| TO: | Honorable Jim Keffer, Chair, House Committee on Energy Resources |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2516 by Chisum (Relating to the use of alternative fuels by a county mass transit authority.), As Introduced |
Under current statute, a county mass transit authority is prohibited from purchasing or leasing a vehicle unless it is capable of using certain alternative fuels. The bill would amend Chapter 457 of the Transportation Code to add to the list of specific alternative fuels a vehicle purchased or leased by a county mass transit authority must be required to be able to use. The bill would also change from 50 percent to 80 percent the amount of time a vehicle uses an alternative fuel.
The bill would require an authority, not later than December 1 of each year, to submit a report to the legislature that details the authority's progress in achieving the percentage requirements listed in the proposed statute.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2009.
Chapter 457, Transportation Code, applies to a county that contains a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more and that has created a mass transit authority under Chapter 453.
According to information provided by the Texas Department of Transportation, there are currently no Chapter 457 county mass transit authorities formed. However, the municipal transit authority located in the city of El Paso is organized under Chapter 453 and meets the population applicability criteria to become a county mass transit authority under Chapter 457.
Because the bill would not have statewide impact on units of local government of the same type or class, no comment from this office is required by the rules of the House/Senate as to its probable fiscal implication on units of local government.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, DB
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