H.B. No. 1201

	AN ACT
	relating to repeal of authority for the establishment and operation
	of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 11.11(j), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(j)  For purposes of this section, any portion of a facility
	owned by the Texas Department of Transportation that is [part of the
	Trans-Texas Corridor, is] a rail facility or system[,] or is a
	highway in the state highway system, and that is licensed or leased
	to a private entity by that department under Chapter 91 or[,] 223,
	[or 227,] Transportation Code, is public property used for a public
	purpose if the rail facility or system, highway, or facility is
	operated by the private entity to provide transportation or utility
	services. Any part of a facility, rail facility or system, or state
	highway that is licensed or leased to a private entity for a
	commercial purpose is not exempt from taxation.
	SECTION 2.  Section 25.06(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(c)  This section does not apply to:
	(1)  any portion of a facility owned by the Texas
	Department of Transportation that is [part of the Trans-Texas
	Corridor, is] a rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the
	state highway system and that is licensed or leased to a private
	entity by that department under Chapter 91 or 223 [, 227, or 361],
	Transportation Code; or
	(2)  a leasehold or other possessory interest granted
	by the Texas Department of Transportation in a facility owned by
	that department that is [part of the Trans-Texas Corridor, is] a
	rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the state highway
	system.
	SECTION 3.  Section 25.07(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(c)  Subsection (a) does not apply to:
	(1)  any portion of a facility owned by the Texas
	Department of Transportation that is [part of the Trans-Texas
	Corridor, is] a rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the
	state highway system and that is licensed or leased to a private
	entity by that department under Chapter 91 or 223 [, 227, or 361],
	Transportation Code; or
	(2)  a leasehold or other possessory interest granted
	by the Texas Department of Transportation in a facility owned by
	that department that is [part of the Trans-Texas Corridor, is] a
	rail facility or system[,] or is a highway in the state highway
	system.
	SECTION 4.  Sections 201.616(a) and (b), Transportation
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Not later than December 1 of each year, the department
	shall submit a report to the legislature that details:
	(1)  the expenditures made by the department in the
	preceding state fiscal year in connection with:
	(A)  the unified transportation program of the
	department;
	(B)  turnpike projects and toll roads of the
	department; and
	(C)  [the Trans-Texas Corridor;
	[(D)] rail facilities described in Chapter 91;
	[and
	[(E)     non-highway facilities on the Trans-Texas
	Corridor if those expenditures are subject to Section 227.062(c);]
	(2)  the amount of bonds or other public securities
	issued for transportation projects; and
	(3)  the direction of money by the department to a
	regional mobility authority in this state.
	(b)  The report must break down information under Subsection
	(a)(1)(A) by program category and department district. The report
	must break down information under Subsections (a)(1)(B) and[,]
	(C)[, (D), and (E)] and Subsection (a)(3) by department district.
	The report must break down information under Subsection (a)(2) by
	department district and type of project.
	SECTION 5.  Section 202.112(a), Transportation Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The commission may purchase an option to acquire
	property for possible use in or in connection with a transportation
	facility[, including a facility as defined by Section 227.001,]
	before a final decision has been made as to whether the
	transportation facility will be located on that property.
	SECTION 6.  Section 222.003(e), Transportation Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(e)  The proceeds of bonds and other public securities issued
	under this section may not be used for any purpose other than any
	costs related to the bonds and other public securities and the
	purposes for which revenues are dedicated under Section 7-a,
	Article VIII, Texas Constitution. [The proceeds of bonds and other
	public securities issued under this section may not be used for the
	construction of a state highway or other facility on the
	Trans-Texas Corridor. For purposes of this section, the
	"Trans-Texas Corridor" means the statewide system of multimodal
	facilities under the jurisdiction of the department that is
	designated by the commission, notwithstanding the name given to
	that corridor.]
	SECTION 7.  Section 223.201(a), Transportation Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Subject to Section 223.202, the department may enter
	into a comprehensive development agreement with a private entity to
	design, develop, finance, construct, maintain, repair, operate,
	extend, or expand a:
	(1)  toll project;
	(2)  [facility or a combination of facilities on the
	Trans-Texas Corridor;
	[(3)]  state highway improvement project that includes
	both tolled and nontolled lanes and may include nontolled
	appurtenant facilities;
	(3) [(4)]  state highway improvement project in which
	the private entity has an interest in the project; or
	(4) [(5)]  state highway improvement project financed
	wholly or partly with the proceeds of private activity bonds, as
	defined by Section 141(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
	SECTION 8.  Section 223.206(d), Transportation Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(d)  The department may not enter into a comprehensive
	development agreement with a private entity under this subchapter
	[or Section 227.023] that provides for the lease, license, or other
	use of rights-of-way or related property by the private entity for
	the purpose of constructing, operating, or maintaining an ancillary
	facility that is used for commercial purposes.
	SECTION 9.  Sections 223.208(b), (c), (e), and (f),
	Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(b)  A comprehensive development agreement entered into
	under this subchapter [or Section 227.023(c)] may include any
	provision that the department considers appropriate, including
	provisions:
	(1)  providing for the purchase by the department,
	under terms and conditions agreed to by the parties, of the interest
	of a private participant in the comprehensive development agreement
	and related property, including any interest in a highway or other
	facility designed, developed, financed, constructed, operated, or
	maintained under the comprehensive development agreement;
	(2)  establishing the purchase price for the interest
	of a private participant in the comprehensive development agreement
	and related property, which price may be determined in accordance
	with the methodology established by the parties in the
	comprehensive development agreement;
	(3)  providing for the payment of obligations incurred
	pursuant to the comprehensive development agreement, including any
	obligation to pay the purchase price for the interest of a private
	participant in the comprehensive development agreement, from any
	lawfully available source, including securing such obligations by a
	pledge of revenues of the commission or the department derived from
	the applicable project, which pledge shall have such priority as
	the department may establish;
	(4)  permitting the private participant to pledge its
	rights under the comprehensive development agreement;
	(5)  concerning the private participant's right to
	operate and collect revenue from the project; and
	(6)  restricting the right of the commission or the
	department to terminate the private participant's right to operate
	and collect revenue from the project unless and until any
	applicable termination payments have been made.
	(c)  The department may enter into a comprehensive
	development agreement under this subchapter [or under Section
	227.023(c)] with a private participant only if the project is
	identified in the department's unified transportation program or is
	located on a transportation corridor identified in the statewide
	transportation plan.
	(e)  Notwithstanding anything in Section 201.112 or other
	law to the contrary, and subject to compliance with the dispute
	resolution procedures set out in the comprehensive development
	agreement, an obligation of the commission or the department under
	a comprehensive development agreement entered into under this
	subchapter [or Section 227.023(c)] to make or secure payments to a
	person because of the termination of the agreement, including the
	purchase of the interest of a private participant or other investor
	in a project, may be enforced by mandamus against the commission,
	the department, and the comptroller in a district court of Travis
	County, and the sovereign immunity of the state is waived for that
	purpose. The district courts of Travis County shall have exclusive
	jurisdiction and venue over and to determine and adjudicate all
	issues necessary to adjudicate any action brought under this
	subsection. The remedy provided by this subsection is in addition
	to any legal and equitable remedies that may be available to a party
	to a comprehensive development agreement.
	(f)  A comprehensive development agreement entered into
	under this subchapter [or Section 227.023(c)] and any obligations
	incurred, issued, or owed under the agreement does not constitute a
	state security under Chapter 1231, Government Code.
	SECTION 10.  Section 224.1541, Transportation Code, is
	amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(d)  The commission may authorize the operation of a vehicle
	that exceeds the weight limitations of Subchapter B, Chapter 621,
	or the size limitations of Subchapter C, Chapter 621, on a lane
	designated as an exclusive lane under this section if supported by
	an engineering and traffic study that includes an analysis of the
	structural capacity of bridges and pavements, current and projected
	traffic patterns and volume, and potential effects on public
	safety. This subsection does not authorize the operation of a
	vehicle that exceeds a maximum axle weight authorized by Chapter
	621, 622, or 623. This subsection does not apply to a roadway that
	is a part of the national system of interstate and defense highways.
	SECTION 11.  Section 545.353, Transportation Code, is
	amended by adding Subsection (h-2) to read as follows:
	(h-2)  Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b),  as amended by
	Chapters 663 (H.B. 385) and 739 (H.B. 1075), Acts of the 76th
	Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, the commission may establish a
	speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part of the state
	highway system if:
	(1)  that part of the highway system is designed to
	accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed; and
	(2)  the commission determines, after an engineering
	and traffic investigation, that the established speed limit is
	reasonable and safe for that part of the highway system.
	SECTION 12.  Section 371.001(2), Transportation Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(2)  "Toll project entity" means an entity authorized
	by law to acquire, design, construct, operate, and maintain a toll
	project, including:
	(A)  the department[, including under Chapter
	227];
	(B)  a regional tollway authority under Chapter
	366;
	(C)  a regional mobility authority under Chapter
	370; or
	(D)  a county under Chapter 284.
	SECTION 13.  Section 372.001(2), Transportation Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(2)  "Toll project entity" means an entity authorized
	by law to acquire, design, construct, finance, operate, and
	maintain a toll project, including:
	(A)  the department under Chapter [227 or] 228;
	(B)  a regional tollway authority under Chapter
	366;
	(C)  a regional mobility authority under Chapter
	370; or
	(D)  a county under Chapter 284.
	SECTION 14.  The following provisions of the Transportation
	Code are repealed:
	(1)  Section 201.618(e);
	(2)  Chapter 227;
	(3)  Section 284.0032;
	(4)  Section 366.305;
	(5)  Section 370.316; and
	(6)  Section 545.3531.
	SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1201 was passed by the House on April
	7, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 141, Nays 0, 1 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 1201 on May 23, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0,
	1 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1201 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 21, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
	0
	.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor