81R4514 MTB-F
By: Smith of Harris H.B. No. 3917
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation and administration of the Texas Local
Participation Transportation Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter O to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER O. TEXAS LOCAL PARTICIPATION TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
Sec. 403.351. DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(1) "Department" means the Texas Department of
Transportation.
(2) "Fund" means the Texas local participation
transportation fund.
(3) "Local project sponsor" means:
(A) a municipality;
(B) a county, including a county acting under
Chapter 284, Transportation Code;
(C) a regional mobility authority under Chapter
370, Transportation Code; or
(D) a regional tollway authority under Chapter
366, Transportation Code.
(4) "Program" means the Texas Local Participation
Transportation Program created under this subchapter.
(5) "Project" means a tolled or non-tolled facility:
(A) authorized under Section 222.104,
Transportation Code; and
(B) sponsored by a local project sponsor.
(6) "Total project cost" in connection with a project
means the estimated costs of:
(A) planning, environmental assessment,
regulatory permitting and compliance, design, construction,
construction oversight and inspection, right-of-way acquisition,
utility relocation, program management, legal services, and
financial advisory services; and
(B) financing, but only to the extent financing
costs relate to the securitization of amounts received from the
fund and received under an agreement made under Section 222.104,
Transportation Code.
Sec. 403.352. TEXAS LOCAL PARTICIPATION TRANSPORTATION
FUND. (a) The Texas local participation transportation fund is a
dedicated account in the general revenue fund.
(b) The fund is composed of:
(1) money transferred to the fund at the direction of
the legislature;
(2) gifts and grants contributed to the fund;
(3) interest and earnings received from investments of
money in the fund; and
(4) money repaid by a local project sponsor under a
loan made under this subchapter.
(c) Money in the fund may be used only for the
administration of this subchapter and may not be appropriated for
any other purpose.
(d) Sections 403.095 and 404.071 do not apply to the fund.
Sec. 403.353. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The comptroller may solicit
and accept gifts and grants to the fund. A gift or grant to the fund
may be used in the same manner as other money in the fund, subject to
any limitation or requirement placed on the gift or grant by the
donor or granting entity.
Sec. 403.354. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. The comptroller may
adopt rules relating to the implementation of the program and any
other rules necessary to accomplish the purposes of this
subchapter.
Sec. 403.355. TEXAS LOCAL PARTICIPATION TRANSPORTATION
PROGRAM. (a) The comptroller shall administer a program to
encourage local project sponsors to participate in the delivery of
eligible projects by providing the sponsors disbursements from the
fund.
(b) In administering the program, the comptroller shall
develop a process for certifying the eligibility of projects
nominated by local project sponsors for disbursements from the
fund. The process must require a local project sponsor to submit a
request for certification that includes:
(1) a description of the benefits anticipated to
result from the project, including the impact on:
(A) local economic development and
diversification;
(B) congestion on public highways, future
mobility needs of this state, and the development or expansion of
transportation in the state;
(C) safety to the traveling public; and
(D) air quality;
(2) a description of local support for the project and
any known local public opposition;
(3) a proposed schedule for the development and
completion of the project, including an estimate of the date on
which the project will be open to traffic; and
(4) a commitment by the local project sponsor to
comply with all state or federal laws.
(c) In addition to information provided under Subsection
(b), a request for certification must contain:
(1) sufficient information to determine that the local
project sponsor is an entity eligible to receive funding under this
subchapter;
(2) a specific description of the project, including
project limits and connections with other transportation
facilities;
(3) identification of the scope of work to be
completed and a detailed estimate of total project costs;
(4) a commitment that the local project sponsor
intends to enter into an agreement for development of the project
under Section 222.104, Transportation Code; and
(5) a proposed plan for funding the project that:
(A) is in compliance with Subsection (d); and
(B) specifically identifies the contribution of
local sources to the total project cost.
(d) An eligible project may not receive more than 50 percent
of the total project cost from the fund.
Sec. 403.356. DETERMINATION OF CONTRIBUTION. For purposes
of determining the amount contributed by local sources to the total
project cost under Section 403.355, a sponsor may include, as
applicable, funds on hand, ad valorem taxes, local option taxes or
fees dedicated to the project, economic development grants, other
project specific gifts and grants, and, if the project is planned as
a toll facility, toll revenues.
Sec. 403.357. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. In administering
the program the comptroller shall:
(1) prepare an annual report projecting the amount of
funding available based on estimates of future deposits to the fund
and of money to be repaid to the fund by local project sponsors
under loans made under this subchapter;
(2) establish guidelines for disbursements from the
fund that link disbursements with proposed project development and
completion schedules submitted under Section 403.355(b)(3); and
(3) establish guidelines and protocols for use by the
department in certifying that a project for which a request for
certification is submitted is not inconsistent with existing and
planned improvements to the state highway system.
Sec. 403.358. PROJECT CERTIFICATION. (a) If the comptroller
finds that a project for which a request for certification is
submitted is eligible for disbursements from the fund, the
comptroller shall:
(1) issue a certification to the local project sponsor
to begin negotiations with the department under Section 222.104,
Transportation Code; and
(2) provide the department, based on the type of
projects that will most effectively meet the economic development
needs of this state, with guidelines that the department shall
follow in advancing projects authorized under Section 222.104,
Transportation Code, and negotiating agreements for projects under
that section, so that projects may be certified under this
subchapter as eligible for funding, including guidelines on:
(A) prescribing the roles and responsibility of
the parties for all significant work to be performed;
(B) delegating to the local project sponsor, to
the maximum extent permitted by law, the full responsibility for
project development;
(C) requiring a local project sponsor to meet
state design criteria, construction specifications, and contract
administration procedures unless the department grants an
exception; and
(D) defining the maximum total funds available
for the project in consideration of the total project costs and the
money available in the fund.
(b) A project for which a certification is issued under this
section does not require further approval by the department under
Section 222.104, Transportation Code, before an agreement may be
made.
Sec. 403.359. FUND DISBURSEMENTS. (a) After a project is
certified under this subchapter, the comptroller may make
disbursements from the fund to a local project sponsor in the form
of a grant or loan in accordance with guidelines established under
Section 403.357(2).
(b) The comptroller may not make a disbursement from the
fund for a project until there is a signed agreement under Section
222.104, Transportation Code, that is consistent with Section
403.358(a)(2).
Sec. 403.360. FEES. In connection with each application
for certification of a project under this subchapter, the
comptroller shall impose and collect from the local project sponsor
an application fee in an amount sufficient to cover the costs
incurred by the comptroller in administering this subchapter.
SECTION 2. 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, 2009.