BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2503

By: Guillen

Transportation

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Many regional mobility authorities struggle to receive the resources necessary to meet all of their service needs. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has put further strain on these authorities that still have to provide many services. There have been calls to provide regional mobility authorities with procedures to receive federal grants if the authority demonstrates to the Texas Department of Transportation the appropriate expertise, financial resources, and gaps in regional transit service necessary to efficiently use the federal funding. H.B. 2503 seeks to address this issue by providing for a procedure through which regional mobility authorities may receive certain federal public transportation funding.

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

H.B. 2503 amends the Transportation Code to prohibit a regional mobility authority from applying for an urbanized area formula grant under federal law without the approval of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The bill prohibits TxDOT from giving approval to a regional mobility authority to apply for the grants unless the authority becomes a designated recipient, as defined by federal law. The bill requires a regional mobility authority, for purposes of becoming a designated recipient for the grant, to do the following:

· demonstrate to TxDOT the appropriate expertise, financial resources, and gaps in regional transit service; and

· provide TxDOT with documentation of concurrence in the selection of the designated recipient, or any successor documentation required by federal law, by the providers of publicly owned public transportation service in the applicable urbanized area, as defined by federal law.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.