BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3089

By: Veasey

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law provides that a local government participating in a clean vehicle program, designed to encourage the use of low-emission vehicles, may purchase certain high-emission vehicles to be retired and replaced with low-emission vehicles. Although the purpose of the program was to get these high-emission vehicles off the road, certain counties in Texas have been reluctant to participate in the program because they are concerned that current law requires that such vehicles be sold by competitive bid or auction, rather than crushed and recycled.

C.S.H.B. 3089 authorizes the commissioners court of a county to order any vehicle retired under a clean vehicle program to be crushed and recycled without a competitive bid or auction.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3089 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a county to order any vehicle retired under a program designed to encourage the use of low-emission vehicles to be crushed and recycled, if practicable, without a competitive bid or auction.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B 3089 differs from the original by authorizing the commissioners court of a county to order any vehicle retired under a program designed to encourage the use of low-emission vehicles to be crushed and recycled, if practicable, without a competitive bid or auction, whereas the original authorizes the commissioners court to order any vehicle retired as a requirement of a clean vehicle program to be crushed and if practicable recycled without going through an auction or bid process.