83R1335 JAM-D
 
  By: Raney H.B. No. 1115
 
 
 
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
  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.  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 system" means the
  highways 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:
               (1)  along the interstate highways connecting Houston,
  San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth; and
               (2)  along the state highway system in counties
  contained wholly or partly in the triangular area described by
  Subdivision (1).  
         (a-2)  In awarding the grants, the commission shall provide
  for:
               (1)  strategically placed natural gas vehicle fueling
  stations in and between the Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort
  Worth areas to enable a natural gas vehicle to travel in [along]
  that triangular area relying solely on natural gas fuel;
               (2)  grants 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)  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 located not more than three miles from a
  highway designated as part of the state highway system or an
  interstate highway 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 a
  highway designated as part of:
                     (A)  the state highway system; or
                     (B)  an interstate highway system.
         SECTION 3.  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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.