By: Uresti S.B. No. 1747
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to a fund for certain county transportation infrastructure
  projects and the creation of County Energy Transportation
  Reinvestment Zones.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 256, Transportation Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER C.  TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
         Sec. 256.101.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Fund" means the transportation infrastructure
  fund established under this subchapter.
               (2)  "Transportation infrastructure project" means a
  project for the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of
  transportation infrastructure under this subchapter that is
  intended to alleviate degradation caused by the exploration,
  development, or production of oil or gas.
               (3)  "Weight tolerance permit" means a permit issued by
  the department under Chapter 623 authorizing a vehicle to exceed
  maximum legal weight limitations.
               (4)  "Well completion" means the completion, reentry,
  or recompletion of an oil or gas well.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 222.01071 to read as follows:
         (a)  In this section:
               (1)  the amount of a county's tax increment for a year
  is the amount of ad valorem taxes levied and collected by the county
  for that year on the captured appraised value of real property
  taxable by the county and located in a county energy transportation
  reinvestment zone under this section;
               (2)  the captured appraised value of real property
  taxable by a county for a year is the total appraised value of all
  real property taxable by the county and located in a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone for that year less the tax
  increment base of the county; and
               (3)  the tax increment base of a county is the total
  appraised value of all real property taxable by the county and
  located in a county energy transportation reinvestment zone for the
  year in which the zone was designated under this section.
         (b)  The county may pledge its tax increment to a specific
  transportation project pursuant to a contract and that pledge shall
  constitute a debt as defined in Sec. 26.03 (7), Tax Code. A county
  may not pledge property tax increments authorized in this section
  as security for bonded indebtedness.
         (c)(i)  The commissioners court of the county, after
  determining that an area is affected by oil and gas exploration and
  production activities and would benefit from funding provided under
  Chapter 256, Subchapter C, Transportation Code, by order or
  resolution may designate a contiguous geographic area in the
  jurisdiction of the county to be a county energy transportation
  reinvestment zone to promote a transportation project.
         (ii)  A county may form a county energy transportation
  reinvestment zone under this Section in conjunction with another
  county or counties provided each county meets all procedural
  requirements for establishment of such a zone.
         (iii)  A county shall form or participate in a maximum of one
  county energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section.
         (d)  The commissioners court must comply with all applicable
  laws in the application of this chapter.
         (e)  Not later than the 30th day before the date the
  commissioners court proposes to designate an area as a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the
  commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the creation of
  the zone, its benefits to the county and to property in the proposed
  zone. At the hearing an interested person may speak for or against
  the designation of the zone, its boundaries, or the from benefit
  that will arise from dedicating the increment county taxes on real
  property in the zone to certain transportation projects.
         (f)  Not later than the seventh day before the date of the
  hearing, notice of the hearing and the intent to create a zone must
  be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the
  county.
         (g)  The order or resolution designating an area as a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone must:
               (i)  describe the boundaries of the zone with
  sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable
  certainty the territory included in the zone;
               (ii)  provide that the zone takes effect immediately on
  adoption of the order or resolution and that the base year shall be
  the year of passage of the order or resolution or some year in the
  future;
               (iii)  designate the base year for purposes of
  establishing the tax increment base of the county; and
               (iv)  establish an ad valorem tax increment account for
  the zone.
               (v)  name a board of directors for the zone who shall
  receive no fees for service nor per diems, and who shall be named by
  the county judge and approval by the commissioners as follows:
                     (a)  if a single county zone, the board shall be
  comprised of the county judge, a county commissioner, two
  representatives of oil and gas companies that are performing
  company activities in the county and representing a local tax
  payer, and a member of the public active in civic affairs who is a
  beneficiary of the energy development activity;
                     (b)  if a multi county zone, the board shall be
  comprised of the representatives listed in Section 222.1071(f)(i)
  representing each county participating in the multi county zone;
                     (c)  members of the board of directors for a multi
  county zone are not subject to approval by any county other than
  itself.
         (h)  Compliance with the requirements of this section
  constitutes designation of an area as a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other
  procedural requirements.
         (i)  The commissioners court may from taxes collected on
  property in a zone, pay into a tax increment account for the zone an
  amount equal to the tax increment produced by the county less any
  amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements
  under Section 381.004, Local Government Code, or Chapter 312, Tax
  Code;
          (j)  A county energy transportation reinvestment zone
  terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone
  was designated.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 222, Transportation Code, is amended as
  follows:
         Sec. 222.110.  SALES TAX INCREMENT. (a) In this section,
  "sales tax base" for a county energy transportation reinvestment
  zone means the amount of sales and use taxes imposed by a
  municipality under Section 321.101(a), Tax Code, or by a county
  under Chapter 323, Tax Code, as applicable, attributable to the
  zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this
  chapter.
         (b)  The governing body of a municipality or county may
  determine, in an ordinance or order designating an area as a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone or in an ordinance or order
  adopted subsequent to the designation of a zone, the portion or
  amount of tax increment generated from the sales and use taxes
  imposed by a municipality under Section 321.101(a), Tax Code, or by
  a county under Chapter 323, Tax Code, attributable to the zone,
  above the sales tax base, to be used as provided by Subsection (e).
  Nothing in this section requires a municipality or county to
  contribute sales tax increment under this subsection.
         (c)  A county that designates a portion or amount of sales
  tax increment under Subsection (b) must establish a tax increment
  account. A municipality or county shall deposit the designated
  portion or amount of tax increment under Subsection (b) to the
  entity's respective tax increment account.
         (d)  Before pledging or otherwise committing money in the tax
  increment account under Subsection (c), the governing body of a
  municipality or county may enter into an agreement, under
  Subchapter E, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, to authorize and
  direct the comptroller to:
               (1)  withhold from any payment to which the
  municipality or county may be entitled the amount of the payment
  into the tax increment account under Subsection (b);
               (2)  deposit that amount into the tax increment
  account; and
               (3)  continue withholding and making additional
  payments into the tax increment account until an amount sufficient
  to satisfy the amount due has been met.
         (e)  The sales and use taxes to be deposited into the tax
  increment account under this section may be disbursed from the
  account only to:
               (1)  pay for projects authorized under Section 222.104,
  including the repayment of amounts owed under an agreement entered
  into under that section;
               (2)  for use as matching funds under section 256.105
               (2)  notwithstanding Sections 321.506 and 323.505, Tax
  Code, satisfy claims of holders of tax increment bonds, notes, or
  other obligations issued or incurred for projects authorized under
  Section 222.104 and Section 222.1071.
         (f)  The amount deposited by a county to a tax increment
  account under this section is not considered to be sales and use tax
  revenue for the purpose of property tax reduction and computation
  of the county tax rate under Section 26.041, Tax Code.
         (g)  Not later than the 30th day before the date the
  governing body of a municipality or county proposes to designate a
  portion or amount of sales tax increment under Subsection (b), the
  governing body shall hold a public hearing on the designation of the
  sales tax increment. At the hearing an interested person may speak
  for or against the designation of the sales tax increment. Not later
  than the seventh day before the date of the hearing, notice of the
  hearing must be published in a newspaper having general circulation
  in the county or municipality, as appropriate.
         (h)  The hearing required under Subsection (g) may be held in
  conjunction with a hearing held under Section 222.106(e) or
  222.107(e) if the ordinance or order designating an area as a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone under Section 222.106 or
  222.107 also designates a sales tax increment under Subsection (b).
         Section 4.  Sec. 256.102.  TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
  FUND. (a)  The transportation infrastructure fund is a dedicated
  account in the treasury outside the general revenue fund. The fund
  consists of amounts appropriated or transferred to the credit of
  the fund under this subchapter or other law and of any interest or
  other return from the investment of money in the fund.
         (b)  Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not
  apply to the fund.
         Sec. 256.103.  GRANT DISTRIBUTION. (a)  The department
  shall administer the grant program under this subchapter.
         (b)  The proportion of the grant money that is available
  during a fiscal year that may be distributed to a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone shall be determined as follows:
               (1)  60 percent must be based on the number of well
  completions in the preceding fiscal year that occurred in the
  county or counties contained within the county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone divided by the total number of
  well completions that occurred in the state in that fiscal year, as
  determined by the Railroad Commission of Texas;
               (2)  20 percent must be based on the number of weight
  tolerance permits issued in the preceding fiscal year for the
  county or counties contained within the county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone divided by the total number of
  weight tolerance permits issued in the state in that fiscal year, as
  determined by the department; and
               (3)  20 percent must be based on the amount of the oil
  and gas production taxes collected by the comptroller in the
  preceding fiscal year in the county or counties contained within
  the county energy transportation reinvestment zone divided by the
  total amount of oil and gas production taxes collected in the state
  in that fiscal year, as determined by the comptroller.
         (c)  The grant program shall be suspended during periods for
  which the fund balance is zero. The department may award grants
  under this subchapter only during periods when the fund has a
  positive balance.
         Sec. 256.104.  GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS. (a)  In applying
  for a grant under this subchapter, a county energy transportation
  reinvestment zone shall:
               (1)  provide the two most recent county commissioner's
  road reports required under Section 251.005 for the area containing
  the transportation infrastructure project; and
               (2)  submit for approval by the department a plan that:
                     (A)  describes the scope of the transportation
  infrastructure project to be funded by the grant;
                     (B)  meets the terms and conditions imposed by the
  department; and
                     (C)  provides matching funds as described by
  Section 256.105.
         (b)  In reviewing grant applications under this subchapter,
  the department shall:
               (1)  seek other potential sources of funding to
  maximize resources available for the transportation infrastructure
  projects for which application is made; and
               (2)  consult related transportation planning documents
  to improve project efficiency and to work effectively in
  partnership with county governments.
         (c)  The department shall work with county energy
  transportation reinvestment zones to identify and implement best
  practices and solutions in prioritizing road projects utilizing
  funds from the transportation infrastructure fund.
         Sec. 256.105.  MATCHING FUNDS. (a) A county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone must provide matching funds in an
  amount equal to at least 10 percent of the amount of a grant under
  the program to be eligible to receive the grant.
         Sec. 256.106.  ADMINISTRATION. (a) The amount of money
  spent on administering the grant program during a fiscal year may
  not be greater than one percent of the total amount deposited into
  the fund during the previous fiscal year.
         (b)  To be eligible for additional grants or distributions
  from the fund, a county energy transportation reinvestment zone
  must provide a copy of an annual audit and certify that all previous
  distributions from the fund have been expended in accordance with
  the transportation infrastructure project plan approved by the
  department under Section 256.104.
         (c)  The department shall conduct an annual audit to ensure
  that funds granted under this subchapter are used in accordance
  with the terms of the grant as provided by the department.
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (a), Section 251.005, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A county commissioner serving as a road supervisor shall
  make a sworn annual report during the ninth month of the county
  fiscal year on a form approved by the commissioners court showing:
               (1)  the condition of each road or part of a road and of
  each culvert and bridge in the commissioner's precinct;
               (2)  to the extent practicable, the primary causes of
  road, culvert, and bridge degradation in the precinct;
               (3)  the amount of money reasonably necessary for
  maintenance of the roads in the precinct during the next county
  fiscal year;
               (4) [(3)]  the number of traffic control devices in the
  precinct defaced or torn down;
               (5) [(4)]  any new road that should be opened in the
  precinct; and
               (6) [(5)]  any bridges, culverts, or other
  improvements necessary to place the roads in the precinct in good
  condition, and the probable cost of the improvements.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter D, Chapter 252, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 252.314 to read as follows:
         Sec. 252.314.  DONATIONS. (a) A commissioners court or the
  county road department may accept donations of labor, money, or
  other property to aid in the building or maintaining of roads in the
  county.
         (b)  A county operating under the county road department
  system on September 1, 2013, may use the authority granted under
  this section without holding a new election under Section 252.301.
         (c)  A county accepting donations under Sec. 252.314 must
  execute a release of liability in favor of the entity donating the
  labor, money or other property.
         SECTION 7.  The Texas Department of Transportation shall
  adopt rules implementing Subchapter C, Chapter 256, Transportation
  Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the
  effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.