Amend CSSB 1 (house committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered rider to Article VII of the bill, after the appropriations to the Texas Department of Transportation, and renumbering subsequent riders accordingly:

____. Study of Economic Activity Resulting From Highway Projects. It is the intent of the legislature that the Texas Department of Transportation, using money appropriated by this Act:

(1) conduct during the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2017, a study to demonstrate the increase in economic activity due to development of highway projects by:

(A) designating three not yet completed highway projects to be studied, two of which must regularly be heavily congested; and

(B) quantifying for each project the loss or gain for the area one mile from the centerline of the project, as compared to the year the project was opened to traffic, in:

(i) sales tax revenue;

(ii) appraised values of property for ad valorem tax purposes;

(iii) business creation and retention; and

(iv) hotel occupancy taxes;

(2) compile a report on the results of the study, including information as to whether increases in economic activity could be used to finance future projects, particularly as an alternative to imposing tolls; and

(3) not later than December 1, 2018, provide the report to the legislature.