Eckhardt Bus Bill Reserves 75 Percent Of Grants For Electric Buses

The text as introduced · 685 words

89R9228 ANG-D

By: Eckhardt
S.B. No. 981

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the use of school buses by public schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 34.009(j), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(j) A contract under this section may have any lawful term

of not less than 2 [ two ] or more than 15 [ 10 ] years.

SECTION 2. Section 390.002(b), Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(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;

(5) other technologies that the commission finds will

bring about significant emissions reductions; [ and ]

(6) the replacement or conversion of a [ pre-2007 model

year ] school bus eligible for replacement or conversion under

Section 390.004; and

(7) the installation of charging infrastructure for

electric school buses .

SECTION 3. Section 390.003, Health and Safety Code, is

amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A private entity that leases school buses to a school

district or provides school bus services or supporting

infrastructure to a school district by contract may apply for and

receive a grant under the program.

SECTION 4. Section 390.004, Health and Safety Code, is

amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding

Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:

(a) The commission by rule shall establish criteria for

setting priorities for projects eligible to receive grants under

this chapter. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the [ The ]

commission shall review and may modify the criteria and priorities

as appropriate.

(a-1) The criteria must prioritize projects that achieve

the greatest reductions in diesel exhaust, especially particulate

matter.

(a-2) The commission shall ensure that at least 75 percent

of the money issued for grants under this chapter is issued for

projects to purchase electric buses or to convert diesel buses into

electric buses.

(c) A school bus proposed for replacement must:

(1) be of model year 2006 or earlier if the bus will be

replaced with a combustion engine bus ;

(1-a) be of a model year that is at least nine years

older than the year in which the grant application is submitted or

have an odometer reading at least 200,000 miles if the bus will be

replaced with an electric bus;

(2) have been owned and operated by the applicant for

at least the two years before submission of the grant application;

(3) be in good operational condition; and

(4) be currently used on a regular, daily route to and

from a school.

(d) A school bus proposed for purchase to replace a

[ pre-2007 model year ] school bus described by Subsection (c) must

be of the current model year or the year before the current model

year at the time of submission of the grant application.

SECTION 5. Section 390.005(a), Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) 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 or vehicle charging infrastructure .

The recipient may not use the grant to pay the recipient's

administrative expenses.

SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act in Chapter

390, Health and Safety Code, apply only to a Texas emissions

reduction plan grant awarded on or after the effective date of this

Act. A grant awarded before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the award was made, and the

former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.