission by rule shall adopt guidelines to assist
a participating county in implementing a low-income vehicle repair
assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle retirement program
authorized under Section 382.209. The guidelines at a minimum
shall recommend:
(1) a [minimum and] maximum amount for repair
assistance of at least $800;
(2) an [a minimum and maximum] amount to be put toward
the purchase price of a replacement vehicle qualified for the
accelerated retirement program, based on vehicle type and model
year, of at least [with the maximum amount not to exceed]:
(A) $4,000 [$3,000] for a replacement car of the
current model year or the previous four [three] model years, except
as provided by Paragraph (C);
(B) $4,000 [$3,000] for a replacement truck of
the current model year or the previous three [two] model years,
except as provided by Paragraph (C); and
(C) $4,500 [$3,500] for a replacement vehicle of
the current model year or the previous four [three] model years
that:
(i) is a hybrid vehicle, electric vehicle,
or natural gas vehicle; or
(ii) has been certified to meet federal
Tier 2, Bin 3 or a cleaner Bin certification under 40 C.F.R. Section
86.1811-04, as published in the February 10, 2000, Federal
Register, or to meet federal Tier 3, Bin 85 or a cleaner Bin
certification under 40 C.F.R. Section 86.1811-17;
(3) criteria for determining eligibility, taking into
account:
(A) the vehicle owner's income, which may not
exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level;
(B) the fair market value of the vehicle; and
(C) any other relevant considerations;
(4) safeguards for preventing fraud in the repair,
purchase, or sale of a vehicle in the program; and
(5) procedures for determining the degree and amount
of repair assistance a vehicle is allowed, based on:
(A) the amount of money the vehicle owner has
spent on repairs;
(B) the vehicle owner's income; and
(C) any other relevant factors.
(b) A replacement vehicle described by Subsection (a)(2)
must:
(1) except as provided by Subsection (c), be a vehicle
in a class or category of vehicles that has been certified to meet
federal Tier 2, Bin 5 or a cleaner Bin certification under 40 C.F.R.
Section 86.1811-04, as published in the February 10, 2000, Federal
Register, or to meet federal Tier 3, Bin 160 or a cleaner Bin
certification under 40 C.F.R. Section 86.1811-17;
(2) have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than
10,000 pounds;
(3) have an odometer reading of not more than 85,000
[70,000] miles; and
(4) be a vehicle the total purchase price [cost] of
which does not exceed:
(A) for a vehicle described by Subsection
(a)(2)(A) or (B), $35,000; or
(B) for a vehicle described by Subsection
(a)(2)(C), $45,000.
(f) For the purposes of Subsection (b), a reference to the
total purchase price of a motor vehicle [In this section, "total
cost"] means the total amount of money paid or to be paid for the
purchase of a motor vehicle as set forth as "sales price" in the
form entitled "Application for Texas Certificate of Title"
promulgated by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. In a
transaction that does not involve the use of that form, the term
means an amount of money that is equivalent, or substantially
equivalent, to the amount that would appear as "sales price" on the
Application for Texas Certificate of Title if that form were
involved.
SECTION 5. Section 382.220, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 382.220. COUNTY USE OF MONEY FROM VEHICLE EMISSIONS
INSPECTION FEES; [FUNDING FOR] LOCAL INITIATIVE PROJECTS. (a) The
commission:
(1) shall provide funding to participating counties
for local low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and
accelerated vehicle retirement programs under Section 382.209
using:
(A) available funds derived from fees collected
through vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance programs
under Sections 382.202 and 382.302; and
(B) other designated and available funds; and
(2) may provide funding to participating counties for
local initiative projects under Subsection (b) using available
funds derived from fees collected through vehicle emissions
inspection and maintenance programs under Sections 382.202 and
382.302.
(a-1) A participating county that implements a local
initiative project under Subsection (b) must use at least 50
percent of the money made available to the county under Section
382.202(g) or 382.302 for the county's low-income vehicle repair
assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle retirement program.
(a-2) Money that is made available to participating
counties under Section 382.202(g) or 382.302 may be appropriated
only for programs administered in accordance with Chapter 783,
Government Code, to improve air quality.
(a-3) A participating county may agree to contract with any
appropriate entity, including a metropolitan planning organization
or a council of governments, to implement a program under Section
382.202 or[,] 382.209[,] or a project under Subsection (b) [this
section].
(b) A participating county may implement a local initiative
project, which [program under this section] must be implemented in
consultation with the commission and may include a program to:
(1) expand and enhance the AirCheck Texas Repair and
Replacement Assistance Program;
(2) develop and implement programs or systems that
remotely determine vehicle emissions and notify the vehicle's
operator;
(3) develop and implement projects to implement the
commission's smoking vehicle program;
(4) develop and implement projects in consultation
with the director of the Department of Public Safety for
coordinating with local law enforcement officials to reduce the use
of counterfeit registration insignia and vehicle inspection
reports by providing local law enforcement officials with funds to
identify vehicles with counterfeit registration insignia and
vehicle inspection reports and to carry out appropriate actions;
(5) develop and implement programs to enhance
transportation system improvements; [or]
(6) develop and implement new air control strategies
designed to assist local areas in complying with state and federal
air quality rules and regulations; or
(7) improve air quality through the replacement and
retirement of fleet vehicles as authorized by Subsection (d).
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), money [Money] that
is made available for the implementation of a program under
Subsection (b) may not be expended for local government fleet or
vehicle acquisition or replacement, call center management,
application oversight, invoice analysis, education, outreach, or
advertising purposes.
(d) A participating county may use money that has been
allocated by the commission to the county for a program under
Subsection (b) and that has not been spent by the last day of the
fiscal year in which the money was allocated for the replacement and
retirement of local government fleet vehicles. Money available for
use under this subsection must be spent not later than the second
anniversary of the last day of the fiscal year in which the
commission allocated the funds [Fees collected under Sections
382.202 and 382.302 may be used in an amount not to exceed $7
million per fiscal year for projects described by Subsection (b),
of which $2 million may be used only for projects described by
Subsection (b)(4). The remaining $5 million may be used for any
project described by Subsection (b). The fees shall be made
available only to counties participating in the low-income vehicle
repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle retirement
programs created under Section 382.209 and only on a matching
basis, whereby the commission provides money to a county in the same
amount that the county dedicates to a project authorized by
Subsection (b). The commission may reduce the match requirement
for a county that proposes to develop and implement independent
test facility fraud detection programs, including the use of remote
sensing technology for coordinating with law enforcement officials
to detect, prevent, and prosecute the use of counterfeit
registration insignia and vehicle inspection reports].
SECTION 6. Section 382.302(e), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) A participating county may participate in the program
established under Section 382.209 and may implement a local
initiative project under Section 382.220.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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