AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

This bill prohibits a toll project from being designed to discourage the use of the adjoining free roads.

 

With recent toll roads being planned, constructed, and maintained throughout Texas, adjacent roads to toll roads are critical for Texans planning their daily commute, especially if they are on a personal budget that hinders toll road usage.  When adjacent roads have intentionally slower speed limits, commuters have to make a choice between longer commute times or spending more money accessing toll roads.

 

This bill seeks to correct this and prohibits the Texas Transportation Commission from designing, constructing, or operating a toll road that incentivizes its use by discouraging the use of free adjoining roads through lowered speed limits and increased traffic control measures on the free roads.

 

As proposed, S.B. 1253 amends current law relating to the relationship between Texas Department of Transportation toll projects and adjoining free roads.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 228, Transportation Code, by adding Sections 228.014 and 228.015, as follows:

 

Sec. 228.014.  PROHIBITION ON DISINCENTIVES FOR ADJOINING FREE ROAD USE.  Prohibits the Texas Transportation Commission from taking any action in designing, constructing, or operating a toll project under this chapter that, without a clear engineering justification, incentivizes the use of the project by discouraging the use of free adjoining roads, including by constructing and maintaining adjacent free roads in a manner that requires a speed limit lower than that of the toll project, establishing speed limits on adjacent free roads that are slower than that of the toll project, establishing speed limits and installing traffic signals based on anticipated growth, and timing traffic signals to disrupt traffic flow.

 

Sec. 228.015.  TOLL PROJECT EXITS AS DECELERATION LANES.  Requires the Texas Department of Transportation to construct exit lanes from toll projects in a manner that allows motor vehicles exiting the toll project to easily decelerate to the speed allowed on the adjoining road.

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  September 1, 2013.