By: Wentworth S.B. No. 2096
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of and the powers of a comprehensive
multimodal urban transportation authority, including the power to
impose taxes, issue bonds, and exercise limited eminent domain
authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 451, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter R to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER R. URBAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES
Sec. 451.901. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this subchapter:
(1) "Advanced transportation district" means a
district created or operating under Subchapter O.
(2) "Authority" means a rapid transit authority
created or operating under this chapter.
(3) "Board" means the governing body of an urban
transportation authority, except as otherwise provided by this
subchapter.
(4) "Comprehensive advanced transportation" means the
design, construction, extension, expansion, improvement,
reconstruction, alteration, acquisition, financing, and
maintenance of mass transit, light rail, commuter rail, intercity
municipal rail, freight rail, fixed guideways, traffic management
systems, bus ways, bus lanes, technologically advanced bus transit
vehicles and systems, bus rapid transit vehicles and systems,
passenger amenities, transit centers, stations, parking facilities
and payment mechanisms, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, electronic
transit-related information, fare collection and operating
systems, high occupancy vehicle lanes, bridges, traffic signal
prioritization and coordination systems, monitoring systems,
tracks and rail line, switching and signaling equipment, operating
equipment, depots, locomotives, rolling stock, maintenance
facilities, other real and personal property associated with a rail
operation and transit-oriented development, and other
comprehensive advanced transportation facilities, equipment,
operations, comprehensive transportation systems, and services,
including planning, feasibility studies, operations, and
professional and other services in connection with those
facilities, equipment, operations, comprehensive transportation
systems, and services.
(5) "Comprehensive mobility enhancement" means the
design, construction, extension, expansion, improvement,
reconstruction, alteration, acquisition, financing, and
maintenance of:
(A) streets, roads, highways, high occupancy
vehicle lanes, toll lanes, turnpike projects, pedestrian or bicycle
facilities, bridges, grade separations, parking facilities and
payment mechanisms, and infrastructure designed to improve
mobility;
(B) traffic signal prioritization and street
lighting;
(C) monitoring systems;
(D) other mobility enhancement facilities,
equipment, systems, and services, including drainage improvements
or drainage-related measures reasonable and necessary for the
effective use of the transportation facility being constructed or
maintained;
(E) an intermodal hub, air quality improvement
initiative, and public utility facility; and
(F) a conveyance or acceptance of the exclusive
rights to develop tolled infrastructure or other mobility-related
assets, including concession fees.
(6) "Comprehensive transportation system" means a
transportation project or a combination of transportation projects
designated as a system by the board of an urban transportation
authority.
(7) "Construction costs" means the costs of
acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement,
extension, or expansion of a transportation project under this
subchapter. The term includes a construction cost as defined by
Chapter 370.
(8) "Costs" means finance costs and construction
costs.
(9) "Debt" means a bond, certificate, long-term or
short-term note, commercial paper, loan, certificate of
participation, agreement with a local government, or any other
obligation with a variable or fixed interest rate authorized by
this chapter or the constitution or another law of this state. The
term includes a credit agreement issued under Chapter 1371,
Government Code.
(10) "Finance costs" means any fee or expense
associated with the financing of a transportation project,
including any debt service requirement, capitalized interest,
reserve fund requirement, professional or administrative cost, or
other cost incurred by or relating to the issuance of debt under
this subchapter relating to the design, construction, extension,
expansion, improvement, reconstruction, alteration, financing,
acquisition, or maintenance of a transportation project.
(11) "Regional mobility authority" means a regional
mobility authority created or operating under Chapter 370.
(12) "Revenue" means revenue available to an urban
transportation authority under this subchapter, including any
source of taxes or revenue available under Chapter 370 or this
chapter, including Subchapter O.
(13) "Transportation project" means a comprehensive
advanced transportation project or a comprehensive mobility
enhancement project.
(14) "Urban transportation authority" means an entity
that has the powers of an authority, a regional mobility authority,
and an advanced transportation district and is created under this
subchapter.
(b) A word or phrase that is not defined in this subchapter
but is defined in Subchapter O has the meaning in this subchapter
that is assigned by that subchapter.
(c) A word or phrase that is not defined in this subchapter
but is defined in Chapter 370 has the meaning in this subchapter
that is assigned by that chapter.
Sec. 451.902. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION. This subchapter shall
be liberally construed to carry out its purposes. A provision of
this subchapter that conflicts with Subchapter A or O or with
Chapter 370 shall be construed to grant the broadest power.
Sec. 451.903. CREATION OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
AUTHORIZED. (a) The governing body of an authority in which the
principal municipality has a population of more than 700,000 and in
the territory of which both an advanced transportation district and
a regional mobility authority exist may approve and submit a
petition to the governing bodies of the advanced transportation
district and the regional mobility authority that seeks consent to
the creation of an urban transportation authority under this
subchapter.
(b) Creation of an urban transportation authority under
this subchapter may occur if:
(1) the governing body of the principal municipality
in the authority and the commissioners court of each county in which
the authority is located and in which a sales and use tax is
collected under this chapter consent to the creation of the urban
transportation authority;
(2) the governing body of the regional mobility
authority consents to the creation of the urban transportation
authority;
(3) the commissioners court of each county in which
the regional mobility authority is located consents to the creation
of the urban transportation authority;
(4) the governing body of the advanced transportation
district consents to the creation of the urban transportation
authority; and
(5) the commissioners court of each county and the
governing body of the principal municipality in which the advanced
transportation district is located consent to the creation of the
urban transportation authority.
(c) The petition of the authority and the consents described
in Subsection (b) must:
(1) approve the transfer of the assets, liabilities,
rights, and obligations of each entity to the urban transportation
authority; or
(2) make adequate provision therefor by the applicable
entity.
Sec. 451.904. EFFECT OF CREATION OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY. (a) An urban transportation authority is created only
after the occurrence of the actions required by Section 451.903. On
the first day of the calendar month after the month in which the
final action required by that section is taken, an urban
transportation authority is considered to have been created. The
urban transportation authority has the rights, powers, duties, and
privileges granted to an authority under this chapter, to an urban
transportation authority under this subchapter, to an advanced
transportation district under Subchapter O, and to a regional
mobility authority under Chapter 370, including the right to plan
and develop transportation projects in any county in which the
urban transportation authority is located.
(b) On the date the urban transportation authority is
considered to have been created, the urban transportation authority
becomes the successor entity to the authority, the advanced
transportation district, and the regional mobility authority. On
that date the authority, the advanced transportation district, and
the regional mobility authority cease to exist.
(c) The urban transportation authority succeeds to and is
obligated for all assets, liabilities, rights, and obligations not
otherwise provided for of the authority, the advanced
transportation district, and the regional mobility authority, on
terms and conditions that, upon succession, are no less beneficial
to employees than those extant immediately before the creation of
the urban transportation authority, including continuation of all
rights, privileges, and benefits such as pension rights and
benefits, wages, and working conditions, afforded to employees
under an existing agreement.
Sec. 451.905. POWERS. (a) An urban transportation
authority has the powers necessary or convenient to implement this
subchapter or to effect a purpose of this subchapter.
(b) An urban transportation authority through its board may
plan, study, evaluate, design, finance, acquire, construct,
maintain, repair, and operate a transportation project,
individually or as one or more comprehensive transportation
systems.
(c) An urban transportation authority has:
(1) all of the rights, powers, duties, and privileges
granted to an authority by this chapter;
(2) all of the rights, powers, duties, and privileges
granted to a regional mobility authority by Chapter 370; and
(3) all of the rights, powers, duties, and privileges
granted to an advanced transportation district by Subchapter O.
(d) A right, power, duty, or privilege of an urban
transportation authority described in Subsection (c) may be
exercised independently or in combination to effect the purposes of
this subchapter. Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter,
in the event of a conflict, the most liberal provision applies.
(e) In the manner and to the extent that an authority is
authorized by this chapter, an urban transportation authority may
develop and operate a transit system, set fares and other charges,
and develop stations or terminal complexes for the use of the
transit system and related right-of-way.
(f) An urban transportation authority has any right, power,
duty, or privilege granted by Chapter 370 to a regional mobility
authority that relates to mass transit or a transit system and that
is not in conflict with this subchapter.
(g) An urban transportation authority may impose any kind of
tax or fee other than an ad valorem tax, including a sales and use
tax. The applicable provisions of this chapter, including
Subchapter O, and Chapter 370 apply to the imposition of a fee or
tax by the urban transportation authority. If the legislature
enacts provisions for local option transportation financing
through a transportation finance authority or a centralized
transportation finance entity, an urban transportation authority
may serve as such an entity.
(h) An urban transportation authority may develop and
operate a turnpike project. The turnpike project must be developed
and operated under the provisions of Chapter 370, including any
provision relating to the setting of toll rates.
(i) Unless otherwise provided by this subchapter, the board
shall allocate the proceeds of the advanced transportation district
sales and use tax in compliance with Subchapter O.
(j) Unless otherwise provided by this subchapter, an
election relating to the sales and use tax or the boundaries of an
advanced transportation district is governed by the provisions of
Subchapter O relating to such an election of an advanced
transportation district.
(k) An urban transportation authority may create a
transportation corporation or local government corporation under
Chapter 431.
(l) An urban transportation authority is a toll project
entity and a local toll project entity to the same extent as a
regional mobility authority under the provisions of this code.
(m) In its selection and prioritization of transportation
projects, the board shall consider the geographic location of other
transportation projects funded by this state or the United States
so as to foster geographic equity in the planning and development of
the projects.
Sec. 451.906. NATURE OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY.
(a) An urban transportation authority:
(1) is a body politic and corporate and a political
subdivision of this state;
(2) has perpetual succession; and
(3) exercises public and essential governmental
functions.
(b) The exercise of a right, power, or privilege granted by
this subchapter is for a public purpose and is a matter of public
necessity and is, in all respects, for the benefit of the people of
the territory in which an urban transportation authority operates
and of the people of this state, for the increase of their commerce
and prosperity, and for the improvement of their health, living
conditions, and public safety.
(c) An urban transportation authority is a governmental
unit under Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The
operations of the urban transportation authority are not
proprietary functions for any purpose.
(d) An urban transportation authority is:
(1) a public entity under Section 222.1045; and
(2) a governmental agency under Subchapter A, Chapter
271, Local Government Code.
(e) The property, revenue, and income of an urban
transportation authority are exempt from state and local taxes.
Sec. 451.907. GOVERNANCE OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY; INITIAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) An urban
transportation authority is governed by a board of directors. The
board consists of:
(1) five members appointed by the governing body of
the principal municipality, with one member designated to represent
the interests of the transportation disadvantaged;
(2) five members appointed by the commissioners court
of the county in which the urban transportation authority is
located, or if the urban transportation authority is located in
more than one county, jointly appointed by the commissioners courts
of those counties;
(3) two members appointed by a panel composed of the
mayors of the municipalities, other than the principal
municipality, that are inside the boundaries of the authority and
contribute sales and use tax revenue to the authority; and
(4) one member appointed by the governor.
(a-1) The members appointed under Subsection (a) shall
select by majority vote one member to serve as presiding officer of
the board.
(b) On the creation of the urban transportation authority,
the initial board of the urban transportation authority shall be
appointed from among the memberships of the governing body of the
authority, the governing body of the advanced transportation
district, and the governing body of the regional mobility
authority, as extant immediately before the urban transportation
authority was created.
(c) The board is responsible for the management, operation,
and control of the urban transportation authority and the property
of the urban transportation authority.
(d) A provision of this chapter that is applicable to the
governing body of an authority and relates to vacancies, term
limitations, residency requirements, compensation, surety bonds,
nepotism, financial disclosure, indemnification, insurance, or
removal applies to the board.
(e) Board meetings and actions are governed by the
provisions of this chapter that are applicable to the governing
body of an authority. Those meetings and actions are not governed
by Chapter 370.
(f) To be eligible to serve as a director, an individual:
(1) may be a representative of an entity that is also
represented on a metropolitan planning organization in the region
where the principal municipality is located; and
(2) may not be:
(A) an elected official;
(B) an officer or employee of the department;
(C) an employee of a county or a municipality,
including the principal municipality, that contributes sales and
use tax revenue to the urban transportation authority; or
(D) a person who owns an interest in real
property that will be acquired for a transportation project, if it
is known at the time of the person's proposed appointment that the
property will be acquired for the transportation project.
Sec. 451.908. PUBLIC ACCESS. An urban transportation
authority shall:
(1) make and implement policies that provide the
public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the board to
speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of the urban
transportation authority; and
(2) prepare and maintain a written plan that describes
how an individual who does not speak English or who has a physical,
mental, or developmental disability may be provided reasonable
access to the urban transportation authority's programs.
Sec. 451.909. STRATEGIC PLANS AND ANNUAL REPORTS. (a) An
urban transportation authority shall develop a strategic plan for
its operations. Before December 31 of each even-numbered year, the
urban transportation authority shall issue a plan that covers the
succeeding five fiscal years of the urban transportation authority,
beginning with the next odd-numbered fiscal year.
(b) Not later than March 31 of each year, an urban
transportation authority shall file with each county in which the
urban transportation authority is located, the principal
municipality, and the panel composed of the mayors of the
municipalities in the urban transportation authority that
contribute sales and use tax revenue to the authority, a written
report on the urban transportation authority's activities that
includes a description of anticipated issuances of debt during the
next fiscal year, a description of the financial condition of the
urban transportation authority, schedules for the development of
approved projects, and the status of the urban transportation
authority's performance under the most recent strategic plan.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a failure to identify a
debt issuance or a change in a project development schedule in a
written report does not prevent the issuance of the debt or the
change in the project development schedule, including the
commencement of the operation of a project.
Sec. 451.910. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. (a) If the board determines that the
mobility needs of the county or counties in which the urban
transportation authority operates and of the surrounding region
could be most efficiently and economically met by jointly operating
two or more transportation projects as one operational and
financial enterprise, the board may create one or more
comprehensive transportation systems composed of those
transportation projects.
(b) The board may:
(1) create more than one comprehensive transportation
system; and
(2) combine two or more comprehensive transportation
systems into a single comprehensive transportation system.
(c) An urban transportation authority may finance, acquire,
construct, cross-collateralize, and operate a comprehensive
transportation system if the board determines that:
(1) the transportation projects could most
efficiently and economically be acquired or constructed as part of
the comprehensive transportation system; and
(2) the transportation projects will benefit the
comprehensive transportation system.
Sec. 451.911. ISSUANCE OF DEBT. (a) An urban
transportation authority, or an entity created by the urban
transportation authority for the purposes of issuing debt, by
resolution of the board or the governing body of the entity, as
applicable, may authorize the issuance of debt payable solely from
revenue.
(b) Debt, any portion of which is payable from taxes, may
not be issued by an urban transportation authority unless the
issuance is authorized by a majority of the votes cast at an
election ordered and held for that purpose.
(c) Debt issued by an urban transportation authority is
fully negotiable. An urban transportation authority may make the
debt redeemable before maturity at the price and subject to the
terms and conditions provided in the proceedings that authorized
the issuance or in a related legal document.
(d) Debt issued by an urban transportation authority under
this subchapter may be sold at a public or private sale as
determined by the board to be most advantageous and may have a
maturity of not longer than 50 years.
(e) Costs attributable to a transportation project that
were incurred before the issuance of debt to finance the
transportation project may be reimbursed from the proceeds of debt
that is subsequently issued.
Sec. 451.912. TRANSPORTATION PROJECT FINANCING. (a) An
urban transportation authority may exercise the powers of a
regional mobility authority, an authority, and an advanced
transportation district and may issue debt or enter into other
agreements or financial arrangements to pay all or part of the costs
of a transportation project or to refund any debt previously issued
for a transportation project.
(b) The powers described in Subsection (a) are cumulative
and may be exercised by an urban transportation authority
independently or in combination to develop, finance, operate, and
pay the costs of a transportation project. Subject to other
provisions of this subchapter, the urban transportation authority
may pledge any revenue available to the urban transportation
authority under this subchapter, separately or in combination, for
the payment of a debt, agreement, or financial arrangement
described by Subsection (a).
(c) As authorized by Chapter 370 in connection with a
regional mobility authority, the department may provide for or
contribute to the payment of the costs of a financial or engineering
and traffic feasibility study for a transportation project.
Sec. 451.913. SALES AND USE TAX. (a) When an authority
that collects a sales and use tax becomes part of an urban
transportation authority:
(1) the sales and use tax remains subject to the
provisions of this chapter that relate to the sales and use tax of
an authority; and
(2) any restriction, covenant, obligation, or pledge
attributed to that sales and use tax remains in effect.
(b) When an advanced transportation district that collects
a sales and use tax becomes part of an urban transportation
authority:
(1) the sales and use tax remains subject to the
provisions of Subchapter O that relate to the sales and use tax of
an advanced transportation district; and
(2) any restriction, covenant, obligation,
allocation, or pledge attributed to that sales and use tax remains
in effect until the voters elect to increase, decrease, or
otherwise alter the terms of the sales and use tax.
(c) The allocation of the proceeds of the sales and use tax
adopted at the initial election of an advanced transportation
district may not be altered unless a proposition for the
reallocation is approved by a majority of the votes cast at an
election ordered and held for that purpose under this subchapter.
(d) An urban transportation authority may order a
subsequent advanced transportation district sales and use tax
election to reallocate the proceeds of the tax or to increase or
decrease the rate of the tax collected by the urban transportation
authority. An election ordered under this section must be held for
one or more transportation projects; the combined rate of all sales
and use taxes imposed by the urban transportation authority and all
other political subdivisions of this state may not exceed the
statutory sales and use tax cap in any location in the urban
transportation authority; and the proceeds of the sales and use tax
under a subsequent election may be pledged only for:
(1) transportation project purposes as determined by
the board, including debt service requirements, capitalized
interest, reserve fund requirements, credit agreements,
administrative costs, or other debt-related costs incurred by or
relating to the issuance of obligations by the urban transportation
authority relating to the purchase, design, construction,
extension, expansion, improvement, reconstruction, alteration,
financing, and maintenance of an advanced transportation facility,
equipment, operations, a comprehensive transportation system, and
services, including feasibility studies, operations, and
professional or other services in connection with the facility,
equipment, operations, system, or services;
(2) transportation project purposes in the territory
of the urban transportation authority as determined by the
governing bodies of each participating unit in proportion to the
amount of sales and use tax proceeds that were collected in that
participating unit; or
(3) as a local match for, or the local share of, a
state or federal grant for transportation project purposes in the
territory of the urban transportation authority or in connection
with the transfer of money by the department or another entity of
this state or the United States under an agreement with a county or
municipality or a local government corporation created by a county
or municipality under Chapter 431, for transportation project
purposes in the territory of the urban transportation authority.
(e) At an election under this section, the ballot shall be
prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The
imposition of a sales and use tax for comprehensive advanced
transportation and comprehensive mobility enhancement in the (name
of urban transportation authority), at the rate to be set by the
governing body of the urban transportation authority."
(f) After a favorable subsequent election held under this
subchapter, an allocation specified by Subchapter O ceases to be
binding.
Sec. 451.914. USE OF FARE REVENUE. (a) All fare revenue
generated by the mass transit operations of the urban
transportation authority, other than fare revenue generated by a
rail operation, must be dedicated exclusively to the support of
mass transit operations.
(b) Fare revenue generated by a rail operation of the urban
transportation authority may be used for any comprehensive advanced
transportation or comprehensive mobility enhancement purpose.
Sec. 451.915. POWERS AND PROCEDURES OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY IN ACQUIRING PROPERTY. An urban transportation authority
has the same powers and may use the same procedures as a regional
mobility authority operating under Chapter 370 in acquiring
property.
Sec. 451.916. PUBLIC UTILITY FACILITIES. An urban
transportation authority has the same powers and may use the same
procedures as a regional mobility authority operating under Chapter
370 with regard to public utility facilities.
Sec. 451.917. TOLL COLLECTION AND VIOLATIONS. An urban
transportation authority has the same powers and may use the same
procedures as a regional mobility authority operating under Chapter
370 with regard to toll collections, transponders, enforcement,
violations, and penalties.
Sec. 451.918. PROJECT DELIVERY. An urban transportation
authority may procure, develop, finance, design, construct,
maintain, or operate a transportation project using the rights,
powers, duties, and privileges that are granted by Chapter 223, by
Chapter 370 to a regional mobility authority, or by Subchapter H,
Chapter 271, Local Government Code, including a right, power, duty,
or privilege associated with:
(1) a construction manager agent;
(2) a construction manager-at-risk;
(3) use of design build;
(4) a pass-through agent; or
(5) a comprehensive development agreement.
Sec. 451.919. MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONES.
A municipality located in the territory served by an urban
transportation authority may:
(1) designate a municipal transportation reinvestment
zone under Section 222.106 to promote a transportation project
under this subchapter; and
(2) use money deposited to the tax increment account
for the reinvestment zone to pay the urban transportation authority
for a portion of the costs of the transportation project.
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.