This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
78R1697 QS-D
By: Swinford H.B. No. 777
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to value-added processing of agricultural goods into fuel
ethanol and biodiesel and the fuel ethanol and biodiesel incentive
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 2, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 16 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 16. FUEL ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
Sec. 16.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Account" means the fuel ethanol and biodiesel
production account.
(2) "ASTM" means the American Society for Testing and
Materials.
(3) "Biodiesel" means a monoalkyl ester that:
(A) is derived from vegetable oils, rendered
animal fats, or renewable lipids or a combination of those
ingredients; and
(B) meets the requirements of ASTM PS 121, the
provisional specification for biodiesel.
(4) "Fuel ethanol" means ethyl alcohol that:
(A) has a purity of at least 99 percent,
exclusive of added denaturants;
(B) has been denatured in conformity with a
method approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of
the United States Department of the Treasury;
(C) meets the requirements of ASTM D4806, the
standard specification for ethanol used as a motor fuel; and
(D) is produced exclusively from agricultural
products or by-products or municipal solid waste.
(5) "Producer" means a person who operates a fuel
ethanol or biodiesel plant in this state.
Sec. 16.002. PLANT REGISTRATION. (a) To be eligible for a
grant for fuel ethanol or biodiesel produced in a plant, a producer
must apply to the department for the registration of the plant. A
producer may apply for the registration of more than one plant.
(b) An application for the registration of a plant must show
to the satisfaction of the department that:
(1) the plant is capable of producing fuel ethanol or
biodiesel;
(2) the producer has made a substantial investment of
resources in this state in connection with the plant; and
(3) the plant constitutes a permanent fixture in this
state.
(c) The department shall register each plant that qualifies
under this section.
Sec. 16.003. REPORTS. (a) On or before the fifth day of
each month, a producer shall report to the department on:
(1) the number of gallons of fuel ethanol or biodiesel
produced at each registered plant operated by the producer during
the preceding month;
(2) the number of gallons of fuel ethanol or biodiesel
imported into this state by the producer during the preceding
month;
(3) the number of gallons of fuel ethanol or biodiesel
sold or blended with motor fuels by the producer during the
preceding month; and
(4) the total value of agricultural products consumed
in each registered plant operated by the producer during the
preceding month.
(b) A producer who fails to file a report as required by this
section is ineligible to receive a grant for the period for which
the report is not filed.
Sec. 16.004. FUEL ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL PRODUCTION ACCOUNT.
(a) The fuel ethanol and biodiesel production account is an account
in the general revenue fund that may be appropriated only to the
department for the purposes of this chapter, including the making
of grants under this chapter.
(b) The account is composed of:
(1) fees collected under Section 16.005; and
(2) money transferred to the account under Subsection
(c).
(c) The comptroller shall transfer from the undedicated
portion of the general revenue fund to the account an amount of
money equal to 5.25 times the amount of the fees collected under
Section 16.005.
Sec. 16.005. FEE ON FUEL ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL PRODUCTION.
(a) The department shall impose a fee on each producer in an amount
equal to 3.2 cents for each gallon of fuel ethanol or biodiesel
produced in each registered plant operated by the producer.
(b) For each fiscal year, the department may not impose fees
on a producer for more than 18 million gallons of fuel ethanol or
biodiesel produced at any one registered plant.
(c) The department shall transfer the fees collected under
this section to the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the
account.
(d) The department may not impose fees on a producer for
fuel ethanol or biodiesel produced at a registered plant after the
10th anniversary of the date production from the plant begins.
Sec. 16.006. FUEL ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL GRANTS. (a) The
department shall make grants to producers as an incentive for the
development of the fuel ethanol and biodiesel industry and
agricultural production in this state.
(b) A producer is entitled to receive from the account 20
cents for each gallon of fuel ethanol or biodiesel produced in each
registered plant operated by the producer until the 10th
anniversary of the date production from the plant begins.
(c) For each fiscal year a producer may not receive grants
for more than 18 million gallons of fuel ethanol or biodiesel
produced at any one registered plant.
(d) The department by rule shall provide for the
distribution of grant funds under this chapter to producers. The
department shall make grants not less often than quarterly.
(e) If the department determines that the amount of money
credited to the account is not sufficient to distribute the full
amount of grant funds to eligible producers as provided by this
chapter for a fiscal year, the department shall proportionately
reduce the amount of each grant for each gallon of fuel ethanol or
biodiesel produced as necessary to continue the incentive program
during the remainder of the fiscal year.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.