By: Uresti, et al. S.B. No. 1747
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to funding and donations for county transportation
  projects, including projects of county energy transportation
  reinvestment zones.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 256, Transportation Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER C. TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUND FOR COUNTY ENERGY
  TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONES
         Sec. 256.101.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Fund" means the transportation infrastructure
  fund established under this subchapter.
               (2)  "Transportation infrastructure project" means the
  planning for, administration of, construction of, reconstruction
  of, or maintenance of transportation infrastructure, including
  roads, bridges, and culverts, intended to alleviate degradation
  caused by the exploration, development, or production of oil or
  gas.
               (3)  "Weight tolerance permit" means a permit issued
  under Chapter 623 authorizing a vehicle to exceed maximum legal
  weight limitations.
               (4)  "Well completion" means the completion, reentry,
  or recompletion of an oil or gas well.
         Sec. 256.102.  TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUND.
  (a)  The transportation infrastructure fund is a dedicated fund in
  the state treasury outside the general revenue fund.  The fund
  consists of:
               (1)  any federal funds received by the state, including
  funds received under the federal act, deposited to the credit of the
  fund;
               (2)  matching state funds in an amount required by the
  federal act;
               (3)  funds appropriated by the legislature to the
  credit of the fund;
               (4)  a gift or grant;
               (5)  fees paid to the bank; and
               (6)  investment earnings on the money on deposit in the
  fund.
         (b)  Money in the fund may be appropriated only to the
  department for the purposes of this subchapter.
         (c)  Sections 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code, do not
  apply to the fund.
         Sec. 256.103.  GRANT PROGRAM. (a)  The department shall
  administer a grant program under this subchapter to make grants for
  transportation infrastructure projects located in a county
  containing at least one county energy transportation reinvestment
  zone if the fund has a positive balance.
         (b)  Grants distributed during a fiscal year must be
  allocated among counties as follows:
               (1)  one-fifth according to weight tolerance permits,
  determined by the ratio of weight tolerance permits issued in the
  preceding fiscal year for the county that designated a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone to the total number of
  weight tolerance permits issued in the state in that fiscal year, as
  determined by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles;
               (2)  one-fifth according to oil and gas production
  taxes, determined by the ratio of oil and gas production taxes
  collected by the comptroller in the preceding fiscal year in the
  county that designated a county energy transportation reinvestment
  zone to the total amount of oil and gas production taxes collected
  in the state in that fiscal year, as determined by the comptroller;
  and
               (3)  three-fifths according to well completions,
  determined by the ratio of well completions in the preceding fiscal
  year in the county that designated a county energy transportation
  reinvestment zone to the total number of well completions in the
  state in that fiscal year, as determined by the Railroad Commission
  of Texas.
         Sec. 256.104.  GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS. (a)  In applying
  for a grant under this subchapter, the county shall:
               (1)  provide the road condition report described by
  Section 251.018 made by the county for the previous two years; and
               (2)  submit to the department a plan that:
                     (A)  provides a list of transportation
  infrastructure projects to be funded by the grant;
                     (B)  describes the scope of the transportation
  infrastructure project or projects to be funded by the grant using
  best practices for prioritizing the projects;
                     (C)  provides for matching funds as required by
  Section 256.105; and
                     (D)  meets any other requirements imposed by the
  department.
         (b)  In reviewing grant applications under this subchapter,
  the department shall:
               (1)  seek other potential sources of funding to
  maximize resources available for the transportation infrastructure
  projects to be funded by grants under this subchapter; and
               (2)  consult related transportation planning documents
  to improve project efficiency and work effectively in partnership
  with counties.
         (c)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
  department shall review a grant application before the 31st day
  after the date the department receives the application.  The
  department may act on an application not later than the 60th day
  after the date the department receives the application if the
  department provides notice of the extension to the county that
  submitted the application.
         Sec. 256.105.  MATCHING FUNDS. (a)  Except as provided by
  Subsection (b), to be eligible to receive a grant under the program,
  matching funds must be provided, from any source, in an amount equal
  to at least 10 percent of the amount of the grant.
         (b)  A county that the department determines to be
  economically disadvantaged must provide matching funds in an amount
  equal to at least five percent of the amount of the grant.
         Sec. 256.106.  PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.  (a)  A county that
  makes a second or subsequent application for a grant from the
  department under this subchapter must:
               (1)  provide the department with a copy of a report
  filed under Section 256.009;
               (2)  certify that all previous grants are being spent
  in accordance with the plan submitted under Section 256.104; and
               (3)  provide an accounting of how previous grants were
  spent, including any amounts spent on administrative costs.
         (b)  The department may use a portion of the money in the
  fund, not to exceed one percent of the amount deposited into the
  fund in the preceding fiscal year, to administer this subchapter.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 222.1071 to read as follows:
         Sec. 222.1071.  COUNTY ENERGY TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT
  ZONES. (a)  A county shall determine the amount of the tax
  increment for a county energy transportation reinvestment zone in
  the same manner the county would determine the tax increment as
  provided in Section 222.107(a) for a county transportation
  reinvestment zone.
         (b)  A county, after determining that an area is affected by
  oil and gas exploration and production activities and would benefit
  from funding under Chapter 256, by order or resolution of the
  commissioners court:
               (1)  may designate a contiguous geographic area in the
  jurisdiction of the county to be a county energy transportation
  reinvestment zone to promote one or more transportation
  infrastructure projects, as that term is defined by Section
  256.101, located in the zone; and
               (2)  may jointly administer a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone with a contiguous county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone formed by another county.
         (c)  A commissioners court must comply with all applicable
  laws in the application of this chapter.
         (d)  Not later than the 30th day before the date a
  commissioners court proposes to designate an area as a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section, the
  commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the creation of
  the zone and its benefits to the county and to property in the
  proposed zone.  At the hearing an interested person may speak for or
  against the designation of the zone, its boundaries, the joint
  administration of a zone in another county, or the use of tax
  increment paid into the tax increment account.
         (e)  Not later than the seventh day before the date of the
  hearing, notice of the hearing and the intent to create a zone must
  be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the
  county.
         (f)  The order or resolution designating an area as a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone must:
               (1)  describe the boundaries of the zone with
  sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable
  certainty the territory included in the zone;
               (2)  provide that the zone takes effect immediately on
  adoption of the order or resolution designating an area and that the
  base year shall be the year of passage of the order or resolution
  designating an area or some year in the future;
               (3)  designate the base year for purposes of
  establishing the tax increment base of the county;
               (4)  establish an ad valorem tax increment account for
  the zone or provide for the establishment of a joint ad valorem tax
  increment account, if applicable;
               (5)  designate not less than 90 percent of the tax
  increment to be used for planning for, construction of,
  reconstruction of, or maintenance of transportation infrastructure
  projects; and
               (6)  if two or more counties are designating a zone for
  the same transportation infrastructure project or projects,
  include a finding that:
                     (A)  the project or projects will benefit the
  property and residents located in the zone;
                     (B)  the creation of the zone will serve a public
  purpose of the local government; and
                     (C)  details the transportation infrastructure
  projects for which each county is responsible.
         (g)  Compliance with the requirements of this section
  constitutes designation of an area as a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone without further hearings or other
  procedural requirements.
         (h)  The county may, from taxes collected on property in a
  zone, pay into a tax increment account for the zone or zones an
  amount equal to the tax increment produced by the county less any
  amounts allocated under previous agreements, including agreements
  under Section 381.004, Local Government Code, or Chapter 312, Tax
  Code.
         (i)  The county may:
               (1)  use money in the tax increment account to provide:
                     (A)  matching funds under Section 256.105; and
                     (B)  funding for one or more transportation
  infrastructure projects located in the zone;
               (2)  apply for grants under Subchapter C, Chapter 256;
               (3)  establish an advisory board to advise the county
  on the establishment and administration of the county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone;
               (4)  use not more than one percent of any grant
  distributed to the county under Subchapter C, Chapter 256, for the
  administration of a county energy transportation reinvestment
  zone;
               (5)  use not more than 10 percent of the tax increment
  in a tax increment account for the administration of a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone; and
               (6)  enter into an agreement to provide for the joint
  administration of county energy transportation reinvestment zones
  if the commissioners court of the county has designated a county
  energy transportation reinvestment zone under this section for the
  same transportation infrastructure project or projects as another
  county commissioners court.
         (j)  Tax increment paid into a tax increment account may not
  be pledged as security for bonded indebtedness.
         (k)  A county energy transportation reinvestment zone
  terminates on December 31 of the 10th year after the year the zone
  was designated unless extended by an act of the county
  commissioners court that designated the zone.  The extension may
  not exceed five years.
         (l)  The captured appraised value of real property located in
  a county energy transportation reinvestment zone shall be treated
  as provided by Section 26.03, Tax Code.
         SECTION 3.  Section 222.110, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subsections (a) and (h) and adding Subsection (i) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Sales[, "sales] tax base" for a transportation
  reinvestment zone means the amount of sales and use taxes imposed by
  a municipality under Section 321.101(a), Tax Code, or by a county
  under Chapter 323, Tax Code, as applicable, attributable to the
  zone for the year in which the zone was designated under this
  chapter.
               (2)  "Transportation reinvestment zone" includes a
  county energy transportation reinvestment zone.
         (h)  The hearing required under Subsection (g) may be held in
  conjunction with a hearing held under Section 222.106(e), [or]
  222.107(e), or 222.1071(d) if the ordinance or order designating an
  area as a transportation reinvestment zone under Section 222.106,
  [or] 222.107, or 222.1071 also designates a sales tax increment
  under Subsection (b).
         (i)  Notwithstanding Subsection (e), the sales and use taxes
  to be deposited into the tax increment account established by a
  county energy transportation reinvestment zone or zones under this
  section may be disbursed from the account only to provide:
               (1)  matching funds under Section 256.105; and
               (2)  funding for one or more transportation
  infrastructure projects located in a zone.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Sections 251.018 and 251.019 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 251.018.  ROAD REPORTS. A road condition report made by
  a county that is operating under a system of administering county
  roads under Chapter 252 or a special law, including a report made
  under Section 251.005, must include the primary cause of any road,
  culvert, or bridge degradation if reasonably ascertained.
         Sec. 251.019.  DONATIONS. (a)  A commissioners court may
  accept donations of labor, money, or other property to aid in the
  building or maintaining of roads, culverts, or bridges in the
  county.
         (b)  A county operating under the county road department
  system on September 1, 2013, may use the authority granted under
  this section without holding a new election under Section 252.301.
         (c)  A county that accepts donations under this section must
  execute a release of liability in favor of the entity donating the
  labor, money, or other property.
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (a), Section 256.009, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Not later than January 30 of each year, the county
  auditor or, if the county does not have a county auditor, the
  official having the duties of the county auditor shall file a report
  with the comptroller that includes:
               (1)  an account of how:
                     (A)  the money allocated to a county under Section
  256.002 during the preceding year was spent; and
                     (B)  if the county designated a county energy
  transportation reinvestment zone, money paid into a tax increment
  account for the zone or from an award under Subchapter C was spent;
               (2)  a description, including location, of any new
  roads constructed in whole or in part with the money:
                     (A)  allocated to a county under Section 256.002
  during the preceding year; and
                     (B)  paid into a tax increment account for the
  zone or from an award under Subchapter C if the county designated a
  county energy transportation reinvestment zone;
               (3)  any other information related to the
  administration of Sections 256.002 and 256.003 that the comptroller
  requires; and
               (4)  the total amount of expenditures for county road
  and bridge construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, right-of-way
  acquisition, and utility construction and other appropriate road
  expenditures of county funds in the preceding county fiscal year
  that are required by the constitution or other law to be spent on
  public roads or highways.
         SECTION 6.  The Texas Department of Transportation shall
  adopt rules implementing Subchapter C, Chapter 256, Transportation
  Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the
  effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.