SRC-AMY S.B. 955 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 955
78R2568 JJT-DBy: Shapiro
Infrastructure Development and Security
3/26/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Texas can only fund approximately 36 percent of needed
transportation projects.  The Texas Constitution dedicates vehicle
registration fees and three-fourths of motor fuels taxes for the sole
purpose of constructing, maintaining, and policing public roadways.  In
November of 2003, Texans approved the passage of a constitutional
amendment authorizing the Texas Mobility Fund by a margin of more than 65
percent.  The Texas Mobility Fund allows state dollars to  be used by the
Texas Transportation Commission for bonding on state highway projects. The
legislature must appropriate the necessary funds to get these projects
started.  As proposed, S.B. 955 authorizes the legislature to appropriate
$100 million of general revenue a year to the Texas Mobility Fund. 


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 201.943(a), Transportation Code, to prohibit
the latest scheduled maturity date of an issue or series of obligations
from being later than the earlier of the date, as determined by the Texas
Transportation Commission, on which 90 percent of the period of the
expected useful life of the projects to be financed with the obligations
will, without material repair of the projects, have elapsed, or the 30th
anniversary of the date of issuance of the issue or series of obligations,
whichever comes earlier, rather than later than 30 years.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 201.945, Transportation Code, as follows:

Sec. 201.945.  DEDICATION OF REVENUE TO FUND.  (a) Requires the
comptroller, annually and as soon as possible after the beginning of each
fiscal year, to deposit to the credit of the fund a total of $100 million
in state revenue, coming into the state treasury from any source that is
not otherwise dedicated by the Texas Constitution or other law. Provides
that amounts deposited to the credit of the fund under this subsection are
in addition to amounts required to be deposited to the credit of the fund
under Article III, Section 49-k(d), of the Texas Constitution (Texas
Mobility Fund), or any other law other than this subsection. 

(b) Creates this subsection from existing text.

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2003.