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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the use of certain tolls and charges imposed by certain |
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counties; authorizing a civil penalty and limiting the counties' |
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authority to adopt an ad valorem tax rate. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 284, Transportation Code, |
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is amended by adding Section 284.014 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 284.014. RESTRICTION ON USE OF REVENUE FROM TOLLS AND |
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OTHER CHARGES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only |
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to a county with a population of four million or more. |
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(b) Except as provided by this section, a county that |
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imposes tolls or charges as otherwise authorized by this chapter |
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may only use the revenues collected from the tolls or charges to: |
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(1) pay the costs of operating, expanding, |
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maintaining, or administering a project; |
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(2) retire debt related to a project; or |
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(3) use or pledge revenues to pay or finance the costs |
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of a project, including the costs to study, design, construct, |
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maintain, operate, and pool a turnpike project or system, and to pay |
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bonds or other obligations related to a project. |
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(c) Subsection (b) applies to any fees received by a county |
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for operating a project of another entity but does not apply to any |
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other revenue of a project that is collected by the county on behalf |
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of another entity under an agreement with the entity. |
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(c-1) Of the revenues collected from tolls and charges that |
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remain after paying the costs described by Subsection (b), |
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including costs to establish reserves required by a bond instrument |
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and to maintain ratings on bonds or other obligations related to a |
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project: |
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(1) except as provided by Subsection (c-4), $25 |
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million shall be distributed to the municipality that contains more |
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than 40 percent of the number of lane miles of the project and may be |
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used by the municipality only for the costs of providing law |
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enforcement, fire protection, and emergency medical services |
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during accidents or disasters affecting a toll project of the |
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county under this chapter; and |
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(2) subject to Subsection (e) and except as provided |
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by Subsection (f), the amount remaining after the distribution |
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described by Subdivision (1), if any, shall be retained by the |
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county and may be used only to pay costs related to a county road |
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owned and maintained by the county. |
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(c-2) An independent auditor hired by a municipality |
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described by Subsection (c-1)(1) annually shall review the |
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municipality's annual financial report to determine whether the |
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municipality is in compliance with the usage requirements of that |
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subsection and shall certify the amount of the municipality's |
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expenditures that were used for the purposes described by that |
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subsection. The independent auditor shall provide a copy of the |
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audit and report any violation of the usage requirements of |
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Subsection (c-1)(1) to the: |
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(1) commissioners court of the county; |
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(2) attorney general; |
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(3) governor; |
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(4) lieutenant governor; |
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(5) speaker of the house of representatives; |
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(6) chair of each standing committee of the |
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legislature with primary jurisdiction over transportation; and |
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(7) chair of the commission. |
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(c-3) If the independent auditor certifies under Subsection |
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(c-2) that the municipality's expenditures were less than the |
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amount transferred to the municipality under Subsection (c-1)(1) |
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for the applicable period, the county shall deduct that difference |
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from the amount to be transferred to the municipality as the next |
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disbursement under Subsection (c-1)(1). |
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(c-4) Subsections (c-1)(1), (c-2), and (c-3) do not apply if |
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a county has entered into a contractual arrangement with a |
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municipality regarding the use of revenues collected from tolls or |
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charges as otherwise authorized by this chapter to pay the |
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municipality's costs of providing law enforcement, fire |
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protection, and emergency medical services during accidents or |
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disasters affecting a toll project of the county under this |
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chapter. |
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(c-5) This subsection and Subsections (c-1), (c-2), (c-3), |
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and (c-4) expire September 1, 2030. |
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(d) Beginning September 1, 2030, the county shall retain the |
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amount that remains from the revenues collected from tolls and |
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charges after paying the costs described by Subsection (b), |
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including costs to establish reserves required by a bond instrument |
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and to maintain ratings on bonds or other obligations related to a |
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project, and, subject to Subsection (e) and except as provided by |
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Subsection (f), may use the amount retained only to pay costs |
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related to a county road owned and maintained by the county. |
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(e) At least 95 percent of the amount retained by a county |
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under this section must be allocated among all commissioners |
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precincts as follows: |
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(1) one-third of the amount allocated based on the |
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historical surplus funds transferred for the county's fiscal years |
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2005 through 2025 by precinct; |
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(2) one-third of the amount allocated based on the |
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number of county lane miles in each precinct, excluding freeways as |
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defined by Section 541.302 and any road facilities for which a user |
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must pay a toll, fee, or fare, according to the county's road log or |
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maintenance schedule on September 1 of the fiscal year preceding |
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the allocation; and |
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(3) one-third of the amount allocated based on the |
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road and pavement condition of county roads in each precinct, |
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excluding freeways as defined by Section 541.302 and any road |
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facilities for which a user must pay a toll, fee, or fare, according |
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to the county engineer's annual report on September 1 of the fiscal |
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year preceding the allocation. |
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(f) A county may allocate up to five percent of the amount |
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retained under this section to a county department or project with |
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countywide impact, as determined by the county, for a state, |
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county, or municipal facility relating to a road, street, highway, |
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or related facility. |
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(f-1) An amount allocated under Subsection (e) or (f) may |
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not be used on a hike, bike, or trail facility unless the |
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expenditure is necessary to comply with a state or federal |
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guideline. |
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(g) An independent auditor hired by a county to audit the |
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county's annual financial report made to the commissioners court |
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and to the district judges of the county under Section 114.025, |
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Local Government Code, annually shall review the county's annual |
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financial report to determine whether the county is in compliance |
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with this section and shall certify the amount of the county's |
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expenditures that were used for the purposes described by this |
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section. The independent auditor shall provide a copy of the audit |
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and report any violation of this section to the: |
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(1) commissioners court of the county; |
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(2) attorney general; |
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(3) governor; |
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(4) lieutenant governor; |
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(5) speaker of the house of representatives; |
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(6) chair of each standing committee of the |
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legislature with primary jurisdiction over transportation; and |
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(7) chair of the commission. |
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(h) A county that violates this section is subject to a |
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civil penalty. The attorney general shall promptly investigate a |
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report received under Subsection (g) to determine if the county |
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violated this section. On determining that a violation of this |
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section occurred, the attorney general may file suit to collect a |
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civil penalty. If the violation is: |
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(1) a first violation of this section, the amount of |
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the civil penalty is an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of |
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revenues used by the county in violation of this section; or |
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(2) a second or subsequent violation of this section, |
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the amount of the civil penalty is an amount equal to 110 percent of |
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the amount of revenues used by the county in violation of this |
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section. |
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(i) A county for which a civil penalty is imposed under |
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Subsection (h) shall pay the penalty out of the general fund of the |
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county. |
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(j) Notwithstanding any other law, a county for which a |
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civil penalty is imposed under Subsection (h)(2) may not adopt a tax |
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rate for the tax year following the tax year in which the penalty |
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was imposed that exceeds the lesser of the county's no-new-revenue |
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tax rate or voter-approval tax rate, as determined under Section |
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26.04, Tax Code, for that tax year. |
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(k) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be |
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deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the state highway |
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fund and may only be appropriated for transportation purposes. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |