Relating to a grant program to provide financial assistance to qualified ambulance service providers in certain rural counties.

New ambulance grants for rural Texas counties

This Texas law creates grants to help counties with 68,750 or fewer residents buy ground ambulances. It takes effect September 1, 2025. The Comptroller must establish the program and its rules by January 1, 2026; counties can apply starting that date. Counties apply for private safety entities or public agencies licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Providers must mainly operate in a qualifying county. Each county can apply once per fiscal year, within 30 days after its fiscal year begins. A provider cannot receive funds through another county in the same fiscal year. Grants depend on state funding and a written agreement giving the Comptroller control over proper use. Maximum awards are $500,000 for counties under 10,000 residents and $350,000 for counties with 10,000 to 68,750 residents. The Comptroller weighs each county’s ability to fund ambulance services, including taxable property value per person, income per person, and unemployment. Money can only buy state-registered ambulances and related accessories or modifications allowed by program rules. Grants cannot be used to reduce the provider’s budget for the county’s next fiscal year. Funds can be paid before ordering, but counties must buy and take possession of the ambulance within five years of receiving funds. While awaiting an available ambulance, counties can hold funds in an interest-bearing account; interest remains grant money. Required rules cover applications, payment and spending deadlines, monitoring, and repayment of money used for unauthorized purposes.