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  By: Watson, Davis  S.B. No. 1923
         (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2009; March 24, 2009, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Transportation and Homeland
  Security; April 6, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 2;
  April 6, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1923 By:  Watson
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to funding sources for the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement fund.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 201.971, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
               (6-a)  "Program" means the rail relocation program.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter O, Chapter 201, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 201.979 to read as follows:
         Sec. 201.979.  RAIL RELOCATION ADVISORY GROUP. (a)  The
  rail relocation advisory group is created to advise the department
  on the implementation and administration of the program.
         (b)  The advisory group consists of stakeholders in the
  railroad industry, appointed by the chair of the Senate Committee
  on Transportation and Homeland Security and by the chair of the
  House Committee on Transportation. The chairs shall determine the
  number of members appropriate to accomplish the duties of the
  advisory group.
         (c)  The advisory group meets at the call of the chairs and
  shall advise the department on the best use of money available in
  the fund and on accomplishing the goals of the program, including
  strategies for:
               (1)  alleviating traffic congestion;
               (2)  improving passenger and freight mobility;
               (3)  reducing noise in residential areas; and
               (4)  mitigating adverse effects on the environment.
         (d)  The department shall provide administrative support,
  including staff, as necessary to assist the advisory group in
  accomplishing its duties.
         (e)  A member of the advisory group is not entitled to
  compensation for service on the committee but is entitled to
  reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by the member while
  conducting the business of the advisory group, as provided by the
  General Appropriations Act.
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (d), Section 501.097, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The fee collected under Subsection (a)(1) shall be
  credited to the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state
  highway] fund [to defray the costs of administering this subchapter
  and the costs to the department for issuing the title].
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (e), Section 501.100, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (e)  On or after the 31st day after the date the department
  receives a rebuilder fee under Subsection (d), the department shall
  deposit $50 of the fee to the credit of the Texas rail relocation
  and improvement [state highway] fund [to be used only by the
  Department of Public Safety to enforce this chapter] and $15 to the
  credit of the general revenue fund.
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (a), Section 501.134, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  If a certificate of title is lost or destroyed, the
  owner or lienholder disclosed on the certificate may obtain, in the
  manner provided by this section and department rule, a certified
  copy of the lost or destroyed certificate of title directly from the
  department by applying on a form prescribed by the department and
  paying a fee of $2. A fee collected under this subsection shall be
  deposited to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement [state highway] fund [and may be spent only as provided
  by Section 501.138].
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (c), Section 501.138, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  Of the amount received under Subsection (b)(2), the
  department shall deposit:
               (1)  $5 in the general revenue fund; and
               (2)  $3 to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement [state highway] fund [to recover the expenses necessary
  to administer this chapter].
         SECTION 7.  Section 502.008, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  Any fees collected by the department for responding to
  an inquiry under this section shall be deposited to the credit of
  the Texas rail relocation and improvement fund.
         SECTION 8.  Subsection (b), Section 502.179, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The office issuing a duplicate receipt shall retain the
  fee received as a fee of office.  If the department issued the
  receipt, the fee shall be deposited in the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement fund.
         SECTION 9.  Subsection (d), Section 503.007, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A fee collected under this section shall be deposited to
  the credit of the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state
  highway] fund.
         SECTION 10.  Subsection (d), Section 503.008,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A fee collected under this section shall be deposited to
  the credit of the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state
  highway] fund.
         SECTION 11.  Subsection (f), Section 503.0615,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (f)  Of each fee collected by the department under this
  section:
               (1)  $1.25 shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas
  rail relocation and improvement [state highway] fund [to defray the
  cost of administering this section]; and
               (2)  the remainder shall be deposited to the credit of
  the general revenue fund.
         SECTION 12.  Subsection (a), Section 621.353,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The comptroller shall send $50 of each base fee
  collected under Section 623.011 for an excess weight permit to the
  counties of the state, with each county receiving an amount
  determined according to the ratio of the total number of miles of
  county roads maintained by the county to the total number of miles
  of county roads maintained by all of the counties of this state.
  The comptroller shall deposit $25 of each base fee, plus each fee
  collected under Section 623.0112, to the credit of the Texas rail
  relocation and improvement [state highway] fund. [Money deposited
  to the credit of that fund under this subsection may be appropriated
  only to the department to administer this section and Sections
  623.011, 623.0111, and 623.0112.]
         SECTION 13.  Subsection (c), Section 623.0111,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  Of the fees collected under Subsection (a) the following
  amounts shall be deposited to the general revenue fund and the
  remainder shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas rail
  relocation and improvement [state highway] fund:
 
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
 
Number of Counties Designated Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
 
    1-5     $125
 
    6-20     $125
 
    21-40     $345
 
    41-60     $565
 
    61-80     $785
 
    81-100     $900
 
    101-254     $1,000
         SECTION 14.  Subsections (a-1) and (c), Section 623.076,
  Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a-1)  The following amounts collected under Subsection (a)
  shall be deposited to the general revenue fund and the remainder
  deposited to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement [state highway] fund:
 
Amount of Fee Amount Allocated to General Revenue Fund
 
  $60 (single-trip permit)            $30
 
  $120 (30-day permit)            $60
 
  $180            $90
 
  $240            $120
 
  $270            $135
         (c)  An application for a permit under Section 623.071(c)(3)
  or (d) must be accompanied by the permit fee established by the
  commission for the permit, not to exceed $7,000. Of each fee
  collected under this subsection, the department shall send:
               (1)  the first $1,000 to the comptroller for deposit to
  the credit of the general revenue fund; and
               (2)  any amount in excess of $1,000 to the comptroller
  for deposit to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement [state highway] fund.
         SECTION 15.  Subsection (b), Section 623.077,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The department shall send each fee collected under
  Subsection (a) to the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the
  Texas rail relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
         SECTION 16.  Subsection (a), Section 623.096,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall collect a fee of $40 for each
  permit issued under this subchapter. Of each fee, $19.70 shall be
  deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and the
  remainder deposited to the credit of the Texas rail relocation and
  improvement [state highway] fund.
         SECTION 17.  Subsection (b), Section 623.124,
  Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The department shall send each fee collected under this
  section to the comptroller. Of each fee received from the
  department, the comptroller shall deposit $7.50 to the credit of
  the general revenue fund and $7.50 to the credit of the Texas rail
  relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
         SECTION 18.  Section 623.147, Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 623.147.  DEPOSIT OF FEE IN TEXAS RAIL RELOCATION AND
  IMPROVEMENT [STATE HIGHWAY] FUND. A fee collected under this
  subchapter shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas rail
  relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
         SECTION 19.  Section 2301.156, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2301.156.  DEPOSIT OF REVENUE. Notwithstanding any
  other law to the contrary, all money collected by the board under
  this chapter shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit
  of the Texas rail relocation and improvement [state highway] fund.
         SECTION 20.  Subsection (d), Section 2301.264, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The board may refund from funds deposited under Section
  2301.156 [appropriated to the board for that purpose] a fee
  collected under this chapter that is not due or that exceeds the
  amount due.
         SECTION 21.  Not later than the 60th day after the effective
  date of this Act, the Texas Department of Transportation shall
  report to the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor's Office of
  Budget and Planning on the availability of funds under federal
  matching programs for the rail relocation program under Subchapter
  O, Chapter 201, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, and on
  how to secure such funds for financing the program.
         SECTION 22.  Not later than January 1, 2011, the Texas
  Department of Transportation shall submit a comprehensive report to
  the governor, to the chair of the Senate Committee on
  Transportation and Homeland Security, and to the chair of the House
  Committee on Transportation regarding the progress of the rail
  relocation program under Subchapter O, Chapter 201, Transportation
  Code, as amended by this Act, and the status of program financing,
  including:
               (1)  the dollar amount of the bonds issued for the
  program;
               (2)  a description of the projects being financed by
  the program;
               (3)  the status and estimated date of completion of
  each project;
               (4)  a description of the projects to be financed in the
  2012-2013 fiscal biennium;
               (5)  the estimated debt service requirement in the
  2012-2013 fiscal biennium for the projects; and
               (6)  the availability of any funds under federal
  matching programs.
         SECTION 23.  The Texas Department of Transportation, in
  coordination with the comptroller of public accounts, shall produce
  recommendations for supplemental revenue sources for the Texas rail
  relocation and improvement fund for consideration by the 82nd
  Legislature.
         SECTION 24.  (a)  If the comptroller of public accounts
  files a certification with the secretary of state that the
  following items enacted by the 81st Legislature result in a net gain
  in the 2010-2011 fiscal biennium as compared to the 2008-2009
  fiscal biennium, then this Act takes effect September 1, 2009:
               (1)  the net impact of revenue measures enacted,
  including this Act, on State Highway Fund No. 0006;
               (2)  as a gain, any reduction in the appropriations
  from State Highway Fund No. 0006 made to agencies other than the
  Texas Department of Transportation; and
               (3)  as a loss, any reduction in the appropriations to
  the Texas Department of Transportation from the general revenue
  fund.
         (b)  If the comptroller of public accounts does not file the
  certification described by Subsection (a) of this section, this Act
  has no effect.
 
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