By: Watson, Davis S.B. No. 1923
(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2009; March 24, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland
Security; April 6, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 2;
April 6, 2009, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1923 By: Watson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding sources for the Texas rail relocation and
improvement fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 201.971, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
(6-a) "Program" means the rail relocation program.
SECTION 2. Subchapter O, Chapter 201, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 201.979 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.979. RAIL RELOCATION ADVISORY GROUP. (a) The
rail relocation advisory group is created to advise the department
on the implementation and administration of the program.
(b) The advisory group consists of stakeholders in the
railroad industry, appointed by the chair of the Senate Committee
on Transportation and Homeland Security and by the chair of the
House Committee on Transportation. The chairs shall determine the
number of members appropriate to accomplish the duties of the
advisory group.
(c) The advisory group meets at the call of the chairs and
shall advise the department on the best use of money available in
the fund and on accomplishing the goals of the program, including
strategies for:
(1) alleviating traffic congestion;
(2) improving passenger and freight mobility;
(3) reducing noise in residential areas; and
(4) mitigating adverse effects on the environment.
(d) The department shall provide administrative support,
including staff, as necessary to assist the advisory group in
accomplishing its duties.
(e) A member of the advisory group is not entitled to
compensation for service on the committee but is entitled to
reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by the member while
conducting the business of the advisory group, as provided by the
General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 3. Subsection (d), Section 501.097, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) The fee collected under Subsection (a)(1) shall be
credited to the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state
highway] fund [to defray the costs of administering this subchapter
and the costs to the department for issuing the title].
SECTION 4. Subsection (e), Section 501.100, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) On or after the 31st day after the date the department
receives a rebuilder fee under Subsection (d), the department shall
deposit $50 of the fee to the credit of the Texas rail relocation
and improvement [state highway] fund [to be used only by the
Department of Public Safety to enforce this chapter] and $15 to the
credit of the general revenue fund.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 501.134, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) If a certificate of title is lost or destroyed, the
owner or lienholder disclosed on the certificate may obtain, in the
manner provided by this section and department rule, a certified
copy of the lost or destroyed certificate of title directly from the
department by applying on a form prescribed by the department and
paying a fee of $2. A fee collected under this subsection shall be
deposited to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
improvement [state highway] fund [and may be spent only as provided
by Section 501.138].
SECTION 6. Subsection (c), Section 501.138, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Of the amount received under Subsection (b)(2), the
department shall deposit:
(1) $5 in the general revenue fund; and
(2) $3 to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
improvement [state highway] fund [to recover the expenses necessary
to administer this chapter].
SECTION 7. Section 502.008, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Any fees collected by the department for responding to
an inquiry under this section shall be deposited to the credit of
the Texas rail relocation and improvement fund.
SECTION 8. Subsection (b), Section 502.179, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The office issuing a duplicate receipt shall retain the
fee received as a fee of office. If the department issued the
receipt, the fee shall be deposited in the Texas rail relocation and
improvement fund.
SECTION 9. Subsection (d), Section 503.007, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) A fee collected under this section shall be deposited to
the credit of the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state
highway] fund.
SECTION 10. Subsection (d), Section 503.008,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) A fee collected under this section shall be deposited to
the credit of the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state
highway] fund.
SECTION 11. Subsection (f), Section 503.0615,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(f) Of each fee collected by the department under this
section:
(1) $1.25 shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas
rail relocation and improvement [state highway] fund [to defray the
cost of administering this section]; and
(2) the remainder shall be deposited to the credit of
the general revenue fund.
SECTION 12. Subsection (a), Section 621.353,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The comptroller shall send $50 of each base fee
collected under Section 623.011 for an excess weight permit to the
counties of the state, with each county receiving an amount
determined according to the ratio of the total number of miles of
county roads maintained by the county to the total number of miles
of county roads maintained by all of the counties of this state.
The comptroller shall deposit $25 of each base fee, plus each fee
collected under Section 623.0112, to the credit of the Texas rail
relocation and improvement [state highway] fund. [Money deposited
to the credit of that fund under this subsection may be appropriated
only to the department to administer this section and Sections
623.011, 623.0111, and 623.0112.]
SECTION 13. Subsection (c), Section 623.0111,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Of the fees collected under Subsection (a) the following
amounts shall be deposited to the general revenue fund and the
remainder shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas rail
relocation and improvement [state highway] fund:
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
1-5 $125 1-5 $125
1-5 $125
6-20 $125 6-20 $125
6-20 $125
21-40 $345 21-40 $345
21-40 $345
41-60 $565 41-60 $565
41-60 $565
61-80 $785 61-80 $785
61-80 $785
81-100 $900 81-100 $900
81-100 $900
101-254 $1,000 101-254 $1,000
101-254 $1,000
SECTION 14. Subsections (a-1) and (c), Section 623.076,
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a-1) The following amounts collected under Subsection (a)
shall be deposited to the general revenue fund and the remainder
deposited to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
improvement [state highway] fund:
Amount of Fee Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund Amount of Fee Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
Amount of Fee Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
$60 (single-trip permit) $30 $60 (single-trip permit) $30
$60 (single-trip permit) $30
$120 (30-day permit) $60 $120 (30-day permit) $60
$120 (30-day permit) $60
$180 $90 $180 $90
$180 $90
$240 $120 $240 $120
$240 $120
$270 $135 $270 $135
$270 $135
(c) An application for a permit under Section 623.071(c)(3)
or (d) must be accompanied by the permit fee established by the
commission for the permit, not to exceed $7,000. Of each fee
collected under this subsection, the department shall send:
(1) the first $1,000 to the comptroller for deposit to
the credit of the general revenue fund; and
(2) any amount in excess of $1,000 to the comptroller
for deposit to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
improvement [state highway] fund.
SECTION 15. Subsection (b), Section 623.077,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall send each fee collected under
Subsection (a) to the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the
Texas rail relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
SECTION 16. Subsection (a), Section 623.096,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall collect a fee of $40 for each
permit issued under this subchapter. Of each fee, $19.70 shall be
deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and the
remainder deposited to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
improvement [state highway] fund.
SECTION 17. Subsection (b), Section 623.124,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall send each fee collected under this
section to the comptroller. Of each fee received from the
department, the comptroller shall deposit $7.50 to the credit of
the general revenue fund and $7.50 to the credit of the Texas rail
relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
SECTION 18. Section 623.147, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 623.147. DEPOSIT OF FEE IN TEXAS RAIL RELOCATION AND
IMPROVEMENT [STATE HIGHWAY] FUND. A fee collected under this
subchapter shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas rail
relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
SECTION 19. Section 2301.156, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2301.156. DEPOSIT OF REVENUE. Notwithstanding any
other law to the contrary, all money collected by the board under
this chapter shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit
of the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
SECTION 20. Subsection (d), Section 2301.264, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) The board may refund from funds deposited under Section
2301.156 [appropriated to the board for that purpose] a fee
collected under this chapter that is not due or that exceeds the
amount due.
SECTION 21. Not later than the 60th day after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Department of Transportation shall
report to the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor's Office of
Budget and Planning on the availability of funds under federal
matching programs for the rail relocation program under Subchapter
O, Chapter 201, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, and on
how to secure such funds for financing the program.
SECTION 22. Not later than January 1, 2011, the Texas
Department of Transportation shall submit a comprehensive report to
the governor, to the chair of the Senate Committee on
Transportation and Homeland Security, and to the chair of the House
Committee on Transportation regarding the progress of the rail
relocation program under Subchapter O, Chapter 201, Transportation
Code, as amended by this Act, and the status of program financing,
including:
(1) the dollar amount of the bonds issued for the
program;
(2) a description of the projects being financed by
the program;
(3) the status and estimated date of completion of
each project;
(4) a description of the projects to be financed in the
2012-2013 fiscal biennium;
(5) the estimated debt service requirement in the
2012-2013 fiscal biennium for the projects; and
(6) the availability of any funds under federal
matching programs.
SECTION 23. The Texas Department of Transportation, in
coordination with the comptroller of public accounts, shall produce
recommendations for supplemental revenue sources for the Texas rail
relocation and improvement fund for consideration by the 82nd
Legislature.
SECTION 24. (a) If the comptroller of public accounts
files a certification with the secretary of state that the
following items enacted by the 81st Legislature result in a net gain
in the 2010-2011 fiscal biennium as compared to the 2008-2009
fiscal biennium, then this Act takes effect September 1, 2009:
(1) the net impact of revenue measures enacted,
including this Act, on State Highway Fund No. 0006;
(2) as a gain, any reduction in the appropriations
from State Highway Fund No. 0006 made to agencies other than the
Texas Department of Transportation; and
(3) as a loss, any reduction in the appropriations to
the Texas Department of Transportation from the general revenue
fund.
(b) If the comptroller of public accounts does not file the
certification described by Subsection (a) of this section, this Act
has no effect.
* * * * *
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
1-5 $125
6-20 $125
21-40 $345
41-60 $565
61-80 $785
81-100 $900
101-254 $1,000
Amount of Fee Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
$60 (single-trip permit) $30
$120 (30-day permit) $60
$180 $90
$240 $120
$270 $135