H.B. 51 78(2)    BILL ANALYSIS


H.B. 51
By: Merritt
Border and International Affairs
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The quality of life for Texans might be greatly improved by creating a
form of transportation that provides a safer, faster, and more reliable
means for people to travel in the Texas-Mexico and TexasLouisiana border
regions. Such a system could reduce air pollution and support economic
growth. H.B. 51 would create a border region high speed rail authority to
finance, construct, maintain, and operate a high speed rail system in the
border regions of Texas. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill expressly delegates rule-making authority to a border region
high-speed rail authority in SECTION 1 (Article 6550c-4, Sec. 3 & Sec. 6,
Sec, Vernon's Civil Statutes).  

ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. H.B. 51 amends the Revised Statutes to allow the Texas
Transportation Commission (commission) to authorize the creation of a
border region high-speed rail authority (authority) for the purposes of
financing, acquiring property for, constructing, maintaining, and
operating a highspeed rail system.  H.B. 51 provides for the appointment,
composition, and operation of a board of governors of the authority. 

H.B. 51 sets forth the powers and duties of the authority.  The bill
provides that the authority is considered a public body and a political
subdivision of the state and is subject to the Texas Sunset Act. The bill
authorizes and provides for the authority to sue and be sued in all
courts, to acquire and hold, use, sell or lease real or personal property,
licenses, patents, rights and to acquire, own and maintain intermodal and
high-speed rail facilities to connect political subdivisions in the
applicable border regions.   

H.B. 51 authorizes and provides for the authority, with the consent of a
municipality or any other political subdivision, to use streets, highways
and other public ways and to relocate or alter (at the authority's
expense) any highway, road, telephone and electric lines, pipelines and
conduits (whether publicly or privately owned) in order to construct and
operate the system.  The bill prohibits the authority from using or
altering a highway or road that is part of the state highway system
without permission of the Texas Transportation Commission, and from using
a railroad without permission of the Texas Railroad Commission. 

H.B. 51 grants the authority the right of eminent domain, and specifies
that the power of eminent domain does not apply to land under the
jurisdiction of the department or rail line owned by a common carrier or
municipality.  The bill authorizes and provides for the authority to make
agreements with public or private utilities, common carriers or state
agencies for the joint use of facilities or properties inside or outside
the border region. 

H.B. 51 authorizes and provides for the authority to enter into contracts,
notes, security agreements, bills of sale, deeds, etc. relating to foreign
and domestic currency, in order to provide tax benefits to another party
and to encourage private investment with a transportation authority. 

H.B. 51 authorizes and provides for the authority to issue revenue bonds
and notes for the high-speed facilities.  

 H.B. 51 authorizes and provides for the use of competitive bidding for
contracts for more than $15,000. H.B. 51 exempts any property, material
purchases, revenues and income of the authority and the interest on a bond
or note issued by the authority from all taxes imposed by this state or
political subdivision. 

H.B. 51 imposes and provides for the calculation of a sales and use tax on
items sold on authority property.  

SECTION 2.  Effective date. The bill requires the commission to create the
border region high-speed rail authority no later than September 1, 2004.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

December 1, 2003.