Amend CSHB 2553 (Senate committee printing) by adding the
following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and
renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill as appropriate:
SECTION ____. (a) Section 502.1725, Transportation Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) and adding
Subsections (e-1), (f-1), (i), and (j) to read as follows:
(d) A fee imposed under this section may take effect only on
January 1 of a year. The county must adopt the order and notify the
department not later than September 1 of the year preceding the year
in which the fee takes effect. A fee imposed under this section is
not required to be annually reauthorized and remains in effect
until removed as provided by Subsection (e).
(e) Subject to Subsection (e-1), a [A] fee imposed under
this section may be removed. The removal may take effect only on
January 1 of a year. A county may remove the fee only by:
(1) rescinding the order imposing the fee; and
(2) notifying the department not later than September
1 of the year preceding the year in which the removal takes effect.
(e-1) If the revenue from a fee imposed under this section
is pledged or assigned to secure the payment of obligations as
provided by Subsection (f-1), the fee may not be removed until the
obligations secured by the pledge or assignment have been paid or
discharged.
(f) The county assessor-collector of a county imposing a fee
under this section shall collect the additional fee for a vehicle
when other fees imposed under this chapter are collected. The
county shall deposit [send] the fee revenue in a special account in
the county general fund. Money in the account may be used only for a
purpose authorized under Section (7-a), Article VIII, Texas
Constitution, and only to contract with:
(1) [to] the regional mobility authority of the county
to promote and maintain a public purpose of the county that involves
funding [fund] long-term transportation projects in the county;
(2) a transportation governmental entity designated
under Subsection (j) to promote and maintain a public purpose of the
county that involves funding long-term transportation projects in
the county; or
(3) a public or private entity developing a long-term
transportation project in the county under an agreement with the
county, the regional mobility authority of the county, or a
transportation governmental entity designated under Subsection (j)
to promote and maintain a public purpose of the county.
(f-1) Revenue from a fee imposed under this section may be
pledged or assigned by the county, the regional mobility authority
of the county with which the county contracts under Subsection (f),
or a transportation governmental entity with which the county
contracts under Subsection (f) to secure the payment of obligations
associated with the development of long-term transportation
projects in the county as provided by Subsection (f).
(g) The department shall collect the additional fee on a
vehicle that is owned by a resident of a county imposing a fee under
this section and that, under this chapter, must be registered
directly with the department. The department shall send all fees
collected for a county under this subsection to the county for
deposit and use as provided by Subsection (f) or (f-1) [regional
mobility authority of the county to fund long-term transportation
projects in the county].
(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the fee imposed under
this section by the commissioners court of a county to which this
subsection applies may not exceed $50. This subsection applies only
to a county that:
(1) borders the United Mexican States;
(2) has a population of at least 500,000; and
(3) does not contain a municipality with a population
of more than 500,000.
(j) The department shall designate the governmental
entities that serve primarily a transportation function and with
which counties may contract under Subsection (f).
(b) This Section takes effect immediately if this Act
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Section takes effect September 1, 2009.