88R8124 JRR-D
By: Lozano H.B. No. 2222
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain eligibility requirements for grants under the
Texas natural gas vehicle grant program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 394.005(b) and (c), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for a grant under the program:
(1) the use of the qualifying vehicle must be
projected to result in a reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides
of at least 25 percent as compared to the motor vehicle or engine
being replaced, based on:
(A) the baseline emission level set by the
commission under Subsection (g); and
(B) the certified emission rate of the qualifying
vehicle; and
(2) the qualifying vehicle must:
(A) replace a heavy-duty or medium-duty motor
vehicle that:
(i) is an on-road vehicle that has been
owned, leased, or otherwise commercially financed and registered
and operated by the applicant in Texas for at least the two years
immediately preceding the submission of a grant application;
(ii) satisfies any minimum average annual
mileage or fuel usage requirements established by the commission;
(iii) satisfies any minimum percentage of
annual usage requirements established by the commission; and
(iv) is in operating condition and has at
least two years of remaining useful life, as determined in
accordance with criteria established by the commission;
(B) replace a heavy-duty or medium-duty motor
vehicle that:
(i) is owned by the applicant;
(ii) is an on-road vehicle that has been:
(a) owned, leased, or otherwise
commercially financed and operated in Texas as a fleet vehicle for
at least the two years immediately preceding the submission of a
grant application; and
(b) registered in Texas [a county
located in the clean transportation zone] for at least the two years
immediately preceding the submission of a grant application; and
(iii) otherwise satisfies the mileage,
usage, and useful life requirements established under Paragraph (A)
as determined by documentation associated with the vehicle; or
(C) be a heavy-duty or medium-duty motor vehicle
repowered with a natural gas engine that:
(i) is installed in an on-road vehicle that
has been owned, leased, or otherwise commercially financed and
registered and operated by the applicant in Texas for at least the
two years immediately preceding the submission of a grant
application;
(ii) satisfies any minimum average annual
mileage or fuel usage requirements established by the commission;
(iii) satisfies any minimum percentage of
annual usage requirements established by the commission; and
(iv) is installed in an on-road vehicle
that, at the time of the vehicle's repowering, was in operating
condition and had at least two years of remaining useful life, as
determined in accordance with criteria established by the
commission.
(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 activity start date established by the commission or the date
the vehicle has been in operation for 400,000 miles after the
activity start date established by the commission. [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
the clean transportation zone.]
SECTION 2. Section 394.001(1-a), Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a grant awarded on or after the effective date of this Act. A
grant awarded before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the award was made, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.