BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center

C.S.H.B. 1698

87R27484 AJZ-D

By: Raney et al. (Schwertner)

 

Transportation

 

5/19/2021

 

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Traffic-related congestion and mobility are significant concerns in the Bryan-College Station region, where congestion has increased by an average of nearly five percent each year for the last decade. A recent survey of College Station residents indicates that managing traffic congestion should be a very high priority in terms of city services, but there still remains a significant gap between city service importance and quality of available services in the area. The message is clear; while local commitments to addressing transportation needs are significant, without taking additional actions congestion will continue to double about every 12 years.

 

H.B. 1698 seeks to remedy this situation by providing for the imposition of an additional vehicle registration fee to be used for funding long-term transportation projects. This fee must be approved by a majority of voters in the county at a referendum election.

 

(Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

 

C.S.H.B. 1698 amends current law relating to authorizing an optional county fee on vehicle registration in certain counties to be used for transportation projects.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Sections 502.402(a) and (b), Transportation Code, as follows:

 

(a) Provides that Section 502.402 (Optional County Fee for Transportation Projects) applies only to:

 

(1) and (2) makes nonsubstantive changes to these subdivisions;

 

(3) a county that has a population of more than 190,000 and not more than 1.5 million that is coterminous with a regional mobility authority.

 

(b) Requires that an additional vehicle registration fee, in a county described by Subsection (a)(3), be approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the issue at a referendum election, which the commissioners court is authorized to order and hold for that purpose.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2021.