By: Nelson S.B. No. 948
(In the Senate - Filed February 28, 2013; March 12, 2013,
read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
March 26, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
Nays 0; March 26, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to management of a coordinated county transportation
authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (3), Section 431.003,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(3) "Local government" means:
(A) a municipality;
(B) a county; or
(C) for purposes of Subchapter D:
(i) [,] a navigation district, hospital
district, or hospital authority;
(ii) [, or] a regional transportation
authority governed by Chapter 452; or
(iii) a coordinated county transportation
authority governed by Chapter 460 [as described by Section
452.001].
SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 460.054, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The interim executive committee is composed of:
(1) one member appointed by the governing body of each
municipality with a population of 12,000 or more that is located in
the county;
(2) three members appointed by the commissioners
court, two of whom must reside in the unincorporated area of the
county; [and]
(3) three members to be designated by the remaining
municipalities with a population of more than 500 but less than
12,000 located in the county; and
(4) one member appointed by the governing body of each
municipality in the county with a population of more than 500 but
less than 12,000 that:
(A) designates a public transportation financing
area under Section 460.603; and
(B) enters into an agreement with the authority
to provide public transportation services in the public
transportation financing area under Subchapter I.
SECTION 3. Section 460.105, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A private operator who contracts with an authority under
this chapter is not a public entity for purposes of any law of this
state except that an independent contractor of the authority that
performs a function of the authority is liable for damages only to
the extent that the authority would be liable if the authority or
entity itself were performing the function.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 460.1092,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) An authority may employ or contract for persons to serve
as fare enforcement officers to enforce the payment of fares for use
of the public transportation system by:
(1) requesting and inspecting evidence showing
payment of the appropriate fare from a person using the public
transportation system; and
(2) issuing a citation to a person described by
Section 460.1091(d).
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 460.2015,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The board of directors of an authority confirmed under
Subchapter B may increase the population amount stated by Section
460.054(b)(1) in increments of up to 5,000. If the board increases
that population amount, the board shall also increase each
population amount stated by Sections 460.054(b)(3), (b)(4), and (c)
[460.054(c)] by the same amount.
SECTION 6. Subsection (c), Section 460.406, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The board of directors may authorize the negotiation of
a contract without competitive sealed bids or proposals if:
(1) the aggregate amount involved in the contract is
$50,000 or less;
(2) the contract is for construction for which not
more than one bid or proposal is received;
(3) the contract is for services or property for which
there is only one source or for which it is otherwise impracticable
to obtain competition;
(4) the contract is to respond to an emergency for
which the public exigency does not permit the delay incident to the
competitive process;
(5) the contract is for personal or professional
services or services for which competitive bidding is precluded by
law;
(6) the contract, without regard to form and which may
include bonds, notes, loan agreements, or other obligations, is for
the purpose of borrowing money or is a part of a transaction
relating to the borrowing of money, including:
(A) a credit support agreement, such as a line or
letter of credit or other debt guaranty;
(B) a bond, note, debt sale or purchase, trustee,
paying agent, remarketing agent, indexing agent, or similar
agreement;
(C) an agreement with a securities dealer,
broker, or underwriter; and
(D) any other contract or agreement considered by
the board of directors to be appropriate or necessary in support of
the authority's financing activities;
(7) the contract is for work that is performed and paid
for by the day as the work progresses;
(8) the contract is for the lease or purchase of an
interest in land [or a right-of-way];
(9) the contract is for the purchase of personal
property sold:
(A) at an auction by a state licensed auctioneer;
(B) at a going out of business sale held in
compliance with Subchapter F, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code;
or
(C) by a political subdivision of this state, a
state agency, or an entity of the federal government;
(10) the contract is for services performed by blind
or severely disabled persons;
(11) the contract is for the purchase of electricity;
[or]
(12) the contract is one for an authority project and
awarded for alternate project delivery using the procedures under
Subchapters E, F, [and] G, and I, Chapter 2267, Government Code, as
added by Chapter 1129 (H.B. 628), Acts of the 82nd Legislature,
Regular Session, 2011; or
(13) the contract is for fare enforcement officer
services under Section 460.1092.
SECTION 7. Subsection (c), Section 460.105, Transportation
Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that
accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of
action that accrues before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and that
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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