Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1942 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R4005 ANG-D
2	2	By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 1942
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the use of school buses and electricity by public
8	8	schools.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 34.009(j), Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(j) A contract under this section may have any lawful term
13	13	of not less than 2 [two] or more than 15 [10] years.
14	14	SECTION 2. Section 390.002(b), Health and Safety Code, is
15	15	amended to read as follows:
16	16	(b) Projects that may be considered for a grant under the
17	17	program include:
18	18	(1) diesel oxidation catalysts for school buses built
19	19	before 1994;
20	20	(2) diesel particulate filters for school buses built
21	21	from 1994 to 1998;
22	22	(3) the purchase and use of emission-reducing add-on
23	23	equipment for school buses, including devices that reduce crankcase
24	24	emissions;
25	25	(4) the use of qualifying fuel;
26	26	(5) other technologies that the commission finds will
27	27	bring about significant emissions reductions; [and]
28	28	(6) the replacement or conversion of a [pre-2007 model
29	29	year] school bus eligible for replacement or conversion under
30	30	Section 390.004; and
31	31	(7) the installation of charging infrastructure for
32	32	electric school buses.
33	33	SECTION 3. Section 390.003, Health and Safety Code, is
34	34	amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
35	35	(a-1) A private entity that leases school buses to a school
36	36	district or provides school bus services or supporting
37	37	infrastructure to a school district by contract may apply for and
38	38	receive a grant under the program.
39	39	SECTION 4. Section 390.004, Health and Safety Code, is
40	40	amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding
41	41	Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
42	42	(a) The commission by rule shall establish criteria for
43	43	setting priorities for projects eligible to receive grants under
44	44	this chapter. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the [The]
45	45	commission shall review and may modify the criteria and priorities
46	46	as appropriate.
47	47	(a-1) The criteria must prioritize projects that achieve
48	48	the greatest reductions in diesel exhaust, especially particulate
49	49	matter.
50	50	(a-2) The commission shall ensure that at least 75 percent
51	51	of the money issued for grants under this chapter is issued for
52	52	projects to purchase electric buses or to convert diesel buses into
53	53	electric buses.
54	54	(c) A school bus proposed for replacement must:
55	55	(1) be of model year 2006 or earlier if the bus will be
56	56	replaced with a combustion engine bus;
57	57	(1-a) be of a model year that is at least nine years
58	58	older than the year in which the grant application is submitted or
59	59	have an odometer reading at least 200,000 miles if the bus will be
60	60	replaced with an electric bus;
61	61	(2) have been owned and operated by the applicant for
62	62	at least the two years before submission of the grant application;
63	63	(3) be in good operational condition; and
64	64	(4) be currently used on a regular, daily route to and
65	65	from a school.
66	66	(d) A school bus proposed for purchase to replace a
67	67	[pre-2007 model year] school bus described by Subsection (c) must
68	68	be of the current model year or the year before the current model
69	69	year at the time of submission of the grant application.
70	70	SECTION 5. Section 390.005(a), Health and Safety Code, is
71	71	amended to read as follows:
72	72	(a) A recipient of a grant under this chapter shall use the
73	73	grant to pay the incremental costs of the project for which the
74	74	grant is made, which may include the reasonable and necessary
75	75	expenses incurred for the labor needed to install
76	76	emissions-reducing equipment or vehicle charging infrastructure.
77	77	The recipient may not use the grant to pay the recipient's
78	78	administrative expenses.
79	79	SECTION 6. Subchapter H, Chapter 36, Utilities Code, is
80	80	amended by adding Section 36.3531 to read as follows:
81	81	Sec. 36.3531. TIME-OF-USE RATES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (a)
82	82	Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, each electric
83	83	utility that provides electric service to a retail customer shall
84	84	offer to a school district or open-enrollment charter school served
85	85	by the electric utility time-of-use rates to promote efficient:
86	86	(1) charging of electric school buses; and
87	87	(2) energy use in school buildings.
88	88	(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, each
89	89	transmission and distribution utility in the ERCOT power region
90	90	shall offer to any retail electric provider in its service area that
91	91	serves a school district or open-enrollment charter school a rate
92	92	structure that allows the retail electric provider to offer
93	93	time-of-use rates to the district or school to promote efficient:
94	94	(1) charging of electric school buses; and
95	95	(2) energy use for school buildings.
96	96	(c) A regulatory authority shall provide a mechanism for
97	97	approving a tariff in accordance with this section.
98	98	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act in Chapter
99	99	390, Health and Safety Code, apply only to a Texas emissions
100	100	reduction plan grant awarded on or after the effective date of this
101	101	Act. A grant awarded before the effective date of this Act is
102	102	governed by the law in effect on the date the award was made, and the
103	103	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
104	104	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act in Section
105	105	36.3531, Utilities Code, as added by this Act, do not require an
106	106	electric utility to initiate a new ratemaking proceeding. An
107	107	electric utility shall comply with Section 36.3531, Utilities Code,
108	108	as added by this Act, beginning with the electric utility's first
109	109	ratemaking proceeding that begins after the effective date of this
110	110	Act.
111	111	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.