This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

S.B. 2168

By: Watson

Transportation

Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

It has been noted that a handful of counties in Texas have recently experienced multiple federally declared disasters. Reports indicate that these counties find it particularly difficult to pull together the funds necessary to meet certain matching requirements in order to move forward with major transportation projects. There have been calls to provide these counties with a mechanism through which an affected county may seek relief from these matching funds requirements. S.B. 2168 seeks to address this issue by providing such a mechanism.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

S.B. 2168 amends the Transportation Code to establish that a county is considered to be an "economically disadvantaged county" for the purposes of relief from the local matching funds requirement for the state highway system if:

·         in comparison to other counties in Texas within the past six years, the county has below average per capita taxable property value, below average per capita income, and above average unemployment; and

·         has been included in no less than five federally declared disasters within the same time period.

The bill requires the adjustment to the local matching funds requirement for such a county to be equivalent to the highest adjustment rate set in the last year the county was considered to meet the requisite criteria as an economically disadvantaged county.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.