By: Nevárez H.B. No. 333

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an optional county fee on vehicle registration to be used by a regional mobility authority.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 502.402(a), (b-1), and (e), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) This section applies only to:

(1) a county that:

(A) borders the United Mexican States; and

(B) has a population of more than 250,000; [and]

(2) a county that has a population of more than 1.5 million that is coterminous with a regional mobility authority;

(3) a county that:

(A) is part of a regional mobility authority that includes at least one other county; and

(B) borders the United Mexican States; and

(4) a county:

(A) that has a population of more than 320,000;

(B) that does not border the United Mexican States; and

(C) in which a port authority is authorized to issue permits for oversize or overweight vehicles under Chapter 623.

(b-1) The commissioners court of a county described by Subsection (a)(1) [(a)] with a population of less than 700,000 may increase the additional fee to an amount that does not exceed $20 if approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the issue at a referendum election, which the commissioners court may order and hold for that purpose.

(e) The additional fee shall be collected for a vehicle when other fees imposed under this chapter are collected. The fee revenue collected shall be:

(1) sent to a regional mobility authority located in the county to fund long-term transportation projects in the county that are consistent with the purposes specified by Section 7-a, Article VIII, Texas Constitution; or

(2) if there is no regional mobility authority located in the county, used by the county only to fund long-term transportation projects in the county that are consistent with the purposes specified by Section 7-a, Article VIII, Texas Constitution.

SECTION 2. 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, 2019.