By: Keffer H.B. No. 3639
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a fund for certain county transportation infrastructure
projects and the creation of County Energy Transportation
Reinvestment Zones.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 256, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
Sec. 256.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Fund" means the transportation infrastructure
fund established under this subchapter.
(2) "Transportation infrastructure project" means a
project for the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of
transportation infrastructure under this subchapter that is
intended to alleviate degradation caused by the exploration,
development, or production of oil or gas.
(3) "Weight tolerance permit" means a permit issued by
the department under Chapter 623 authorizing a vehicle to exceed
maximum legal weight limitations.
(4) "Well completion" means the completion, reentry,
or recompletion of an oil or gas well.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 222.01071 to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) the amount of a county's tax increment for a year
is the amount of ad valorem taxes levied and collected by the county
for that year on the captured appraised value of real property
taxable by the county and located in a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone under this section;
(2) the captured appraised value of real property
taxable by a county for a year is the total appraised value of all
real property taxable by the county and located in a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone for that year less the tax
increment base of the county; and
(3) the tax increment base of a county is the total
appraised value of all real property taxable by the county and
located in a county energy transportation reinvestment zone for the
year in which the zone was designated under this section.
(b) The county may pledge its tax increment to a specific
transportation project pursuant to a contract and that pledge shall
constitute a debt as defined in Sec. 26.03 (7), Tax Code. A county
may not pledge property tax increments authorized in this section
as security for bonded indebtedness.
(c)(i) The commissioners court of the county, after
determining that an area is affected by oil and gas exploration and
production activities and would benefit from funding provided under
Chapter 256, Subchapter C, Transportation Code, by order or
resolution may designate a contiguous geographic area in the
jurisdiction of the county to be a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone to promote a transportation project.
(ii) A county may form a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone under this Section in conjunction with another
county or counties provided each county meets all procedural
requirements for establishment of such a zone.
(iii) A county shall form or participate in a maximum of one
county energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section.
(d) The commissioners court must comply with all applicable
laws in the application of this chapter.
(e) Not later than the 30th day before the date the
commissioners court proposes to designate an area as a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the
commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the creation of
the zone, its benefits to the county and to property in the proposed
zone. At the hearing an interested person may speak for or against
the designation of the zone, its boundaries, or the from benefit
that will arise from dedicating the increment county taxes on real
property in the zone to certain transportation projects.
(f) Not later than the seventh day before the date of the
hearing, notice of the hearing and the intent to create a zone must
be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the
county.
(g) The order or resolution designating an area as a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone must:
(i) describe the boundaries of the zone with
sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable
certainty the territory included in the zone;
(ii) provide that the zone takes effect immediately on
adoption of the order or resolution and that the base year shall be
the year of passage of the order or resolution or some year in the
future;
(iii) designate the base year for purposes of
establishing the tax increment base of the county; and
(iv) establish an ad valorem tax increment account for
the zone.
(v) name a board of directors for the zone who shall
receive no fees for service nor per diems, and who shall be named by
the county judge and approval by the commissioners as follows:
(a) if a single county zone, the board shall be
comprised of the county judge, a county commissioner, two
representatives of oil and gas companies that are performing
company activities in the county and representing a local tax
payer, and a member of the public active in civic affairs who is a
beneficiary of the energy development activity;
(b) if a multi county zone, the board shall be
comprised of the representatives listed in Section 222.1071(f)(i)
representing each county participating in the multi county zone;
(c) members of the board of directors for a multi
county zone are not subject to approval by any county other than
itself.
(h) Compliance with the requirements of this section
constitutes designation of an area as a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other
procedural requirements.
(i) The commissioners court may from taxes collected on
property in a zone, pay into a tax increment account for the zone an
amount equal to the tax increment produced by the county less any
amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements
under Section 381.004, Local Government Code, or Chapter 312, Tax
Code;
(j) A county energy transportation reinvestment zone
terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone
was designated.
SECTION 3. Chapter 222, Transportation Code, is amended as
follows:
Sec. 222.110. SALES TAX INCREMENT. (a) In this section,
"sales tax base" for a county energy transportation reinvestment
zone means the amount of sales and use taxes imposed by a
municipality under Section 321.101(a), Tax Code, or by a county
under Chapter 323, Tax Code, as applicable, attributable to the
zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this
chapter.
(b) The governing body of a municipality or county may
determine, in an ordinance or order designating an area as a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone or in an ordinance or order
adopted subsequent to the designation of a zone, the portion or
amount of tax increment generated from the sales and use taxes
imposed by a municipality under Section 321.101(a), Tax Code, or by
a county under Chapter 323, Tax Code, attributable to the zone,
above the sales tax base, to be used as provided by Subsection (e).
Nothing in this section requires a municipality or county to
contribute sales tax increment under this subsection.
(c) A county that designates a portion or amount of sales
tax increment under Subsection (b) must establish a tax increment
account. A municipality or county shall deposit the designated
portion or amount of tax increment under Subsection (b) to the
entity's respective tax increment account.
(d) Before pledging or otherwise committing money in the tax
increment account under Subsection (c), the governing body of a
municipality or county may enter into an agreement, under
Subchapter E, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, to authorize and
direct the comptroller to:
(1) withhold from any payment to which the
municipality or county may be entitled the amount of the payment
into the tax increment account under Subsection (b);
(2) deposit that amount into the tax increment
account; and
(3) continue withholding and making additional
payments into the tax increment account until an amount sufficient
to satisfy the amount due has been met.
(e) The sales and use taxes to be deposited into the tax
increment account under this section may be disbursed from the
account only to:
(1) pay for projects authorized under Section 222.104,
including the repayment of amounts owed under an agreement entered
into under that section;
(2) for use as matching funds under section 256.105
(2) notwithstanding Sections 321.506 and 323.505, Tax
Code, satisfy claims of holders of tax increment bonds, notes, or
other obligations issued or incurred for projects authorized under
Section 222.104 and Section 222.1071.
(f) The amount deposited by a county to a tax increment
account under this section is not considered to be sales and use tax
revenue for the purpose of property tax reduction and computation
of the county tax rate under Section 26.041, Tax Code.
(g) Not later than the 30th day before the date the
governing body of a municipality or county proposes to designate a
portion or amount of sales tax increment under Subsection (b), the
governing body shall hold a public hearing on the designation of the
sales tax increment. At the hearing an interested person may speak
for or against the designation of the sales tax increment. Not later
than the seventh day before the date of the hearing, notice of the
hearing must be published in a newspaper having general circulation
in the county or municipality, as appropriate.
(h) The hearing required under Subsection (g) may be held in
conjunction with a hearing held under Section 222.106(e) or
222.107(e) if the ordinance or order designating an area as a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone under Section 222.106 or
222.107 also designates a sales tax increment under Subsection (b).
Section 4 Sec. 256.102. TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
FUND. (a) The transportation infrastructure fund is a dedicated
account in the treasury outside the general revenue fund. The fund
consists of amounts appropriated or transferred to the credit of
the fund under this subchapter or other law and of any interest or
other return from the investment of money in the fund.
(b) Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not
apply to the fund.
Sec. 256.103. GRANT DISTRIBUTION. (a) The department
shall administer the grant program under this subchapter.
(b) The proportion of the grant money that is available
during a fiscal year that may be distributed to a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone shall be determined as follows:
(1) 60 percent must be based on the number of well
completions in the preceding fiscal year that occurred in the
county or counties contained within the county energy
transportation reinvestment zone divided by the total number of
well completions that occurred in the state in that fiscal year, as
determined by the Railroad Commission of Texas;
(2) 20 percent must be based on the number of weight
tolerance permits issued in the preceding fiscal year for the
county or counties contained within the county energy
transportation reinvestment zone divided by the total number of
weight tolerance permits issued in the state in that fiscal year, as
determined by the department; and
(3) 20 percent must be based on the amount of the oil
and gas production taxes collected by the comptroller in the
preceding fiscal year in the county or counties contained within
the county energy transportation reinvestment zone divided by the
total amount of oil and gas production taxes collected in the state
in that fiscal year, as determined by the comptroller.
(c) The grant program shall be suspended during periods for
which the fund balance is zero. The department may award grants
under this subchapter only during periods when the fund has a
positive balance.
Sec. 256.104. GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS. (a) In applying
for a grant under this subchapter, a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone shall:
(1) provide the two most recent county commissioner's
road reports required under Section 251.005 for the area containing
the transportation infrastructure project; and
(2) submit for approval by the department a plan that:
(A) describes the scope of the transportation
infrastructure project to be funded by the grant;
(B) meets the terms and conditions imposed by the
department; and
(C) provides matching funds as described by
Section 256.105.
(b) In reviewing grant applications under this subchapter,
the department shall:
(1) seek other potential sources of funding to
maximize resources available for the transportation infrastructure
projects for which application is made; and
(2) consult related transportation planning documents
to improve project efficiency and to work effectively in
partnership with county governments.
(c) The department shall work with county energy
transportation reinvestment zones to identify and implement best
practices and solutions in prioritizing road projects utilizing
funds from the transportation infrastructure fund.
Sec. 256.105. MATCHING FUNDS. (a) A county energy
transportation reinvestment zone must provide matching funds in an
amount equal to at least 10 percent of the amount of a grant under
the program to be eligible to receive the grant.
Sec. 256.106. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The amount of money
spent on administering the grant program during a fiscal year may
not be greater than one percent of the total amount deposited into
the fund during the previous fiscal year.
(b) To be eligible for additional grants or distributions
from the fund, a county energy transportation reinvestment zone
must provide a copy of an annual audit and certify that all previous
distributions from the fund have been expended in accordance with
the transportation infrastructure project plan approved by the
department under Section 256.104.
(c) The department shall conduct an annual audit to ensure
that funds granted under this subchapter are used in accordance
with the terms of the grant as provided by the department.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 251.005, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A county commissioner serving as a road supervisor shall
make a sworn annual report during the ninth month of the county
fiscal year on a form approved by the commissioners court showing:
(1) the condition of each road or part of a road and of
each culvert and bridge in the commissioner's precinct;
(2) to the extent practicable, the primary causes of
road, culvert, and bridge degradation in the precinct;
(3) the amount of money reasonably necessary for
maintenance of the roads in the precinct during the next county
fiscal year;
(4) [(3)] the number of traffic control devices in the
precinct defaced or torn down;
(5) [(4)] any new road that should be opened in the
precinct; and
(6) [(5)] any bridges, culverts, or other
improvements necessary to place the roads in the precinct in good
condition, and the probable cost of the improvements.
SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 252, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 252.314 to read as follows:
Sec. 252.314. DONATIONS. (a) A commissioners court or the
county road department may accept donations of labor, money, or
other property to aid in the building or maintaining of roads in the
county.
(b) A county operating under the county road department
system on September 1, 2013, may use the authority granted under
this section without holding a new election under Section 252.301.
(c) A county accepting donations under Sec. 252.314 must
execute a release of liability in favor of the entity donating the
labor, money or other property.
SECTION 7. The Texas Department of Transportation shall
adopt rules implementing Subchapter C, Chapter 256, Transportation
Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.