Amend CSSB 1420 (house committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. (a) Section 228.004, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 228.004. [PROMOTION OF] TOLL PROJECT INFORMATION. (a) The department may, notwithstanding Chapter 2113, Government Code:
(1) [,] engage in marketing, advertising, and other activities to provide information relating to:
(A) the status of pending or ongoing [promote the development and use of] toll projects; or
(B) the use and availability of toll tags or other toll-related resources available to the public; and
(2) [may] enter into contracts or agreements necessary to procure marketing, advertising, or informational [other promotional] services from outside service providers to provide the information described by Subdivision (1).
(b) This section does not authorize the department to engage in marketing, advertising, or other activities for the purpose of influencing public opinion about the use of toll roads or the use of tolls as a financial mechanism or promoting or advocating for the benefits of toll roads.
(b) Section 228.004, Transportation Code, as amended by this section, applies only to a contract or agreement entered into or renewed under Section 228.004, Transportation Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A contract or agreement entered into or renewed under Section 228.004, Transportation Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.