Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5177 Compare Versions

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11 By: DeAyala H.B. No. 5177
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46 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
57 AN ACT
68 relating to the use of certain tolls and charges imposed by certain
79 counties; authorizing an administrative penalty.
810 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
911 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 284, Transportation Code,
1012 is amended by adding Section 284.014 to read as follows:
1113 Sec. 284.014. RESTRICTION ON USE OF REVENUE FROM TOLLS AND
1214 OTHER CHARGES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only
1315 to a county with a population of four million or more.
1416 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a county that
1517 imposes tolls or charges as otherwise authorized by this chapter
1618 may only use the revenues collected from the tolls or charges to pay
1719 the costs of operating, expanding, maintaining, or administering a
1820 toll project or system or to retire debt related to a toll project
1921 or system. This subsection applies to any fees received by a county
2022 for operating a toll project of another entity but does not apply to
2123 any other revenue of a toll project that is collected by the county
2224 on behalf of another entity under an agreement with the entity.
2325 (c) Of the revenues collected from tolls and charges that
2426 remain after paying the costs described by Subsection (b):
2527 (1) 30 percent of the amount remaining shall be
2628 distributed to the municipality that contains more than 40 percent
2729 of the number of lane miles of the toll project and may be used only
2830 to reimburse the municipality for the costs of providing law
2931 enforcement and other emergency services during accidents and
3032 disasters affecting a project of the county; and
3133 (2) 70 percent of surplus revenue shall be distributed
3234 to the county for use on county owned and maintained roads. A
3335 minimum of 95% of the surplus revenue received by the county shall
3436 be allocated to the commissioner precincts based on the percentage
3537 of roads owned and maintained by the County in each precinct per the
3638 County's Road Log excluding toll roads and freeways as of September
3739 1st before the beginning of the next fiscal year.
3840 (3) The County may allocate up to 5% of the funds to
3941 other County Departments or projects with countywide impact, as
4042 determined by the county, for state, county, or municipal
4143 facilities, the funds are restricted to roads, streets, highways
4244 and related facilities.
4345 (d) An independent auditor hired by a county to audit the
4446 county's annual financial report made to the commissioners court
4547 and to the district judges of the county under Section 114.025,
4648 Local Government Code, shall report any violation of Subsection (b)
4749 to the department.
4850 (e) The department shall promptly investigate a report
4951 received under Subsection (d). If the department determines that
5052 the county violated Subsection (b) and the violation is:
5153 (1) a first violation of Subsection (b), the
5254 department shall impose an administrative penalty against the
5355 county in an amount equal to 110 percent of the amount of revenues
5456 used by the county in violation of Subsection (b); or
5557 (2) a second or subsequent violation of Subsection
5658 (b), the department shall impose an administrative penalty against
5759 the county in an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of
5860 revenues used by the county in violation of Subsection (b).
5961 (f) A county for which an administrative penalty is imposed
6062 under Subsection (e) shall pay the penalty out of the general fund
6163 of the county. An administrative penalty may only be used as
6264 provided by Subsection (b).
6365 (g) Notwithstanding any other law, a county for which an
6466 administrative penalty is imposed under Subsection (e)(2) may not
6567 adopt a tax rate for the tax year following the tax year in which the
6668 penalty was imposed that exceeds the lesser of the county's
6769 no-new-revenue tax rate or voter-approval tax rate, as determined
6870 under Section 26.04, Tax Code, for that tax year.
6971 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.