| TO: | Honorable John Carona, Chair, Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB893 by Zaffirini (Relating to international railroad toll bridge by certain counties.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would amend Subchapter A of Chapter 364, Transportation Code, to authorize a county to enter into and make payments under an agreement with a private entity or another governmental entity to acquire, construct, maintain, or operate a toll bridge, including an international toll bridge. In connection with or in support of an agreement, the county would be authorized to enter into a lease, an operating agreement, a service agreement, a license agreement, a franchise agreement, or a similar agreement with a private entity or another governmental entity. However, provisions of the bill would not apply to a county with a population of more than 675,000 (counties of El Paso, Travis, Bexar, Tarrant, Dallas, and Harris, according to the 2000 U.S. Census).
The bill would take effect immediately if it were to receive the required two-thirds vote in each house; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2007.
The fiscal impact to units of local government would vary depending on the size of the local body and the size of the bridge project that would be allowed under the provisions of the bill. It is assumed that a county or other local governmental entity would enter into an agreement to jointly acquire, construct, maintain, or operate a toll bridge, including an international toll bridge, and other types of agreements only if sufficient funds were available.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | JOB, KJG, DB
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