HBA-MSH H.B. 1370 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1370 By: Pickett Transportation 2/22/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In a recent opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General concerning whether a county may borrow money from the state infrastructure bank account for road and bridge construction without issuing bonds or other obligations evidencing the loan, and repay the loan over a term of years from the proceeds of taxes or other revenue pledged for that purpose, the attorney general held that a county's authority to enter into debt must be express or necessarily implied by statute and that the current statute does not give this authority. House Bill 1370 authorizes a public entity to borrow money from the state infrastructure bank account without issuing bonds or other obligations evidencing the loan. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1370 amends the Transportation Code to authorize a public entity that is authorized to construct, maintain, or finance a qualified project, including construction of a federal-aid highway or transit project, to borrow funds for the project from the state infrastructure bank account without issuing bonds or other obligations evidencing the loan. The bill provides that the public entity must segregate such funds from other money under the control of the public entity and authorizes the use of such the funds only for a purpose related to the qualified project for which the funds were borrowed. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.