| 1 | 1 | | By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 2722 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to the use of certain tolls and charges imposed by certain |
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| 9 | 9 | | counties; authorizing an administrative penalty. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 284, Transportation Code, |
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| 12 | 12 | | is amended by adding Section 284.014 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 284.014. RESTRICTION ON USE OF REVENUE FROM TOLLS AND |
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| 14 | 14 | | OTHER CHARGES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to |
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| 15 | 15 | | a county with a population of four million or more. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a county that |
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| 17 | 17 | | imposes tolls or charges as otherwise authorized by this chapter |
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| 18 | 18 | | may only use the revenues collected from the tolls or charges to pay |
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| 19 | 19 | | the costs of operating, expanding, maintaining, or administering a |
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| 20 | 20 | | toll project or system or to retire debt related to a toll project |
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| 21 | 21 | | or system. This subsection applies to any fees received by a county |
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| 22 | 22 | | for operating a toll project of another entity but does not apply to |
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| 23 | 23 | | any other revenue of a toll project that is collected by the county |
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| 24 | 24 | | on behalf of another entity under an agreement with the entity. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) Of the revenues collected from tolls and charges that |
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| 26 | 26 | | remain after paying the costs described by Subsection (b): |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) 30 percent of the amount remaining shall be |
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| 28 | 28 | | distributed to the municipality that contains more than 40 percent |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the number of lane miles of the toll project and may be used only |
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| 30 | 30 | | to reimburse the municipality for the costs of providing law |
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| 31 | 31 | | enforcement and other emergency services during accidents and |
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| 32 | 32 | | disasters affecting a project of the county; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) 70 percent of surplus revenue shall be distributed |
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| 34 | 34 | | to the county for use on county owned and maintained roads. A |
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| 35 | 35 | | minimum of 95% of the surplus revenue received by the county shall |
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| 36 | 36 | | be allocated to the commissioner precincts based on the percentage |
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| 37 | 37 | | of roads owned and maintained by the County in each precinct per the |
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| 38 | 38 | | County's Road Log excluding toll roads and freeways as of September |
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| 39 | 39 | | 1st before the beginning of the next fiscal year. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (3) The County may allocate up to 5% of the funds to |
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| 41 | 41 | | other County Departments or projects with countywide impact, as |
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| 42 | 42 | | determined by the county, for state, county, or municipal |
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| 43 | 43 | | facilities, the funds are restricted to roads, streets, highways |
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| 44 | 44 | | and related facilities. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (d) An independent auditor hired by a county to audit the |
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| 46 | 46 | | county's annual financial report made to the commissioners court |
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| 47 | 47 | | and to the district judges of the county under Section 114.025, |
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| 48 | 48 | | Local Government Code, shall report any violation of Subsection (b) |
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| 49 | 49 | | to the department. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (e) The department shall promptly investigate a report |
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| 51 | 51 | | received under Subsection (d). If the department determines that |
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| 52 | 52 | | the county violated Subsection (b) and the violation is: |
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| 53 | 53 | | (1) a first violation of Subsection (b), the |
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| 54 | 54 | | department shall impose an administrative penalty against the |
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| 55 | 55 | | county in an amount equal to 110 percent of the amount of revenues |
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| 56 | 56 | | used by the county in violation of Subsection (b); or |
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| 57 | 57 | | (2) a second or subsequent violation of Subsection |
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| 58 | 58 | | (b), the department shall impose an administrative penalty against |
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| 59 | 59 | | the county in an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of |
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| 60 | 60 | | revenues used by the county in violation of Subsection (b). |
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| 61 | 61 | | (f) A county for which an administrative penalty is imposed |
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| 62 | 62 | | under Subsection (e) shall pay the penalty out of the general fund |
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| 63 | 63 | | of the county. An administrative penalty may only be used as |
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| 64 | 64 | | provided by Subsection (b). |
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| 65 | 65 | | (g) Notwithstanding any other law, a county for which an |
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| 66 | 66 | | administrative penalty is imposed under Subsection (e)(2) may not |
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| 67 | 67 | | adopt a tax rate for the tax year following the tax year in which the |
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| 68 | 68 | | penalty was imposed that exceeds the lesser of the county's |
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| 69 | 69 | | no-new-revenue tax rate or voter-approval tax rate, as determined |
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| 70 | 70 | | under Section 26.04, Tax Code, for that tax year. |
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| 71 | 71 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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