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Senate Bill 19 |
Senate Author: Nichols et al. |
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Effective: 6-17-11 |
House Sponsor: Smith, Wayne |
Senate Bill 19 adds a chapter to the Transportation Code to address the development of toll projects, other than certain excluded projects, located in the territory of a local toll project entity. The bill describes a process to determine the entity that has primacy to develop such a toll project and establishes a timeline for toll project phases. The bill authorizes a local toll project entity or the Texas Department of Transportation to initiate the process for a toll project and establishes that a local toll project entity has the first option to develop the project. If the local toll project entity fails or declines to exercise this option, or fails or declines to advertise for procurement or enter into a construction contract within the prescribed time frames, the department has the option to develop the project. The process may be reinitiated by either party if it concludes without either party entering into a contract for construction of the toll project. The bill requires the Texas Transportation Commission and the department to allow a local toll project entity that has exercised its option to develop a project to use state highway right-of-way and requires the entity to reimburse the department for use of the right-of-way under certain conditions. The bill requires money received by the department as reimbursement to be used to fund additional projects in the department district in which the toll project is located.
Senate Bill 19 also addresses state highway toll projects. The bill sets out a formula for the distribution of surplus toll revenue of a toll project to other projects within a region, rather than a department district, in which any part of the toll project is located. The bill makes provisions relating to toll projects in certain counties also apply to existing toll projects of the counties. The bill repeals provisions relating to state highway toll projects of local toll project entities. The bill also sets out factors that must be considered in making any determination of value for a public-private partnership arrangement involving a highway toll project.