85R11840 MTB-F
By: Uresti S.B. No. 1708
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding for counties for transportation infrastructure
projects located in areas of the state affected by increased oil and
gas production, including administration of county energy
transportation reinvestment zones.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 222.1071(i) and (n), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(i) The county may:
(1) use money in the tax increment account, before
September 1, 2017, to provide:
(A) matching funds under Section 256.105; and
(B) funding for one or more transportation
infrastructure projects located in the zone;
(2) apply for grants under Subchapter C, Chapter 256[,
subject to Section 222.1072];
(3) use one [five] percent of any grant distributed to
the county under Subchapter C, Chapter 256, for the administration
of a county energy transportation reinvestment zone, not to exceed
$100,000 [$250,000];
(4) enter into an agreement to provide for the joint
administration of county energy transportation reinvestment zones
if the commissioners court of the county has designated a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section for the
same transportation infrastructure project or projects as another
county commissioners court; and
(5) pledge money in the tax increment account, before
September 1, 2017, to a road utility district formed as provided by
Subsection (n).
(n) In the alternative, to assist the county in developing a
transportation infrastructure project, if authorized by the
commission under Chapter 441, a road utility district may be formed
under that chapter that has the same boundaries as a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone created under this section. The
road utility district may issue bonds to pay all or part of the cost
of a transportation infrastructure project and may pledge and
assign all or a specified amount of money in the tax increment
account, before September 1, 2017, to secure those bonds if the
county:
(1) collects a tax increment; and
(2) pledges all or a specified amount of the tax
increment to the road utility district.
SECTION 2. Section 222.1072, Transportation Code, is
transferred to Subchapter C, Chapter 256, Transportation Code,
redesignated as Section 256.107, Transportation Code, and amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 256.107 [222.1072]. COUNTY GRANT PROGRAM ADVISORY
BOARD [OF COUNTY ENERGY TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONE]. (a) A
county may create [is eligible to apply for a grant under Subchapter
C, Chapter 256, if the county creates] an advisory board to advise
the county on transportation infrastructure projects to be funded
by a grant from the department under this subchapter [the
establishment, administration, and expenditures of a county energy
transportation reinvestment zone]. The county commissioners court
shall determine the terms and duties of the advisory board members.
(b) An [Except as provided by Subsection (c), the] advisory
board created under this section [of a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone] consists of the following members appointed by
the county judge and approved by the county commissioners court:
(1) up to three oil and gas company representatives
who perform a company activity or related service [activities in
the county and are local taxpayers]; and
(2) two public members.
(c) [County energy transportation reinvestment zones that
are jointly administered are advised by a single joint advisory
board for the zones. A joint advisory board under this subsection
consists of members appointed under Subsection (b) for each zone to
be jointly administered.
[(d)] An advisory board member may not receive compensation
for service on the board or reimbursement for expenses incurred in
performing services as a member.
SECTION 3. Section 251.018, Transportation Code, is amended
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 along with
a brief description of the degradation.
SECTION 4. Sections 256.101(3) and (4), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(3) "Weight tolerance permit" means a permit issued
under Section 623.011 for [Chapter 623 authorizing] a vehicle
operating specifically in relation to the exploration,
development, or production of oil or gas [to exceed maximum legal
weight limitations].
(4) "Well completion" means the completion, reentry,
or recompletion of a vertical or horizontal [an] oil or gas well.
SECTION 5. Section 256.103, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(a-1) To be eligible for a grant under this subchapter, a
county must have at least 400 active wells, including horizontal,
vertical, and oil and gas waste disposal wells, as determined by the
most recent data of the Railroad Commission of Texas.
(b) Grants distributed during a fiscal year must be
allocated among counties as follows:
(1) 10 [20] percent according to weight tolerance
permits, determined by the ratio of weight tolerance permits issued
in the preceding fiscal year for the county [that designated a
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) 20 percent 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 a 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;
(3) 15 [50] percent according to vertical well
completions, determined by the ratio of vertical well completions
in the preceding fiscal year in the county [that designated a county
energy transportation reinvestment zone] to the total number of
vertical well completions in the state in that fiscal year, as
determined by the Railroad Commission of Texas; [and]
(4) 45 percent according to horizontal well
completions, determined by the ratio of horizontal well completions
in the preceding fiscal year in the county to the total number of
horizontal well completions in the state in that fiscal year, as
determined by the Railroad Commission of Texas; and
(5) 10 percent according to the total number [volume]
of oil and gas waste disposal wells as defined by the Railroad
Commission of Texas [injected], determined by the ratio of the
total number [volume] of oil and gas waste disposal wells
[injected] in the last full [preceding fiscal] year for which the
Railroad Commission of Texas has a report for commercial disposal
wells in the county [that designated a county energy transportation
reinvestment zone] to the total number [volume] of oil and gas waste
disposal wells [injected] in the state in that [fiscal] year, as
determined by the Railroad Commission of Texas.
SECTION 6. Section 256.104(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In applying for a grant under this subchapter, the
county shall:
(1) provide the road condition report described by
Section 251.018 made by the county for the previous year; and
(2) submit to the department[:
[(A) a copy of the order or resolution
establishing a county energy transportation reinvestment zone in
the county, except that the department may waive the submission
until the time the grant is awarded; and
[(B)] a plan that:
(A) [(i)] provides a list of transportation
infrastructure projects to be funded by the grant;
(B) [(ii)] describes the scope of the
transportation infrastructure project or projects to be funded by
the grant using best practices for prioritizing the projects;
(C) [(iii)] provides for matching funds as
required by Section 256.105; and
(D) [(iv)] meets any other requirements imposed
by the department.
SECTION 7. Section 256.106(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A county 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 251.018;
(2) certify that all previous grants are being spent
in accordance with the plan submitted under Section 256.104; [and]
(3) provide an update on and brief description of the
status of all uncompleted transportation infrastructure projects;
and
(4) provide an accounting of how previous grants were
spent, including any amounts spent on administrative costs.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.