BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 101

By: Ortega

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

State law requires that the Texas Transportation Commission consist of five members appointed by the governor and that those members reflect the diverse geographic regions and population groups of the state. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there have been 68 commissioners appointed to the commission and only four have been from the border region. However, the current requirement that one commissioner be from a rural county has resulted in the appointment of 27 commissioners from rural Texas. The remaining 37 commissioners have been from urban areas of the state. C.S.H.B. 101 seeks to increase the representation of border counties on the commission by requiring that one commissioner reside in and be a registered voter of a border county. The legislation will ensure that the commission has firsthand knowledge of the unique transportation challenges border communities are facing and be able to assist the commission in implementing the multibillion dollar Border Trade Master Plan.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 101 amends the Transportation Code to require at least one member of the Texas Transportation Commission to reside and be a registered voter in a county bordering the United Mexican States. That member may not be the same member as the one who is appointed to meet the requirement that one appointed member reside in a rural area and be a registered voter of a county with a population of less than 150,000. These provisions do not affect the entitlement of a member serving on the commission immediately before the bill's effective date to continue to serve for the remainder of the member's term. As the terms of commission members expire, the governor is required to appoint or reappoint a member who has the required member qualifications.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 101 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced specifying that the commission member who must reside and be a registered voter in a county bordering the United Mexican States may not be the same member as the member who is appointed to meet the requirement that one appointed member reside in a rural area and be a registered voter of a county with a population of less than 150,000.