83R4720 JAM-D
 
  By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1781
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the eligibility for grants for natural gas fueling
  stations under the Texas natural gas vehicle grant program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 394.005(c), Health and Safety Code, as
  added by Chapter 892 (S.B. 385), Acts of the 82nd Legislature,
  Regular Session, 2011, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  As a condition of receiving a grant, the qualifying
  vehicle must be continuously owned, leased, or otherwise
  commercially financed and registered and operated in the state by
  the grant recipient until the earlier of the fourth anniversary of
  the date of reimbursement of the grant-funded expenses or until the
  date the vehicle has been in operation for 400,000 miles after the
  date of reimbursement.  Not less than 75 percent of the annual use
  of the qualifying vehicle, either mileage or fuel use as determined
  by the commission, must occur in:
               (1)  the counties any part of which are included in the
  areas [area] described by Section 394.010(a-1) [394.010(a)]; or
               (2)  counties designated as nonattainment areas within
  the meaning of Section 107(d) of the federal Clean Air Act (42
  U.S.C. Section 7407).
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 394.010, Health and
  Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 394.010.  CLEAN TRANSPORTATION TRIANGLES [TRIANGLE].
         SECTION 3.  Section 394.010, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections
  (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
         (a)  In this section,  "state highway" means a highway in
  this state included in the plan providing for a system of state
  highways prepared by the executive director of the Texas Department
  of Transportation under Section 201.103, Transportation Code.
         (a-1)  To ensure that natural gas vehicles purchased,
  leased, or otherwise commercially financed or repowered under the
  program have access to fuel, and to build the foundation for a
  self-sustaining market for natural gas vehicles in Texas, the
  commission shall award grants to support the development of a
  network of natural gas vehicle fueling stations along:
               (1)  the interstate highways connecting Houston, San
  Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth; and
               (2)  the interstate highways connecting San Antonio to
  Corpus Christi and Laredo and the state highways connecting Corpus
  Christi and Laredo.  
         (a-2)  In awarding the grants, the commission shall provide
  for:
               (1)  strategically placed natural gas vehicle fueling
  stations:
                     (A)  in and between the Houston, San Antonio, and
  Dallas-Fort Worth areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel
  along that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel; and
                     (B)  in and between the Corpus Christi, Laredo,
  and San Antonio areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel
  along that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel;
               (2)  the grants for each region described by Subsection
  (a-1)(1) or (2) to be dispersed through a competitive bidding
  process to offset a portion of the cost of installation of the
  natural gas dispensing equipment;
               (3)  contracts that require the recipient stations to
  meet operational, maintenance, and reporting requirements as
  specified by the commission; and
               (4)  for each region described by Subsection (a-1)(1)
  or (2), a listing, to be maintained by the commission and made
  available to the public online, of all natural gas vehicle fueling
  stations that have received grant funding, including location and
  hours of operation.
         (d)  Stations funded by grants under this section must be
  publicly accessible and must be located, as applicable, not more
  than three miles from an interstate highway described by Subsection
  (a-1)(1) or not more than three miles from an interstate highway or
  state highway described by Subsection (a-1)(2) [system].  The
  commission shall give preference to:
               (1)  stations providing both liquefied natural gas and
  compressed natural gas at a single location; and
               (2)  stations located not more than one mile from an
  interstate highway [system].
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 393, Health and Safety Code, as added by
  Chapter 589 (S.B. 20), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2011, is repealed.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.