H.B. No. 37
AN ACT
relating to contracts and grant programs related to the Texas
Emissions Reduction Plan; making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2155.451(a), Government Code, as added
by Section 19, Chapter 1331, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to a contract to be performed,
wholly or partly, in a nonattainment area or in an affected county,
as those terms are [that term is] defined by Section 386.001, Health
and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 271.907(b), Local Government Code, as
added by Section 20, Chapter 1331, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(b) This section applies only to a contract to be performed,
wholly or partly, in a nonattainment area or in an affected county,
as those terms are [that term is] defined by Section 386.001, Health
and Safety Code.
SECTION 3. Sections 386.051(a) and (b), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The utility commission, the commission, and the
comptroller[, and the council] shall establish and administer the
Texas emissions reduction plan in accordance with this chapter.
(b) Under the plan, the commission and[,] the comptroller[,
and the council] shall provide grants or other funding for:
(1) the diesel emissions reduction incentive program
established under Subchapter C, including for infrastructure
projects established under that subchapter;
(2) the motor vehicle purchase or lease incentive
program established under Subchapter D; and
(3) the new technology research and development
program established under Chapter 387.
SECTION 4. Section 387.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.001. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(2) "Program" [, "program"] means the new technology
research and development program.
SECTION 5. Section 387.002(b), Health and Safety Code, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 29, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The Texas Council on Environmental Technology shall
work to enhance the entrepreneurial and inventive spirit of Texans
to assist in developing solutions to air, water, and waste problems
by:
(1) identifying and evaluating new technologies and
seeking the approval of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency for and facilitating the deployment of those technologies;
and
(2) assisting the commission and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in the process of ensuring credit
for new, innovative, and creative technological advancements[;
[(3) competing for and managing federal grants and
funds from other sources available for carrying out the objectives
of the council; and
[(4) entering into public-private partnerships to
facilitate development of environmental technology infrastructure
in this state].
SECTION 6. Section 387.003, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 29, and Section 13, Chapter 1331, Acts
of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 387.003. NEW TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM. (a) The commission, in consultation with the Texas
Council on Environmental Technology, shall establish and
administer a new technology research and development program as
provided by this chapter.
(b) Under the program, the commission [Texas Council on
Environmental Technology] shall provide grants to be used to
support development of emissions-reducing technologies that may be
used for projects eligible for awards under Chapter 386 and other
new technologies that show promise for commercialization. The
primary objective of this chapter is to promote the development of
commercialization technologies that will support projects that may
be funded under Chapter 386 and this chapter, including advanced
technologies such as fuel cells, catalysts, and fuel additives.
[(c) When making a grant under the program, the Texas
Council on Environmental Technology may collect a fee from the
grant recipient in an amount not to exceed five percent of the
amount of the grant to be used by the council only to:
[(1) monitor project progress;
[(2) disseminate information about project
accomplishments;
[(3) track technology deployment into the
marketplace; and
[(4) provide estimates of the impact that
commercialization of funded projects will have on the environment.]
SECTION 7. Section 387.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.004. SOLICITATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY PROPOSALS.
The commission [Texas Council on Environmental Technology] from
time to time shall issue specific requests for proposals (RFPs) or
program opportunity notices (PONs) for technology projects to be
funded under the program.
SECTION 8. Sections 387.005(b) and (c), Health and Safety
Code, and Section 387.005(f), Health and Safety Code, as added by
Section 3, Chapter 29, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission [Texas Council on Environmental
Technology] shall identify and evaluate and may consider making
grants for technology projects that would allow qualifying fuels to
be produced from energy resources in this state. In considering
projects under this subsection, the commission [council] shall give
preference to projects involving otherwise unusable energy
resources in this state and producing qualifying fuels at prices
lower than otherwise available and low enough to make the projects
to be funded under the program economically attractive to local
businesses in the area for which the project is proposed.
(c) In soliciting proposals under Section 387.004 and
determining how to allocate grant money available for projects
under this chapter, the commission [Texas Council on Environmental
Technology] shall give special consideration to advanced
technologies and retrofit or add-on projects that provide multiple
benefits by reducing emissions of particulates and other air
pollutants.
(f) If a commissioner [member of the Texas Council on
Environmental Technology] is an employee or owner of an entity that
applies for a grant under this chapter, the commissioner [member],
before a vote on the grant, shall disclose the fact of the
commissioner's [member's] employment or ownership. The disclosure
must be entered into the minutes of the meeting. The commissioner
[member] may not vote on or otherwise participate in the awarding of
the grant. If the commissioner [member] does not comply with this
subsection, the entity is not eligible for the grant.
SECTION 9. Section 387.006(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission [Texas Council on Environmental
Technology] shall consider specifically, for each proposed
technology project application:
(1) the projected potential for reduced emissions of
oxides of nitrogen and the cost-effectiveness of the technology
once it has been commercialized;
(2) the potential for the technology to contribute
significantly to air quality goals; and
(3) the strength of the commercialization plan.
SECTION 10. Section 387.007, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.007. COST-SHARING. The commission [Texas Council
on Environmental Technology] may require cost-sharing for
technology projects funded under this chapter but may not require
repayment of grant money, except that the commission [council]
shall require provisions for recapturing grant money for
noncompliance with grant requirements. Grant money recaptured
under the contract provision shall be deposited in the
environmental research fund and reallocated for other projects
under this chapter.
SECTION 11. Section 387.008, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by Section 4, Chapter 29, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.008. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH FUND. (a) The
environmental research fund is an account in the general revenue
fund. The fund consists of [fees collected under Section
387.003(c) and] money from gifts, grants, or donations to the fund
for designated or general use and from any other source designated
by the legislature.
(b) Money in the environmental research fund may be used
only by the commission for operations [the operation] and projects
under this chapter [of the Texas Council on Environmental
Technology].
(c) Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not
apply to the fund. Interest earned on the fund shall be credited to
the fund.
SECTION 12. Sections 387.009 and 387.010, Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.009. ADVISORY COMMITTEES. The commission [Texas
Council on Environmental Technology] may appoint advisory
committees as necessary or desirable to assist the commission
[council] in performing its duties under this chapter. An advisory
committee may include representatives of industry, environmental
groups, consumer groups, local governments, agriculture, the
commission, the General Land Office, and the Railroad Commission of
Texas. Any senator or representative desiring to do so may
participate on any advisory committee appointed under this section.
Members of an advisory committee are not entitled to compensation.
Sec. 387.010. REPORTS. (a) Not [later than December 1,
2002, and not] later than December 1 of each even-numbered
[subsequent second] year, the commission [Texas Council on
Environmental Technology] shall report to the legislature on
projects funded under the new technology research and development
program, describing the technical objectives and accomplishments
of the project and the progress of the project technology toward
commercialization. Using sound science, the report shall detail
the costs and actual realized benefits of the program and of each
project funded under the program.
(b) The commission shall ensure that all research reports
under the program are accessible to the public, including, as
practicable, through the commission's Internet website.
SECTION 13. Section 387.002(c), Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 14. On the effective date of this Act:
(1) except as otherwise provided by Chapter 387,
Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, the functions of the
Texas Council on Environmental Technology are transferred to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, including:
(A) managing of grants approved by the council
before the effective date of this Act; and
(B) requesting proposals for grants, reviewing
grant applications, and awarding grant contracts;
(2) any contract or other obligation of the council is
transferred to the commission; and
(3) the property and records of the council and its
predecessor agencies are transferred to the commission.
SECTION 15. Section 11.21, Article IX, Chapter 1330, Acts
of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003 (the General
Appropriations Act), is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 11.21. Appropriations Limited to Revenue Collections:
Texas Emissions Reduction Plan. (a) Appropriations made by this
section supersede appropriations made by other sections of this Act
to the extent of any conflict.
(b) Out of the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Account
No. 5071, the following amounts are appropriated to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for each year of the
state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2003:
(1) 87.5 percent of the revenues accruing to the
account in each state fiscal year (estimated to be $104,210,750 in
fiscal year 2004 and $127,568,875 in fiscal year 2005) to be used
for incentive payments for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Incentive
Program established in Subchapter C, Chapter 386, Health and Safety
Code;
(2) 9.5 percent of the revenues accruing to the
account in each state fiscal year (estimated to be $11,314,310 in
fiscal year 2004 and $13,850,335 in fiscal year 2005) for the New
Technology Research and Development Program established in Chapter
387, Health and Safety Code; and
(3) 1.5 percent of the revenues accruing to the
account in each state fiscal year to be used to cover administrative
costs associated with the Diesel Emissions Reduction Incentive
Program.
(c) Of the money appropriated by Subsection (b)(2) of this
section:
(1) $500,000 shall be deposited to the Clean Air
Account No. 151 for use by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ) to supplement funding for air quality activities in
affected counties, as defined by Section 386.001, Health and Safety
Code;
(2) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ) may use not more than $250,000 for administrative costs of
the New Technology Research and Development Program; and
(3) not less than 20 percent of the money shall be
allocated for use in each state fiscal year to support research
related to air quality for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and
Dallas-Fort Worth nonattainment areas by a nonprofit organization
based in Houston as provided by Section 386.252, Health and Safety
Code.
(d) Of the money appropriated by Subsection (b)(3) of this
section, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) may
use not more than $606,845 in the state fiscal year ending August
31, 2004, for administrative costs associated with the Diesel
Emissions Reduction Incentive Program and may use not more than
$551,540 in the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2005, for
administrative costs associated with the Diesel Emissions
Reduction Incentive Program.
(e) Out of the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Account
No. 5071, 1.5 percent of revenues accruing to the account in each
state fiscal year are appropriated to the Texas Engineering
Experiment Station (TEES) for each year of the state fiscal
biennium beginning September 1, 2003, to be used for administrative
costs associated with the Texas Building Energy Performance
Standards under Chapter 388, Health and Safety Code. The Texas
Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) may use not more than
$950,421 in the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2004, for
administrative costs associated with the Texas Building Energy
Performance Standards and may use not more than $953,616 in the
state fiscal year ending August 31, 2005, for administrative costs
associated with the Texas Building Energy Performance Standards.
(f) [Included in the amounts appropriated in this Act are
revenues accruing to the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP)
Account No. 5071 during the 2004-05 biennium (estimated to be
$21,402,000 in fiscal year 2004 and $21,828,000 in fiscal year
2005) to carry out programs of the TERP.
[(b) Allocations of TERP revenues included in this Act are
as follows:
[(1) For the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ), 72 percent of TERP revenues to be used as incentive payments
for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Program established in
Subchapter C, Chapter 386, Health and Safety Code (estimated to be
$15,409,490 in fiscal year 2004 and $15,716,160 in fiscal year
2005) and 0.75 percent of TERP revenues to be used for
administrative costs incurred by the TCEQ in administering the
Diesel Emissions Reduction Program (estimated to by $160,515 in
fiscal year 2004 and $163,710 in fiscal year 2005), as provided by
Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code;
[(2) For the Public Utility Commission (PUC), 7.5
percent of TERP revenues to be used for grant payments for the
Energy Efficiency Grant Program as provided in Subchapter E,
Chapter 386, Health and Safety Code, (estimated to be $1,605,150 in
fiscal year 2004 and $1,637,100 in fiscal year 2005) and 0.75
percent of TERP revenues to be used for administrative costs
incurred by the PUC in administering the Energy Efficiency Grant
Program (estimated to be $160,515 in fiscal year 2004 and $163,710
in fiscal year 2005), as provided by Section 386.252, Health and
Safety Code;
[(3) For the Fiscal Programs - Comptroller of Public
Accounts, 10 percent of TERP revenues to be used for incentive
payments for the Motor Vehicle Purchase or Lease Incentive Program
established in Subchapter D, Chapter 386, Health and Safety Code,
(estimated to be $2,140,200 in fiscal year 2004 and $2,182,800 in
fiscal year 2005) and 0.75 percent of TERP revenues to be used for
administrative costs incurred by the Comptroller in administering
the Motor Vehicle Purchase or Lease Incentive Program (estimated to
be $160,515 in fiscal year 2004 and $163,710 in fiscal year 2005),
as provided by Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code;
[(4) For the Texas Engineering Experiment Station
(TEES), 0.75 percent of TERP revenues to be used for administrative
costs associated with the Texas Building Energy Performance
Standards, Chapter 388, Health and Safety Code (estimated to be
$160,515 in fiscal year 2004 and $163,710 in fiscal year 2005), as
provided by Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code;
[(5) For the Texas Council on Environmental Technology
(TCET), 7.5 percent of TERP revenues to be used for grant funding
and administrative costs associated with the New Technology
Research and Development Program established in Chapter 387, Health
and Safety Code (estimated to be $1,605,149 in fiscal year 2004 and
$1,637,099 in fiscal year 2005). The first $90,000 from the 7.5
percent of TERP revenues allocated to the Texas Council of
Environmental Technology in each fiscal year shall be deposited to
the Clean Air Account No. 151 for use by TCEQ to supplement funding
for air quality activities in affected counties as defined in
Section 386.001, Health and Safety Code. Of the remaining amounts
appropriated to the Texas Council on Environmental Technology, not
more than $203,893 in each fiscal year shall be spent on
administrative costs with remaining funds to be used to make grants
for new technologies. The amount appropriated for administrative
costs may increase as provided in Subsection (e), if revenues to the
TERP Account No. 5071 exceed $21,402,000 in fiscal year 2004 or
exceed $21,828,000 in fiscal year 2005.
[(c)] It is the intent of the Legislature that fees
generated and deposited to the TERP Account No. 5071 cover, at a
minimum, the costs of the appropriations made out of the TERP
Account No. 5071 by this Act, as well as the "other direct and
indirect costs" associated with TERP programs. In the event that
actual or projected revenue collections are insufficient to offset
the costs identified by this provision, the Legislative Budget
Board may direct that the Comptroller reduce the appropriation
authority provided above to be within the amount of revenue
expected to be available, provided that the reduction is in
proportion to each agency's share of TERP funding as allocated
above and as provided in Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code.
[(d) In the event that the Comptroller makes a finding that
revenues to the TERP Account No. 5071 will total more than
$21,402,000 in fiscal year 2004 or more than $21,828,000 in fiscal
year 2005, the Comptroller shall notify the Legislative Budget
Board of that finding at least 14 days prior to the disbursement of
such funds. The Comptroller shall include in that notification an
estimate of the amount expected to be received in excess of those
amounts and an estimate of the amount of additional funds each
agency will receive according to the allocation schedule described
in section (e) below.
[(e) In addition to amounts appropriated by this section out
of the TERP Account No. 5071, there is hereby appropriated all
revenues received by the TERP Account No. 5071 in excess of
$21,402,000 in fiscal year 2004 and in excess of $21,828,000 in
fiscal year 2005 of the biennium. Such additional amounts shall be
allocated to each agency according to the following proportions: 72
percent to TCEQ for incentive payments for the Diesel Emissions
Reduction Program; 7.5 percent to the PUC for grant payments for the
Energy Efficiency Grant Program; 10 percent to the Fiscal Programs
- Comptroller of Public Accounts for incentive payments for the
Motor Vehicle Purchase or Lease Incentive Program; 6.9 percent to
the TCET for grants and 0.2 percent to the TCET for administrative
costs; 0.4 percent to be deposited to the Clean Air Account No. 151
and appropriated to TCEQ to supplement funding for air quality
activities in affected counties; 2.25 percent to TCEQ for
administrative costs; 0.35 percent to the Comptroller for
administrative costs; 0.2 percent to the PUC for administrative
costs; and 0.2 percent to the TEES for administrative costs.]
(g) [(f)] Any unexpended balances in the appropriations
made by this section out of the TERP Account No. 5071 on August 31,
2004, are hereby appropriated for the same purposes for the fiscal
year beginning September 1, 2004.
(h) [(g) Contingent on the passage of House Bill 638, or
similar legislation, relating to the Texas emissions reduction plan
by the Seventy-eighth Legislature:
[(1) Notwithstanding other provisions contained in
this Section, appropriations out of the TERP Account No. 5071 are
hereby modified according to the allocations of funding contained
in Health and Safety Code, Section 386.252, as amended.
[(2) Of amounts appropriated pursuant to Subsection
(g), additional appropriations to the TCEQ for administrative costs
shall not exceed $446,330 in fiscal year 2004 and $387,830 in fiscal
year 2005; additional appropriations to the TEES for administration
shall not exceed $789,906 in each fiscal year; and additional
appropriations to the TCET for administration shall not exceed the
statutory limits for administrative costs contained in Health and
Safety Code, Section 386.252.
[(3)] The "Number of Full-Time-Equivalent Positions
(FTE)" indicated herein for the TCEQ is hereby increased by 9 each
fiscal year of the biennium and[;] the "Number of
Full-Time-Equivalent Positions (FTE)" indicated herein for the
TEES is hereby increased by 12 each fiscal year of the biennium[;
and the "Number of Full-Time-Equivalent Positions (FTE)" indicated
herein for the TCET is hereby increased by 5 each fiscal year of the
biennium].
SECTION 16. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as
reducing or redirecting the amounts of funding available through
Rider 8 in Article VI of the General Appropriations Act, 78th
Legislature.
SECTION 17. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of
the legislative session.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 37 was passed by the House on
September 17, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 123, Nays 2, 1
present, not voting; and that the House concurred in Senate
amendments to H.B. No. 37 on October 10, 2003, by the following
vote: Yeas 122, Nays 9, 1 present, not voting; passed subject to
the provisions of Article III, Section 49a, of the Constitution of
the State of Texas.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 37 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on September 24, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 30,
Nays 0; passed subject to the provisions of Article III, Section
49a, of the Constitution of the State of Texas.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I certify that the amounts appropriated in the herein H.B.
No. 37, 3rd Called Session of the 78th Legislature, are within
amounts estimated to be available in the affected fund.
Certified_____________________
______________________________
Comptroller of Public Accounts
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor