TWT H.B. 3443 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS TRANSPORTATION H.B. 3443 By: Kubiak 4-16-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND During the 74th Regular session, legislation was passed to conform the state's public transportation program with the federal Governor's Discretionary Program. However, three formerly eligible urbanized areas (Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Tarrant County) that were receiving state funds became ineligible inadvertently. In addition the current allocation formula for distributing public transportation funds to small cities is inadequate and inefficient with regards to cash management, transit planning and maximizing transit service. PURPOSE C.S.H.B. 3443 amends the allocation formula in order to provide for the three previously funded urbanized areas while capping the funding at 1996-97 biennium levels. It also amends the allocation formula for small urban providers to reflect recent changes in practice and policy, as well as making technical changes in definitions and language to conform to the Transportation Code. 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. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 456.001, Transportation Code, by making technical changes to the definitions of (2) designated recipient, (8) public transportation, (11) transit authority, and (12) urbanized area. Adds definitions for (13) non-urbanized area and (14) local funds. SECTION 2. Amends Section 456.006, Transportation Code, to allow a recipient to receive funds if the recipient: (a) is a rural or urban transit district or municipal transit department, (b) is not included in a transit authority, but is located in an urbanized area that includes one or more transit authorities, and received state transit funding in the biennium ending August 31, 1997. The recipient in (b) is restricted to receiving only that amount actually expended during that biennium. (c) Defines rural transit district and urban transit district. SECTION 3. Amends Section 456.007, Transportation Code, to provide that a grant of money to the state for public transportation purposes shall be deposited to the credit of the public transportation account fund. The TXDOT can only use funds in the account to carry out it and the commission's public transportation responsibilities. SECTION 4. Amends Section 456.022, Transportation Code, as follows. The commission shall allocate (1) half of the money to cities that are: (A) designated recipients in urbanized areas or transit authorities in communities of under 200,000 and not served by a transit authority; and (B) designated recipients not included in a transit authority but are in urbanized areas with one or more transit authorities and which received state funding during the biennium ending Aug. 31, 1997. Deletes population requirements. (2) Half the funds to designated recipients in non-urbanized areas. Deletes population requirements. SECTION 5. Amends Section 456.024 (a) and (b), Transportation Code, to alter the formula distribution by determining the amount of funds used by each system during the previous biennium and allocating to each system the ratio of the percentage used to the total available funds for the current biennium. SECTION 6. Amends Section 456.041(a), Transportation Code, to correct a cross-reference in the recodification. SECTION 7. Repeals Section 456.025, Transportation Code, as no longer applicable. SECTION 8. (a) In addition to the substantive changes in law made by this Act, this Act conforms to changes in the law made by Chapter 644, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995. (b) Repeals Chapter 664, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995. (c) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, relating to nonsubstantive additions and corrections in enacted codes. SECTION 9. Emergency clause. Effective upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE SECTION 1. The substitute adds a definition in Sec. 456.001, Subsection (14) for local funds. The original contained no similar provision. SECTION 2. The original amended Sec. 456.002(b), Transportation Code to conform with the recodification of the Transportation Code and to reflect the generic use of federal transportation laws. The substitute deleted Section 2 of the original, retaining current law. Section 2 of the substitute was Section 4 of the original. SECTION 3. The original amended Sec. 456.004, Transportation Code, to conform with the recodification of the Transportation Code and to reflect the generic use of federal transportation laws. The substitute deleted Section 3 of the original, retaining current law. Section 3 of the substitute was Section 5 of the original. SECTION 4. Section 4 of the substitute was Section 6 of the original. SECTION 5. Section 5 of the substitute was Section 7 of the original. SECTION 6. Section 6 of the substitute was Section 8 of the original. SECTION 7. Section 7 of the substitute was Section 9 of the original. SECTION 8. Section 8 of the substitute was Section 10 of the original. SECTION 9. Section 9 of the substitute was Section 11 of the original.