84R3640 JTS-F
By: Watson S.B. No. 1144
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to intermunicipal commuter rail districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 173.052, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 173.052. ADDITION OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OR OTHER
PUBLIC ENTITY TO DISTRICT. The following political subdivisions
and other public entities may become a part of a district with the
approval of the district and the governing body of the political
subdivision or public entity:
(1) a county located adjacent to the county in which a
creating municipality is located; or
(2) a political subdivision or other public
entity [municipality with a population of more than 18,000]
located in:
(A) a county described by Subdivision (1); or
[and]
(B) [(3) a public entity located in] a county
that has become part of the district.
SECTION 2. Section 173.205(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The governing body of a municipality, a county, any
other political subdivision, or a public agency may donate,
exchange, convey, sell, or lease land, improvements, or any other
interest in real or personal property to a district to promote a
public purpose of the political subdivision or public agency
related to commuter rail service [the title or the rights and
easements to property needed by the district for its purposes in
connection with the acquisition, construction, or operation of the
system]. The governing body of the political subdivision or public
agency taking action under this subsection:
(1) must determine that the transaction will
accomplish a public purpose of the political subdivision or public
agency;
(2) shall ensure that the terms of the transaction
accomplish and maintain a public purpose of the political
subdivision or public agency; and
(3) may establish the value of the property and
complete the transaction without complying with the requirements of
Chapter 271 or 272, Local Government Code.
SECTION 3. Sections 173.256(d-1) and (e), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d-1) For a [A] transportation infrastructure zone of a
district established before January 1, 2005:
(1) the territory of the zone:
(A)[,] may consist of a contiguous or
noncontiguous geographic area in the territory of one or more local
governments; and
(B) must include a commuter rail facility or the
site of a proposed commuter rail facility;
(2) a local government and the district may agree
that, at one or more specified times, the local government will pay
to the district an amount that is calculated on the basis of
increased ad valorem tax collections, increased sales tax
collections, or both, in the area of the zone located in the local
government that are attributable to an infrastructure project;
(3) the[. The] amount paid by a local government
[under Subsection (d)] to the [a] district [established before
January 1, 2005,] may not exceed an amount that is equal to the
increase in [ad valorem] tax collections in the zone for the
specified period; and
(4) a local government and the district may agree to
allow the district to enter into agreements and establish programs,
including agreements and programs described by Sections 311.010(b)
and (h), Tax Code, that the local government and the district
consider necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes
described by Subsection (e).
(e) Money received by the district under this section may be
used:
(1) to provide a local match for the acquisition of
right-of-way in the territory of the local government; [or]
(2) for design, construction, operation, or
maintenance of transportation facilities in the territory of the
local government; or
(3) for the local government's proportionate share of
the cost of the design, construction, operation, or maintenance of
transportation facilities that serve other areas of the district in
addition to the territory of the local government.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.