BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3332

By: Morales, Eddie

Transportation

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that Maverick County is currently facing growing transportation and infrastructure needs due to a steadily growing population. According to the author, local leaders and officials within Maverick County have expressed a desire to find avenues for financing and planning transportation projects independently to improve their capacity to serve the community. The bill author has informed the committee that these local figures believe the creation of a regional mobility authority is the best way to achieve these goals. Accordingly, H.B. 3332, along with H.J.R. 144, fulfills this need by creating the Maverick County Regional Mobility Authority, which would be empowered to acquire, design, construct, operate, maintain, and expand local transportation projects.

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. 3332 amends the Transportation Code to create the Maverick County Regional Mobility Authority as an authority organized under the Regional Mobility Authority Act. The bill establishes the following:

· a provision of the Regional Mobility Authority Act that requires the Texas Transportation Commission to approve the creation of an authority does not apply to the authority; and

· in the case of a conflict between the bill's provisions and other provisions of that act or other law governing regional mobility authorities, the bill's provisions control.

The bill establishes that the authority initially includes Maverick County and authorizes a county to be added to or withdrawn from the authority in the manner provided under the act.

H.B. 3332 establishes that the governing body of the authority is a board of directors consisting of three directors appointed by the Maverick County Commissioners Court. The bill requires the commissioners court of each county that is added to the authority to appoint a number of additional directors to the board determined by agreement of the member counties to ensure fair representation of political subdivisions in the member counties. The bill requires the board to elect a director representing Maverick County as the presiding officer and prohibits a director from serving as presiding officer for more than two consecutive years. The bill establishes the following relating to directors:

· directors serve two-year terms, with as near as possible to one-half of the directors' terms expiring on February 1 of each year, except for initial directors; and

· of the initial directors, the term of one of the directors expires February 1, 2027, and the terms of two of the directors expire February 1, 2028.

The bill's provisions relating to the initial board directors for the authority expire September 1, 2028.

H.B. 3332 includes the commissioners court of a member county of the authority among the commissioners courts who by order may impose an additional county fee for vehicle registration for transportation projects but excludes the commissioners court of a member county from the applicability of the statutory provision authorizing an increase of that fee by county referendum.

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2026, if the constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to create a regional mobility authority by local law is approved by the voters.