86R12244 AJZ-F
By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 2306
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a study regarding the public health considerations of
transportation planning.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. INTERIM COMMITTEE; STUDY. (a) The joint interim
committee on the public health considerations of transportation
planning is established to study and review the methods the Texas
Department of Transportation uses to integrate public health
considerations into major highway project planning and general
department policy.
(b) The study must consider:
(1) the extent to which the Texas Department of
Transportation, when planning major highway projects, currently
considers the effects increased traffic capacity may have on the
health of adjacent populations; and
(2) methods that may be employed by the Texas
Department of Transportation to incorporate public health
considerations into major highway project planning, including:
(A) conducting health effects assessments to
determine the effects a major highway project may have on the health
of adjacent populations and publishing the resulting findings;
(B) notifying affected communities when a major
highway project may pose a public health risk to vulnerable
populations concentrated in nearby areas, such as at schools; and
(C) considering alternative multimodal
transportation options to achieve the stated goal of a
transportation improvement project.
(c) The joint interim committee shall be composed of:
(1) six members of the senate transportation committee
appointed by the lieutenant governor;
(2) three members of the house transportation
committee appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
and
(3) three members of the house environmental
regulation committee appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives.
(d) The lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of
representatives shall each designate a co-chair from among the
committee members.
(e) The joint interim committee has all other powers and
duties provided to a special or select committee by the rules of the
senate and house of representatives by Subchapter B, Chapter 301,
Government Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees
on administration.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2021, the joint interim
committee shall report the committee's findings and
recommendations to the governor and the members of the legislature.
SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF COMMITTEE. The committee is
abolished and this Act expires January 12, 2021.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.