| 1 | 1 | | By: Lozano H.B. No. 4483 |
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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 a study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute |
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| 7 | 7 | | regarding the economic impact of navigation districts on the state |
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| 8 | 8 | | and local economies. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. (a) In this section, "institute" means the Texas |
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| 11 | 11 | | A&M Transportation Institute. |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) The institute, in consultation with the comptroller of |
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| 13 | 13 | | public accounts and the standing committees of the legislature with |
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| 14 | 14 | | primary jurisdiction over the institute, shall study each |
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| 15 | 15 | | navigation district and municipal utility agency responsible for a |
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| 16 | 16 | | ship channel with a federally authorized depth of at least 35 feet |
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| 17 | 17 | | in this state. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (c) In conducting the study, the institute shall, for each |
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| 19 | 19 | | navigation district and municipal utility agency: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (1) analyze the district's and agency's: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (A) assessment of fees imposed by the district or |
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| 22 | 22 | | agency; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (B) cargoes and commodities; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (C) navigation safety; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (D) primary expenditures; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) collect the following information: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (A) annual fee income; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (B) consistency of fee income; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (C) historical rate of growth in the previous 15 |
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| 30 | 30 | | years for fee income; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (D) fee income sources; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (E) expenditures based on the following |
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| 33 | 33 | | categories: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (i) labor for maintenance and operations; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (ii) materials for maintenance and |
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| 36 | 36 | | operations; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (iii) materials for expansion projects; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (iv) consumables; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (v) cost overruns; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (vi) utilities; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (vii) capital expenditures; |
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| 42 | 42 | | (viii) project expenditures; and |
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| 43 | 43 | | (ix) operating expenditures; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (F) direct economic impacts to the state and |
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| 45 | 45 | | local economies from the district's or agency's activities; |
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| 46 | 46 | | (G) projected economic growth over the next 10 |
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| 47 | 47 | | years; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (H) an assessment of all import and export |
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| 49 | 49 | | commodities; and |
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| 50 | 50 | | (I) a comprehensive analysis of security and |
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| 51 | 51 | | resiliency of cargoes, vessels, containers, and navigation. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (d) The institute shall disaggregate the data described by |
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| 53 | 53 | | Subsection (c) of this section by county. |
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| 54 | 54 | | (e) Not later than December 1, 2024, the institute shall |
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| 55 | 55 | | prepare a written report with the information described by this |
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| 56 | 56 | | section, a summary of the institute's findings, and recommendations |
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| 57 | 57 | | for legislative or other action and submit the report to the |
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| 58 | 58 | | governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of |
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| 59 | 59 | | representatives, and the chairs of the committees of the |
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| 60 | 60 | | legislature with primary jurisdiction over the institute. |
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| 61 | 61 | | (f) This section expires January 1, 2025. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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