H.B. No. 3469
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a program to provide grants to be
used to reduce emissions of diesel exhaust from school buses and to
the use of the Texas emissions reduction plan to fund the program.
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; [and]
(3) the new technology research and development
program established under Chapter 387; and
(4) the clean school bus program established under
Chapter 390.
SECTION 2. Section 386.052(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Appropriate commission objectives include:
(1) achieving maximum reductions in oxides of nitrogen
to demonstrate compliance with the state implementation plan;
(2) preventing areas of the state from being in
violation of national ambient air quality standards; [and]
(3) achieving cost-saving and multiple benefits by
reducing emissions of other pollutants; and
(4) achieving reductions of emissions of diesel
exhaust from school buses.
SECTION 3. Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a) Money in the fund 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 not more
than four percent may be used for the clean school bus program and
not more than 10 percent may be used for on-road diesel purchase or
lease incentives;
(2) for the new technology research and development
program, 9.5 percent of the money in the fund, of which up to
$250,000 is allocated for administration, up to $200,000 is
allocated for a health effects study, $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, and not less than 20
percent is to be allocated each year to support research related to
air quality for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and Dallas-Fort
Worth nonattainment areas by a nonprofit organization based in
Houston; and
(3) for administrative costs incurred by the
commission and the laboratory, three percent.
(c) Money in the fund may be allocated to the clean school
bus program only if:
(1) the money is available for that purpose after
money is allocated for the other purposes of the fund as required by
the state implementation plan; or
(2) the amount of money deposited to the credit of the
fund in a state fiscal year exceeds the amount the comptroller's
biennial revenue estimate shows as the comptroller's estimated
amount to be deposited to the credit of the fund in that year.
SECTION 4. Subtitle C, Title 5, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 390 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 390. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM
Sec. 390.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Diesel exhaust" means one or more of the air
pollutants emitted from an engine by the combustion of diesel fuel,
including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic
compounds, air toxics, and carbon monoxide.
(2) "Incremental cost" has the meaning assigned by
Section 386.001.
(3) "Program" means the clean school bus program
established under this chapter.
(4) "Qualifying fuel" includes any liquid or gaseous
fuel or additive registered or verified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, other than standard gasoline or
diesel, that is ultimately dispensed into a school bus that
provides reductions of emissions of particulate matter.
(5) "Retrofit" has the meaning assigned by Section
386.101.
Sec. 390.002. PROGRAM. (a) The commission shall establish
and administer a clean school bus program designed to reduce the
exposure of school children to diesel exhaust in and around
diesel-fueled school buses. Under the program, the commission
shall provide grants for eligible projects to offset the
incremental cost of projects that reduce emissions of diesel
exhaust.
(b) Projects that may be considered for a grant under the
program include:
(1) diesel oxidation catalysts for school buses built
before 1994;
(2) diesel particulate filters for school buses built
from 1994 to 1998;
(3) the purchase and use of emission-reducing add-on
equipment for school buses, including devices that reduce crankcase
emissions;
(4) the use of qualifying fuel; and
(5) other technologies that the commission finds will
bring about significant emissions reductions.
Sec. 390.003. APPLICATION FOR GRANT. (a) A school district
in this state that operates one or more diesel-fueled school buses
or a transportation system provided by a countywide school district
may apply for and receive a grant under the program.
(b) The commission may adopt guidelines to allow a regional
planning commission, council of governments, or similar regional
planning agency created under Chapter 391, Local Government Code,
or a private nonprofit organization to also apply for and receive a
grant to improve the ability of the program to achieve its goals.
(c) An application for a grant under this chapter must be
made on a form provided by the commission and must contain the
information required by the commission.
Sec. 390.004. ELIGIBILITY OF PROJECTS FOR GRANTS. (a) The
commission by rule shall establish criteria for setting priorities
for projects eligible to receive grants under this chapter. The
commission shall review and may modify the criteria and priorities
as appropriate.
(b) A school bus proposed for retrofit must be used on a
regular, daily route to and from a school and have at least five
years of useful life remaining unless the applicant agrees to
remove the retrofit device at the end of the life of the bus and
reinstall the device on another bus.
Sec. 390.005. RESTRICTION ON USE OF GRANT. A recipient of a
grant under this chapter shall use the grant to pay the incremental
costs of the project for which the grant is made, which may include
the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the labor needed
to install emissions-reducing equipment. The recipient may not use
the grant to pay the recipient's administrative expenses.
Sec. 390.006. EXPIRATION. This chapter expires August 31,
2013.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3469 was passed by the House on April
29, 2005, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 3469 on May 27, 2005, by the following
vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3469 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor