By: Uresti S.B. No. 1747
(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2013; March 25, 2013, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation;
April 15, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 15, 2013,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1747 By: Uresti
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding and donations for county transportation
projects, including projects 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 FOR COUNTY ENERGY
TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONES
Sec. 256.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Fund" means the transportation infrastructure
fund established under this subchapter.
(2) "Transportation infrastructure project" means the
planning for, construction of, reconstruction of, or maintenance of
transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and
culverts, intended to alleviate degradation caused by the
exploration, development, or production of oil or gas.
(3) "Weight tolerance permit" means a permit issued
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, including a disposal well.
Sec. 256.102. TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUND.
(a) The transportation infrastructure fund is a dedicated fund in
the state treasury outside the general revenue fund. The fund
consists of:
(1) money appropriated or transferred to the credit of
the fund by the legislature; and
(2) any interest or other return from investment of
money in the fund.
(b) Money in the fund may be appropriated only to the
department for the purposes of this subchapter.
(c) Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not
apply to the fund.
Sec. 256.103. GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The department shall
administer a grant program under this subchapter to make grants for
transportation infrastructure projects located in county energy
transportation reinvestment zones if the fund has a positive
balance.
(b) Grants distributed during a fiscal year must be
allocated among county energy transportation reinvestment zones as
follows:
(1) one-fifth according to weight tolerance permits,
determined by the ratio of weight tolerance permits issued in the
preceding fiscal year for the county that designated the county
energy transportation reinvestment zone to the total number of
weight tolerance permits issued in the state in that fiscal year, as
determined by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles;
(2) one-fifth according to oil and gas production
taxes, determined by the ratio of oil and gas production taxes
collected by the comptroller in the preceding fiscal year in the
county that designated the county energy transportation
reinvestment zone to the total amount of oil and gas production
taxes collected in the state in that fiscal year, as determined by
the comptroller; and
(3) three-fifths according to well completions,
determined by the ratio of well completions in the preceding fiscal
year in the county that designated the county energy transportation
reinvestment zone to the total number of well completions in the
state in that fiscal year, as determined by the Railroad Commission
of Texas.
Sec. 256.104. GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS. (a) In applying
for a grant under this subchapter, the board of directors of a
county energy transportation reinvestment zone or jointly
administered zones shall:
(1) provide the road condition report described by
Section 251.018 made by the county or counties that designated a
county energy transportation reinvestment zone for the previous two
years; and
(2) submit to the department a plan that:
(A) describes the scope of the transportation
infrastructure project or projects to be funded by the grant using
best practices for prioritizing the projects;
(B) provides for matching funds as required by
Section 256.105; and
(C) meets any other requirements imposed by the
department.
(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 to be funded by grants under this subchapter; and
(2) consult related transportation planning documents
to improve project efficiency and work effectively in partnership
with counties.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
department shall review a grant application before the 31st day
after the date the department receives the application. The
department may act on an application not later than the 60th day
after the date the department receives the application if the
department provides notice of the extension to the board of
directors that submitted the application.
Sec. 256.105. MATCHING FUNDS. To be eligible to receive a
grant under the program, matching funds from a tax increment
account must be provided in an amount equal to at least 10 percent
of the amount of the grant.
Sec. 256.106. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. (a) A board of
directors that makes a second or subsequent application for a grant
from the department under this subchapter must:
(1) provide the department with a copy of a report
filed under Section 256.009; and
(2) certify that all previous grants are being spent
in accordance with the plan submitted under Section 256.104.
(b) The department may use a portion of the money in the
fund, not to exceed one percent of the amount deposited into the
fund in the preceding fiscal year, to administer this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 222.1071 and 222.1072 to read as
follows:
Sec. 222.1071. COUNTY ENERGY TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT
ZONES. (a) A county shall determine the amount of the tax
increment for a county energy transportation reinvestment zone in
the same manner the county would determine the tax increment as
provided in Section 222.107(a) for a county transportation
reinvestment zone.
(b) A county, after determining that an area is affected by
oil and gas exploration and production activities and would benefit
from funding under Chapter 256, by order or resolution of the
commissioners court:
(1) may designate a contiguous geographic area in the
jurisdiction of the county to be a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone to promote one or more transportation
infrastructure projects, as that term is defined by Section
256.101, located in the zone; and
(2) may jointly administer a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone with a contiguous county energy
transportation reinvestment zone formed by another county, as
provided by Subsection (l).
(c) A commissioners court must comply with all applicable
laws in the application of this chapter.
(d) Not later than the 30th day before the date a
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 and 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, the joint
administration of a zone in another county, or the use of tax
increment paid into the tax increment account.
(e) 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.
(f) The order or resolution designating an area as a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone must:
(1) describe the boundaries of the zone with
sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable
certainty the territory included in the zone;
(2) provide that the zone takes effect immediately on
adoption of the order or resolution designating an area and that the
base year shall be the year of passage of the order or resolution
designating an area or some year in the future;
(3) designate the base year for purposes of
establishing the tax increment base of the county;
(4) establish an ad valorem tax increment account for
the zone or provide for the establishment of a joint ad valorem tax
increment account, if applicable;
(5) name the board of directors for the zone or the
county's directors on a joint board of directors, as applicable, as
provided by Section 222.1072; and
(6) if two or more counties are designating a zone for
the same transportation infrastructure project or projects,
include a finding that:
(A) the project or projects will benefit the
property and residents located in the zone; and
(B) the creation of the zone will serve a public
purpose of the local government.
(g) 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.
(h) The county may, from taxes collected on property in a
zone, pay into a tax increment account for the zone or zones 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.
(i) The board of directors may:
(1) use money in the tax increment account to provide:
(A) matching funds under Section 256.105; and
(B) funding for one or more transportation
infrastructure projects located in the zone; and
(2) apply for grants under Subchapter C, Chapter 256.
(j) Tax increment paid into a tax increment account may not
be pledged as security for bonded indebtedness.
(k) A county energy transportation reinvestment zone
terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone
was designated unless extended by an act of the zone's board of
directors. The extension may not exceed five years.
(l) The commissioners courts of two or more counties that
have designated a county energy transportation reinvestment zone
under this section for the same transportation infrastructure
project or projects may enter into an agreement to provide for the
joint administration of the zones. The agreement may provide for:
(1) the creation of a board of directors to oversee the
zones, including the implementation of a transportation
infrastructure project or projects in the zones;
(2) the establishment of a joint tax increment account
for the zones;
(3) the commitment of each participating county to
transfer the tax increment, or the portion of the increment
dedicated to a transportation infrastructure project, to an account
subject to the joint administration; and
(4) to the extent legally permitted, the pledge or
assignment of the tax increment to a county developing a
transportation infrastructure project or providing funding for a
transportation infrastructure project.
Sec. 222.1072. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF COUNTY ENERGY
TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONE. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), the board of directors of a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone consists of:
(1) the county judge; and
(2) the following directors appointed by the county
judge and approved by the county commissioners court:
(A) a county commissioner;
(B) two oil and gas company representatives who
perform company activities in the county and are local taxpayers;
and
(C) a public member who is active in civic
affairs and a beneficiary of energy development activity.
(b) County energy transportation reinvestment zones that
are jointly administered are governed by a single joint board of
directors for the zones. A joint board of directors under this
subsection consists of members appointed under Subsection (a) for
each zone to be jointly administered.
(c) A director may not receive compensation for service on
the board or reimbursement for expenses incurred in performing
services as a director.
SECTION 3. Section 222.110, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (h) and adding Subsection (i) to
read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Sales[, "sales] tax base" for a 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.
(2) "Transportation reinvestment zone" includes a
county energy transportation reinvestment zone.
(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), or 222.1071(d) if the ordinance or order designating an
area as a transportation reinvestment zone under Section 222.106,
[or] 222.107, or 222.1071 also designates a sales tax increment
under Subsection (b).
(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), the sales and use taxes
to be deposited into the tax increment account established by a
county energy transportation reinvestment zone or zones under this
section may be disbursed from the account only to provide:
(1) matching funds under Section 256.105; and
(2) funding for one or more transportation
infrastructure projects located in a zone.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 251.018 and 251.019 to read as
follows:
Sec. 251.018. ROAD REPORTS. A road condition report made by
a county that is operating under a system of administering county
roads under Chapter 252 or a special law, including a report made
under Section 251.005, must include the primary cause of any road,
culvert, or bridge degradation if reasonably ascertained.
Sec. 251.019. DONATIONS. (a) A commissioners court may
accept donations of labor, money, or other property to aid in the
building or maintaining of roads, culverts, or bridges 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 that accepts donations under this section must
execute a release of liability in favor of the entity donating the
labor, money, or other property.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 256.009, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than January 30 of each year, the county
auditor or, if the county does not have a county auditor, the
official having the duties of the county auditor shall file a report
with the comptroller that includes:
(1) an account of how:
(A) the money allocated to a county under Section
256.002 during the preceding year was spent; and
(B) if the county designated a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone, money paid into a tax increment
account for the zone or from an award under Subchapter C was spent;
(2) a description, including location, of any new
roads constructed in whole or in part with the money:
(A) allocated to a county under Section 256.002
during the preceding year; and
(B) paid into a tax increment account for the
zone or from an award under Subchapter C if the county designated a
county energy transportation reinvestment zone;
(3) any other information related to the
administration of Sections 256.002 and 256.003 that the comptroller
requires; and
(4) the total amount of expenditures for county road
and bridge construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, right-of-way
acquisition, and utility construction and other appropriate road
expenditures of county funds in the preceding county fiscal year
that are required by the constitution or other law to be spent on
public roads or highways.
SECTION 6. 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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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