Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 12	Senate Author:  Averitt et al.
Effective:  9-1-2007	House Sponsor:  Bonnen et al.

            Senate Bill 12 amends the Health and Safety Code and related provisions in other codes to make changes to the Low Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program (LIRAP), the Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP), and to certain energy efficiency programs in state purchasing and energy consumption.

            The bill sets an income limit of not more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level for a vehicle owner to qualify for LIRAP funding, places dollar limits on the funds provided toward the purchase of different types of replacement vehicles, and sets gross weight and total cost limits for a qualifying replacement vehicle.  For a vehicle to be replaced with LIRAP funds, it must be at least 10 years old, be operable, be currently registered in the county operating the program, and have passed a vehicle inspection within the preceding 15 months.  The bill requires a vehicle dismantler to scrap its emission control equipment and engine and to certify that they have been scrapped and not resold, and it provides civil penalties for each violation of these requirements.  It also requires removal of any mercury switches.  The bill prohibits local LIRAPs from spending more than 10 percent of their program funds on administrative costs, directs participating counties to provide an electronic means for disbursing vehicle repair or replacement funds, and allows up to $5 million in LIRAP funds to be disbursed and matched by local funds each fiscal year for local initiatives implemented in consultation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).  The bill directs TCEQ to review current nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions levels and determine whether a lower standard would better serve public health, to work with auto manufacturers and dealers to increase public LIRAP awareness, and to partner with the steel industry and vehicle dismantlers to develop certifiable scrapping procedures, with completion of the NOx review and the adoption of scrapping procedure rules due no later than January 1, 2008.

            TERP revisions raise the cost effectiveness limit for grant eligibility under TERP's diesel emissions reduction incentive program from $13,000 to $15,000 per ton of NOx emissions reduction attributable to a project; make a marine vessel's electrical power unit eligible for TERP funding; allow TCEQ to provide funding to other state agencies to lease, purchase, or install idle reduction technologies and facilities for stationary vehicles and vessels; transfer administration of the TERP fund from the comptroller to TCEQ; and allow TCEQ to hire staff and consultants to ensure timely review of applications and reimbursement of grant applicants' eligible program costs.  The bill further directs the TCEQ to research and report to the legislature, no later than December 31, 2007, on an Internet-based application process for rebate grants or implement such process no later than June 1, 2008.  The bill makes a Houston-based college or university, as well as nonprofit organizations, eligible for a TERP fund allocation for a new technology research and development program to identify, test, and evaluate commercially-viable emissions reductions technologies; sets forth board membership requirements for a nonprofit organization contracting with TCEQ for such programs; and limits such organization's use of its grant for administrative costs to no more than 10 percent of the funds provided.  The bill prohibits vehicles with sleeping berths from idling in a residential area, within 1,000 feet of a public school or hospital, or from idling to power a heater or air conditioner within two miles of external heating and air conditioning connections.

            The bill allows the State Energy Conservation Office to adopt more stringent energy efficiency performance standards than those specified in current law based on recommendations from the Energy Systems Laboratory at the Texas A&M University and the latest edition of the International Residential Code or of the International Energy Conservation Code, and it requires public colleges and universities and executive branch state agencies to implement energy efficiency measures.  It also requires those entities and certain political subdivisions to establish goals to reduce electric consumption by five percent per year for a six-year period beginning September 1, 2007, and establishes certain reporting requirements for nonattainment of those goals.  The bill amends the Government Code to direct the Texas Building and Procurement Commission to develop and update a list of equipment and appliances that meet the state's energy efficiency standards, to assist state agencies in selecting products for purchase, and, if available and cost effective, to purchase equipment and appliances that exceed federal Energy Star standards.

            The bill amends the Utilities Code to require TCEQ to establish a competitive bid grant program to fund solar energy demonstration projects, establishes eligibility criteria and qualifications for grant applicants, directs TCEQ to report biennially on the program's status to the governor and legislature's presiding officers, and limits the money spent by the Public Utility Commission on solar energy demonstration programs.

            The bill amends the Tax Code to deduct the monetary compensation distributed under LIRAP from the definition of "total consideration" or amount paid for a motor vehicle; amends the Tax Code and Transportation Code to extend the expiration date for certain TERP fees and surcharges deposited to the TERP account from August and September 2010 to August 31, 2013; amends the Water Code to specify procedures that the TCEQ must follow in initiating formal enforcement when there are multiple violations of the Clean Air Act; and amends the Government Code to add additional notices on the application of certain concrete batch plants or construction permits to be sent to the applicable county judge or presiding officer.