C.S.H.B. 3294 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3294 By: Chavez Border and International Affairs Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Texas Transportation Commission consists of three members and must include a member from a rural area. Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the subsequent increase in traffic along the Texas-Mexico border, the transportation infrastructure needs of the Texas-Mexico border region have increased greatly. The appointment of members from different regions of the state might assist the commission in better addressing the transportation infrastructure needs of the different regions of Texas. A commission of three members, however, might not be representative of the different infrastructure needs in the various regions of the state. C.S.H.B. 3294 would expand the size of the Texas Transportation Commission to five members and require that the members be appointed from different regions of the state. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, department or agency. ANALYSIS SECTION 1. C.S.H.B. 3294 amends the Transportation Code to provide that the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) consists of five, rather than three, members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. C.S.H.B. 3294 provides that the members of the commission must be appointed from different regions of the state, and removes the provision that one member must reside in a rural area. SECTION 2. C.S.H.B. 3294 amends the Transportation Code to provide that the terms of either one or two members, rather than one member's term, expire February 1 of each odd-numbered year. SECTION 3. C.S.H.B. 3294 requires the governor to appoint two additional members to the commission promptly after the passage of this Act and provides for the designation of the length of their terms. SECTION 4. C.S.H.B. 3294 provides that the changes in the qualifications of the members do not effect the entitlement of a member to carry out the commission's function for the remainder of the term. SECTION 5. Effective Date. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003. COMPARISON TO ORIGINAL The substitute amends the original by providing that the members of the commission must be appointed from different regions of the state, rather than providing that one member must reside in a rural area and one member must reside in the Texas Mexico Border Region. The substitute also clarifies that the changes in the qualifications of the members do not effect the entitlement of a member to carry out the commission's function for the remainder of the term. The substitute makes other non-substantive technical changes.