82R11810 AJZ-F
 
  By: Kolkhorst, Pitts, Harless, et al. H.B. No. 1201
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1201:
 
  By:  Darby C.S.H.B. No. 1201
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to repeal of authority for the establishment and operation
  of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 11.11(j), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (j)  For purposes of this section, any portion of a facility
  owned by the Texas Department of Transportation that is [part of the
  Trans-Texas Corridor, is] a rail facility or system[,] or is a
  highway in the state highway system, and that is licensed or leased
  to a private entity by that department under Chapter 91 or[,] 223,
  [or 227,] Transportation Code, is public property used for a public
  purpose if the rail facility or system, highway, or facility is
  operated by the private entity to provide transportation or utility
  services. Any part of a facility, rail facility or system, or state
  highway that is licensed or leased to a private entity for a
  commercial purpose is not exempt from taxation.
         SECTION 2.  Section 25.06(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  This section does not apply to:
               (1)  any portion of a facility owned by the Texas
  Department of Transportation that is [part of the Trans-Texas
  Corridor, is] a rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the
  state highway system and that is licensed or leased to a private
  entity by that department under Chapter 91[, 227, or 361],
  Transportation Code; or
               (2)  a leasehold or other possessory interest granted
  by the Texas Department of Transportation in a facility owned by
  that department that is [part of the Trans-Texas Corridor, is] a
  rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the state highway
  system.
         SECTION 3.  Section 25.07(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  Subsection (a) does not apply to:
               (1)  any portion of a facility owned by the Texas
  Department of Transportation that is [part of the Trans-Texas
  Corridor, is] a rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the
  state highway system and that is licensed or leased to a private
  entity by that department under Chapter 91[, 227, or 361],
  Transportation Code; or
               (2)  a leasehold or other possessory interest granted
  by the Texas Department of Transportation in a facility owned by
  that department that is [part of the Trans-Texas Corridor, is] a
  rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the state highway
  system.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 201.616(a) and (b), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Not later than December 1 of each year, the department
  shall submit a report to the legislature that details:
               (1)  the expenditures made by the department in the
  preceding state fiscal year in connection with:
                     (A)  the unified transportation program of the
  department;
                     (B)  turnpike projects and toll roads of the
  department; and
                     (C)  [the Trans-Texas Corridor;
                     [(D)] rail facilities described in Chapter 91;
  [and
                     [(E)     non-highway facilities on the Trans-Texas
  Corridor if those expenditures are subject to Section 227.062(c);]
               (2)  the amount of bonds or other public securities
  issued for transportation projects; and
               (3)  the direction of money by the department to a
  regional mobility authority in this state.
         (b)  The report must break down information under Subsection
  (a)(1)(A) by program category and department district. The report
  must break down information under Subsections (a)(1)(B) and[,]
  (C)[, (D), and (E)] and Subsection (a)(3) by department district.
  The report must break down information under Subsection (a)(2) by
  department district and type of project.
         SECTION 5.  Section 202.112(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission may purchase an option to acquire
  property for possible use in or in connection with a transportation
  facility[, including a facility as defined by Section 227.001,]
  before a final decision has been made as to whether the
  transportation facility will be located on that property.
         SECTION 6.  Section 222.003(e), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (e)  The proceeds of bonds and other public securities issued
  under this section may not be used for any purpose other than any
  costs related to the bonds and other public securities and the
  purposes for which revenues are dedicated under Section 7-a,
  Article VIII, Texas Constitution. [The proceeds of bonds and other
  public securities issued under this section may not be used for the
  construction of a state highway or other facility on the
  Trans-Texas Corridor. For purposes of this section, the
  "Trans-Texas Corridor" means the statewide system of multimodal
  facilities under the jurisdiction of the department that is
  designated by the commission, notwithstanding the name given to
  that corridor.]
         SECTION 7.  Section 223.201(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Subject to Section 223.202, the department may enter
  into a comprehensive development agreement with a private entity to
  design, develop, finance, construct, maintain, repair, operate,
  extend, or expand a:
               (1)  toll project;
               (2)  [facility or a combination of facilities on the
  Trans-Texas Corridor;
               [(3)]  state highway improvement project that includes
  both tolled and nontolled lanes and may include nontolled
  appurtenant facilities;
               (3) [(4)]  state highway improvement project in which
  the private entity has an interest in the project; or
               (4) [(5)]  state highway improvement project financed
  wholly or partly with the proceeds of private activity bonds, as
  defined by Section 141(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
         SECTION 8.  Section 223.206(d), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The department may not enter into a comprehensive
  development agreement with a private entity under this subchapter
  [or Section 227.023] that provides for the lease, license, or other
  use of rights-of-way or related property by the private entity for
  the purpose of constructing, operating, or maintaining an ancillary
  facility that is used for commercial purposes.
         SECTION 9.  Sections 223.208(b), (c), (e), and (f),
  Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A comprehensive development agreement entered into
  under this subchapter [or Section 227.023(c)] may include any
  provision that the department considers appropriate, including
  provisions:
               (1)  providing for the purchase by the department,
  under terms and conditions agreed to by the parties, of the interest
  of a private participant in the comprehensive development agreement
  and related property, including any interest in a highway or other
  facility designed, developed, financed, constructed, operated, or
  maintained under the comprehensive development agreement;
               (2)  establishing the purchase price for the interest
  of a private participant in the comprehensive development agreement
  and related property, which price may be determined in accordance
  with the methodology established by the parties in the
  comprehensive development agreement;
               (3)  providing for the payment of obligations incurred
  pursuant to the comprehensive development agreement, including any
  obligation to pay the purchase price for the interest of a private
  participant in the comprehensive development agreement, from any
  lawfully available source, including securing such obligations by a
  pledge of revenues of the commission or the department derived from
  the applicable project, which pledge shall have such priority as
  the department may establish;
               (4)  permitting the private participant to pledge its
  rights under the comprehensive development agreement;
               (5)  concerning the private participant's right to
  operate and collect revenue from the project; and
               (6)  restricting the right of the commission or the
  department to terminate the private participant's right to operate
  and collect revenue from the project unless and until any
  applicable termination payments have been made.
         (c)  The department may enter into a comprehensive
  development agreement under this subchapter [or under Section
  227.023(c)] with a private participant only if the project is
  identified in the department's unified transportation program or is
  located on a transportation corridor identified in the statewide
  transportation plan.
         (e)  Notwithstanding anything in Section 201.112 or other
  law to the contrary, and subject to compliance with the dispute
  resolution procedures set out in the comprehensive development
  agreement, an obligation of the commission or the department under
  a comprehensive development agreement entered into under this
  subchapter [or Section 227.023(c)] to make or secure payments to a
  person because of the termination of the agreement, including the
  purchase of the interest of a private participant or other investor
  in a project, may be enforced by mandamus against the commission,
  the department, and the comptroller in a district court of Travis
  County, and the sovereign immunity of the state is waived for that
  purpose. The district courts of Travis County shall have exclusive
  jurisdiction and venue over and to determine and adjudicate all
  issues necessary to adjudicate any action brought under this
  subsection. The remedy provided by this subsection is in addition
  to any legal and equitable remedies that may be available to a party
  to a comprehensive development agreement.
         (f)  A comprehensive development agreement entered into
  under this subchapter [or Section 227.023(c)] and any obligations
  incurred, issued, or owed under the agreement does not constitute a
  state security under Chapter 1231, Government Code.
         SECTION 10.  Section 224.1541, Transportation Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  The commission may authorize the operation of a vehicle
  that exceeds the weight limitations of Subchapter B, Chapter 621,
  or the size limitations of Subchapter C, Chapter 621, on a lane
  designated as an exclusive lane under this section if supported by
  an engineering and traffic study that includes an analysis of the
  structural capacity of bridges and pavements, current and projected
  traffic patterns and volume, and potential effects on public
  safety. This subsection does not authorize the operation of a
  vehicle that exceeds a maximum axle weight authorized by Chapter
  621, 622, or 623. This subsection does not apply to a roadway that
  is a part of the national system of interstate and defense highways.
         SECTION 11.  Section 545.353, Transportation Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (h-2) to read as follows:
         (h-2)  Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b),  as amended by
  Chapters 663 (H.B. 385) and 739 (H.B. 1075), Acts of the 76th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, the commission may establish a
  speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part of the state
  highway system if:
               (1)  that part of the highway system is designed to
  accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed; and
               (2)  the commission determines, after an engineering
  and traffic investigation, that the established speed limit is
  reasonable and safe for that part of the highway system.
         SECTION 12.  Section 371.001(2), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (2)  "Toll project entity" means an entity authorized
  by law to acquire, design, construct, operate, and maintain a toll
  project, including:
                     (A)  the department[, including under Chapter
  227];
                     (B)  a regional tollway authority under Chapter
  366;
                     (C)  a regional mobility authority under Chapter
  370; or
                     (D)  a county under Chapter 284.
         SECTION 13.  Section 372.001(2), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (2)  "Toll project entity" means an entity authorized
  by law to acquire, design, construct, finance, operate, and
  maintain a toll project, including:
                     (A)  the department under Chapter [227 or] 228;
                     (B)  a regional tollway authority under Chapter
  366;
                     (C)  a regional mobility authority under Chapter
  370; or
                     (D)  a county under Chapter 284.
         SECTION 14.  The following provisions of the Transportation
  Code are repealed:
               (1)  Section 201.618(e);
               (2)  Chapter 227;
               (3)  Section 284.0032;
               (4)  Section 366.305;
               (5)  Section 370.316; and
               (6)  Section 545.3531.
         SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
  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 Act takes effect September 1, 2011.