H.B. 3313 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 3313 By: Capelo County Affairs Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Over the past 10 years, counties have had budgetary pressures (inmate population, juvenile crime) that have redirected resources away from basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Many counties have seen their roads and bridges deteriorate without adequate resources to keep up with property maintenance. Under section 502.172(a) of the Transportation Code the County Commissioners Court may impose by order an additional fee, not to exceed $10, for registering a vehicle in the county. Counties have used this money to build county roads, expand rights of ways, and have used it when available, to maintain roads and bridges. The authorized maximum amount of the additional fee has not been increased since 1990. The additional fee collected for registering a vehicle in Nueces County currently accounts for approximately 50 percent of Nueces County's annual road and bridge fund revenues. Increasing the additional fee by $10 would generate an additional $2.2 million in road and bridge revenues for Nueces County. This new revenue could be used to leverage approximately $15 million through road bonds or certificates of obligations to be used to construct and rebuild county roads and bridges. As suggested, the leveraged funds would provide a much needed boost to the county road and bridges systems which have seen neglect over the years due to other budgetary pressures. 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. ANALYSIS Section 1. Amends Sec. 502.172(a), Transportation Code, as follows: (a)allows the commissioners court to impose an additional fee not to exceed $20 for registering a vehicle in the county. EFFECTIVE DATE The bill would become effective immediately, if adopted by the constitutionally required two-thirds record vote in each house; otherwise, it would become effective on September 1, 2003.