| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to programs funded under the Texas emissions reduction |
|
|
plan fund. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 386.051(b), Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Under the plan, the commission and the comptroller 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; |
|
|
(3) air quality research under Section 386.059 [the
|
|
|
new technology research and development program established under
|
|
|
Chapter 387]; |
|
|
(4) the clean school bus program established under |
|
|
Chapter 390; and |
|
|
(5) the new technology implementation grant program |
|
|
established under Chapter 391. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 386.058(b), Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The governor shall appoint to the advisory board: |
|
|
(1) a representative of the trucking industry; |
|
|
(2) a representative of the air conditioning |
|
|
manufacturing industry; |
|
|
(3) a representative of the electric utility industry; |
|
|
(4) a representative of regional transportation; and |
|
|
(5) a representative of the nonprofit organization |
|
|
described by Section 386.059 [386.252(a)(2)]. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 386, Health and Safety |
|
|
Code, is amended by adding Section 386.059 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 386.059. AIR QUALITY RESEARCH. (a) The commission |
|
|
shall contract with a nonprofit organization or institution of |
|
|
higher education to establish and administer a program to support |
|
|
research related to air quality. |
|
|
(b) The board of directors of a nonprofit organization |
|
|
establishing and administering the research program related to air |
|
|
quality under this section may not have more than 11 members, must |
|
|
include two persons with relevant scientific expertise to be |
|
|
nominated by the commission, and may not include more than four |
|
|
county judges selected from counties in the |
|
|
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and Dallas-Fort Worth nonattainment |
|
|
areas. The two persons with relevant scientific expertise to be |
|
|
nominated by the commission may be employees or officers of the |
|
|
commission, provided that they do not participate in funding |
|
|
decisions affecting the granting of funds by the commission to a |
|
|
nonprofit organization on whose board they serve. |
|
|
(c) The commission shall provide oversight as appropriate |
|
|
for grants provided under the program established under this |
|
|
section. |
|
|
(d) A nonprofit organization or institution of higher |
|
|
education shall submit to the commission for approval a budget for |
|
|
the disposition of funds granted under the program established |
|
|
under this section. |
|
|
(e) A nonprofit organization or institution of higher |
|
|
education shall be reimbursed for costs incurred in establishing |
|
|
and administering the research program related to air quality under |
|
|
this section. Reimbursable administrative costs of a nonprofit |
|
|
organization or institution of higher education may not exceed 10 |
|
|
percent of the program budget. |
|
|
(f) A nonprofit organization that receives grants from the |
|
|
commission under this section is subject to Chapters 551 and 552, |
|
|
Government Code. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 386.108(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The commission shall provide funding under Section |
|
|
386.252(a) [386.252(a)(1)] for infrastructure projects. |
|
|
SECTION 5. Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended by reenacting and amending Subsection (a), as amended by |
|
|
Chapters 1125 (H.B. 1796) and 1232 (S.B. 1759), Acts of the 81st |
|
|
Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, and by adding Subsection (a-1) |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Of the money [Money] in the fund, 96.5 percent may be |
|
|
used only to implement and administer programs established under |
|
|
the plan and shall be allocated as follows: |
|
|
(1) [for the diesel emissions reduction incentive
|
|
|
program, 87.5 percent of the money in the fund, of which:
|
|
|
[(A)] not more than four percent may be used for |
|
|
the clean school bus program; |
|
|
(2) [(B)] not more than 10 percent may be used for |
|
|
on-road diesel purchase or lease incentives; [and] |
|
|
(3) [(C)] a specified amount may be used for the new |
|
|
technology implementation grant program, from which a defined |
|
|
amount may be set aside for electricity storage projects related to |
|
|
renewable energy; |
|
|
(4) five percent shall be used for the clean fleet |
|
|
program; |
|
|
(5) [(2)
for the new technology research and
|
|
|
development program, nine percent of the money in the fund, of
|
|
|
which:
|
|
|
[(A)] up to $200,000 is allocated for a health |
|
|
effects study; |
|
|
(6) up to [(B)] $500,000 is to be deposited in the |
|
|
state treasury to the credit of the clean air account created under |
|
|
Section 382.0622 to supplement funding for air quality planning |
|
|
activities in affected counties; |
|
|
(7) up to $2 million [(C) not less than 20 percent] |
|
|
is to be allocated annually [each year] to support research related |
|
|
to air quality as provided by Section 386.059 [387.010]; |
|
|
(8) up to $216,000 is allocated annually to the |
|
|
commission to [and
|
|
|
[(D)
the balance is allocated each year to the
|
|
|
commission to be used to:
|
|
|
[(i)
implement and administer the new
|
|
|
technology research and development program for the purpose of
|
|
|
identifying, testing, and evaluating new emissions-reducing
|
|
|
technologies with potential for commercialization in this state and
|
|
|
to facilitate their certification or verification; and
|
|
|
[(ii)] contract with the Energy Systems |
|
|
Laboratory at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station for |
|
|
[$216,000 annually for] the development and annual computation of |
|
|
creditable statewide emissions reductions obtained through wind |
|
|
and other renewable energy resources for the state implementation |
|
|
plan; and |
|
|
(9) the balance of the money in the fund allocated by |
|
|
this subsection is allocated to the remaining programs of the |
|
|
diesel emissions reduction incentive program. |
|
|
(a-1) Two [(3) two] percent of the money in the fund is |
|
|
allocated to the commission and 1.5 percent is allocated to the |
|
|
laboratory for administrative costs incurred by the commission and |
|
|
the laboratory. |
|
|
SECTION 6. Section 447.011(h), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(h) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall |
|
|
obtain information on any fuel-saving technology that appears to |
|
|
reduce particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, or |
|
|
hydrocarbon emissions. [The Texas Commission on Environmental
|
|
|
Quality may use this information to fund the United States
|
|
|
Environmental Protection Agency verification of a technology in
|
|
|
accordance with Section 387.003, Health and Safety Code.] |
|
|
SECTION 7. Chapter 387, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
repealed. |
|
|
SECTION 8. A grant issued under Chapter 387, Health and |
|
|
Safety Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
|
|
Chapter 387, Health and Safety Code, as it existed immediately |
|
|
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in |
|
|
effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 9. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails |
|
|
over another Act of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, |
|
|
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted |
|
|
codes. |
|
|
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |