| 1 | 1 | | By: Metcalf H.B. No. 3591 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the allocation and use of certain funds for public |
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| 7 | 7 | | transportation projects. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 456.001, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 10 | 10 | | by adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (2-a) "Direct recipient" means a municipality that: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (A) receives money from the United States or this |
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| 13 | 13 | | state for public transportation through the department or the |
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| 14 | 14 | | Federal Transit Administration or the administration's successor; |
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| 15 | 15 | | and |
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| 16 | 16 | | (B) is located in an urbanized area with a |
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| 17 | 17 | | population of more than 200,000, according to the 2010 federal |
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| 18 | 18 | | decennial census: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (i) that includes an urban transit district |
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| 20 | 20 | | eligible to participate in the formula or discretionary program |
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| 21 | 21 | | provided by this chapter but does not include a transit authority; |
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| 22 | 22 | | and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (ii) that is adjacent to an urbanized area |
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| 24 | 24 | | with a population more than 4.9 million but less than 5 million, |
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| 25 | 25 | | according to the 2010 federal decennial census. |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 2. Section 456.006(a), Transportation Code, is |
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| 27 | 27 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (a) A designated recipient that is a rural or urban transit |
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| 29 | 29 | | district or municipal transit department or a direct recipient may |
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| 30 | 30 | | use money from the formula or discretionary program and any local |
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| 31 | 31 | | funds for any transit-related activity. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 3. Section 456.022, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 33 | 33 | | to read as follows: |
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| 34 | 34 | | Sec. 456.022. FORMULA ALLOCATION. (a) The commission shall |
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| 35 | 35 | | adopt rules establishing a formula allocating funds among |
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| 36 | 36 | | individual eligible public transportation providers. The formula |
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| 37 | 37 | | may take into account a transportation provider's performance, the |
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| 38 | 38 | | number of its riders, the need of residents in its service area for |
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| 39 | 39 | | public transportation, population, population density, land area, |
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| 40 | 40 | | and other factors established by the commission. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (b) The department may contract with a direct recipient to |
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| 42 | 42 | | administer a portion of the funding awarded to an urban transit |
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| 43 | 43 | | district. The department will divide the funding allocated by |
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| 44 | 44 | | formula to the urbanized area in which the urban transit district is |
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| 45 | 45 | | located between the urban transit district and the direct |
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| 46 | 46 | | recipient, in the same ratio used by the Federal Transit |
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| 47 | 47 | | Administration for its most recent allocation of funds to that |
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| 48 | 48 | | urbanized area under Section 5307, Federal Transit Act. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 50 | 50 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 51 | 51 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 53 | 53 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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