SRC-JBJ S.B. 408 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 408
2001S0087/1By: Cain
State Affairs
2/15/2001
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Under current Texas law, appointment to the board of directors of regional
tollway authorities (board) is made by the governor, and the commissioners
court of the participating counties.  As proposed, S.B. 408 would change
the manner of appointments to a board to provide for one gubernatorial
appointment of a person from an adjacent county and allow the commissioners
courts of each participating counties to make two appointments vesting
additional authority regarding board appointments in the counties that are
most directly involved in regional mobility issues and are most directly
affected by the projects approved by a board. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 366.251, Transportation Code, as follows:

(b)  Requires the governor to appoint one director, rather than three
directors, to serve on the board of directors of an authority organized
under this chapter (board). 

(c)  Requires the commissioners courts of those counties of the authority
that contain an operating turnpike project as provided by Subsection (d) to
appoint two additional directors following certain guidelines. 

(d)  Provides that a county contains an operating turnpike project for the
purpose of Subsection (c) if, on the effective date of an appointment made
under Subsection (c), a portion of a turnpike project located in that
county is open for use by the traveling public. 

(e)  Requires the terms of the directors appointed under Subsection (c) to
begin and end concurrently. 
 
(f)  Deletes existing text pertaining to the residence of the directors
appointed by the governor. Requires the director appointed by the governor
to have resided outside the counties of the authority but in a county
adjacent to a county of the authority for at least one year before the
person's appointment.  Requires each director appointed by a commissioners
court under Subsection (b) to have resided in that county for at least one
year before the person's appointment.  Requires each director appointed by
a commissioners court under Subsection (c) to have resided in a county of
the authority for at least one year before the person's appointment. 

 (g)  Deletes existing text pertaining to the governor's appointments under
this section. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 366.254(a), Transportation Code, to make
conforming changes. 
 
SECTION 3.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2001.