HBA-DMH H.B. 2646 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2646 By: Capelo Transportation 4/22/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) typically awards grants for highway projects based on the volume of traffic in a specific area. Communities that have small populations have a lower volume of traffic and generally receive less funding than communities with larger populations or higher traffic volumes. As a result, the smaller communities that make up about one-third of Texas' population are at a disadvantage when applying for funding from TxDOT. Also, the North American Free Trade Agreement has impacted smaller Texas communities by increasing the amount of traffic in such communities. House Bill 2646 requires TxDOT to set aside five percent of all money appropriated to TxDOT for highway projects in municipalities with a population of 50,000 or less. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2646 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to set aside a minimum of five percent of all money appropriated to TxDOT for highway projects. The bill requires TxDOT to allocate the money only for highway projects in municipalities with a population of 50,000 or less. These provisions do not affect the eligibility of a municipality with a population of 50,000 or less to apply for or receive money otherwise available to the municipality for highway projects. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.