During the Texas Legislative pre-filing period that began last week, State House Representative Jay Dean of Longview re-introduced legislation to prevent local governments from prohibiting or restricting the use of natural gas or propane in cities and counties.

Texas House Bill (HB) 743 reads: CERTAIN REGULATIONS OF NATURAL GAS OR PROPANE APPLIANCES PROHIBITED. (a) A municipality or county may not adopt or enforce an ordinance, order, or other regulation that prohibits or restricts, directly or indirectly, the use of an appliance, system, or component that is fueled by natural gas or propane in the construction, renovation, maintenance, or alteration of a residential or commercial building.

Cities across the country, primarily on the West Coast and East Coast, have begun banning new gas connections as the electrification movement continues. But Gas Bans have also been the topic of conversation in some major Texas cities like Austin in their Climate Plan. Rep. Dean told KLTV previously that he believes that it is government overreach for the government to dictate what energy someone uses and wants to protect citizens' liberties.

Texas HB 743 will further strengthen protections in the Texas Propane Standardization Law established by HB 2663.

TPGA will keep members abreast of this Texas legislation as it progresses once the session officially begins in 2023.

In case you missed last Thursday's TPGA Regulatory Alert, we wanted to reshare it with members.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) requires the bulk plant, industrial plant, and pipeline LP-Gas systems with an aggregate water capacity of 10,000 gallons or more to meet the requirements of Chapter 15 of the 2017 edition of NFPA 58 and have an Operations and Maintenance (O & M) Manual.

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has developed Operations & Maintenance (O & M) Manual. TPGA has updated the PERC manual to the 2017 edition of NFPA 58.

While the manual covers operations of all sizes, it meets the requirements of NFPA and, ultimately, the Railroad Commission.

How to use this optional template. It is as easy as 1.2.3.:

1) Download the TPGA version of the PERC Operations & Maintenance (O & M) manual.

2) Complete each of the forms within the manual that relate to your bulk plant operations.

3) Print the completed manual and put it in a 3-ring binder.

There’s still time for your area trade and technical schools to apply to receive $10,000 from the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) to add a pre-developed propane curriculum and related equipment to their classroom. The application period ends Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

The HVAC and Plumber Technical Training curriculum offered in the Technical School Grant Program enables more students to learn about propane systems and more quickly be available to fill openings in the industry workforce.

Collin Community College Technical Campus in North Texas is a previous recipient of a PERC Technical School Grant, and the PERC curriculum is now part of the HVAC Program.

The Texas Propane Gas Association previously reported the opening of the Rebate Grants Vehicle Grant Program from TCEQ last month.

The program allowed for vehicle grants without replacements as well as infrastructure. The first come, first serve grant ran out of funds and closed last week well before the December 19, 2022, deadline.

Total available funding for the grant: $75,000,000

Total funds requested: $160,190,127

All is not lost; another program, the Texas Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program (TNGVGP) is open until March 31, 2023.

This first come, first serve grant is well-funded and provides grants for the replacement of old diesel vehicles with new propane or natural gas vehicles.

This program has been popular in the past with propane delivery companies wanting propane bobtails and school districts for propane school buses.