The Oklahoma House has passed a bill that would expand compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling infrastructure in the state's 77 counties with tax revenue already collected on natural gas and oil extraction.

H.R. 2954, sponsored by Rep. John Cockroft, passed the House 71-17 on March 6. The bill now heads to the state Senate. Cockroft introduced it in January.

When built, the stations would be accessible to commercial fleets, government fleets, and the public.

Tax revenue would be used to fund the CNG infrastructure build-out as well as fund the conversion of vehicles in county fleets. Oklahoma's counties would each receive an equal share of the tax revenue, which is expected to be $15 million in the first year. The funding would end July 1, 2019.

The legislation would also require counties to keep track of annual savings from the initiative. Oklahoma's Department of Transportation banked significant savings after converting 174 vehicles to CNG. The department saved $163,451 in five months, according to Cockroft.

"That's $32,690 per month," Cockroft said. "My legislation would aid counties in converting their fleets to CNG and further multiply those savings throughout the state."

Read the full text of the bill here.