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BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 3444

By: Canales

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Currently, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) operates our state's 25 regional districts, which plan, design, build, operate, and maintain the state transportation system in a respective region. Each of these districts is given a designation of metro, urban, or rural. These designations are created internally without public input and are not formally adopted by the Texas Transportation Commission. It has been suggested that TxDOT should have a clear, open, and transparent process for district designations. C.S.H.B. 3444 seeks to codify TxDOT's regional district classification by requiring the Texas Transportation Commission by rule to prescribe criteria for the designations of the TxDOT regional districts as metropolitan, urban, or rural. The rules must classify a district with a population of more than one million as metropolitan.

 

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Transportation Commission in SECTION 1 of this bill.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 3444 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Transportation Commission by rule to prescribe criteria for the classification of each Texas Department of Transportation district as either metropolitan, urban, or rural. The rules must classify a district with a population of more than one million as metropolitan.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2023.

 

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.H.B. 3444 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

The substitute decreases the population required for classification of a district as metropolitan from 1.4 million, as in the introduced, to one million.