Suspending limitations on conference committee
jurisdiction, H.B. No. 3184 (Hill)
By: Hill H.R. No. 1803
R E S O L U T I O N
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, That House Rule 13, Section 9(a), be suspended in part as provided by House Rule 13, Section 9(f), to enable the conference committee appointed to resolve the differences on House Bill 3184, relating to the financing, construction, improvement, maintenance, and operation of toll facilities by the Texas Department of Transportation, to consider and take action on the following matter: House Rule 13, Section 9(a)(4), is suspended to permit the committee to add new sections to the bill to read as follows: SECTION 78. (a) Subchapter H, Chapter 201, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 201.6011 to read as follows: Sec. 201.6011. INTERNATIONAL TRADE CORRIDOR PLAN. (a) To the extent possible, the department shall coordinate with appropriate entities to develop an integrated international trade corridor plan. The plan must: (1) include strategies and projects to aid the exchange of international trade using the system of multiple transportation modes in this state; and (2) assign priorities based on the amount of international trade, measured by weight and value, using the transportation systems of this state, including: (A) border ports of entry; (B) commercial ports; (C) inland ports; (D) highways; (E) pipelines; (F) railroads; and (G) deepwater gulf ports. (b) The department shall report on the implementation of this section to the presiding officer of each house of the legislature no later than December 1, 2004. (b) This section takes effect September 1, 2003. SECTION 79. (a) Section 456.022, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 456.022. FORMULA ALLOCATION [BY CATEGORIES]. The commission shall adopt rules establishing a formula allocating funds among individual eligible public transportation providers. The formula may take into account a transportation provider's performance, the number of its riders, the need of residents in its service area for public transportation, population, population density, land area, and other factors established by the commission. [Under the formula program the commission shall allocate: [(1) 50 percent of the money to municipalities that are: [(A) designated recipients in urbanized areas or transit providers eligible under Section 456.003 and not served by a transit authority; and [(B) designated recipients that are not included in a transit authority but are located in urbanized areas that include one or more transit authorities and received state transit funding during the biennium that ended August 31, 1997; and [(2) 50 percent of the money to designated recipients in nonurbanized areas.] (b) Section 456.024, Transportation Code, is repealed. (c) This section takes effect September 1, 2004. Explanation: These additions are necessary to allow the Texas Transportation Commission to establish a formula for distribution of state grants to public transportation providers and to allow the Texas Department of Transportation to develop an international trade corridor plan to aid the exchange of international trade.