Honorable Terry Canales, Chair, House Committee on Transportation
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2549 by Oliverson (relating to agreements between county toll road authorities and other toll projects entities.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The fiscal implications of the bill that would result from switching toll servicing from the Department of Transportation to the Harris County Toll Road Authority cannot be determined at this time.
The bill would amend the Transportation Code to authorize certain counties to provide tolling services for a toll project in the county managed by the Department of Transportation (TxDOT) or another entity. The bill prohibits a toll project entity, including TxDOT, from operating a toll project in these counties unless it enters into an agreement as provided in the bill.
According to TxDOT, the bill would require the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) to provide tolling services for TxDOT projects currently operating in Harris County. According to the agency, a fiscal impact from the bill from this requirement cannot be determined. While the bill allows HCTRA to provide the services for reasonable compensation, it is unclear what fiscal implications having to switch all current toll projects over to HCTRA could have on TxDOT toll operations.
Local Government Impact
According to TxDOT, the impact to local government cannot be determined.