HBA-NRS C.S.S.B. 246 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 246
By: Shapleigh
Transportation
5/18/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Adequate transportation infrastructure along the Texas-Mexico border is
critical to a prosperous state economy. C.S.S.B. 246 requires the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to develop recommendations for how
state resources in TxDOT's border districts should be allocated to
facilitate international trade. 

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

C.S.S.B. 246 amends the Transportation Code to authorize the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to develop recommendations, as part of
its annual review of proposed road projects used to determine whether the
projects are adequate to meet the need for the projected volume of highway
traffic resulting from international trade, on how TxDOT resources may be
used in TxDOT's districts adjacent to the border with Mexico to facilitate
international trade. The bill authorizes TxDOT to contract with a public
senior college or a university for assistance in preparing all of or a
portion of the review.  

The bill provides that the recommendations must include suggestions
concerning transportation linkages between national and international
markets and the area adjacent to the border with Mexico, including rural
communities in that area and strategies to eliminate congestion at
international border crossings. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.S.B. 246 modifies the original bill to remove the provision set forth
in the original that the Center for Transportation Research at the
University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Transportation Institute
cooperate with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in developing
recommendations. The substitute modifies the original bill to allow TxDOT
to contract with any public senior college or university to review proposed
roadway projects. The substitute authorizes, rather than requires, TxDOT to
develop recommendations concerning how TxDOT resources, rather than state
and federal highway funds or resources, may be used in TxDOT's border
districts to facilitate international trade. The substitute includes
TxDOT's district office in Odessa as an office for which TxDOT may develop
recommendations. The original bill only applied to the Pharr, Laredo, and
El Paso district offices. The substitute removes the provision contained in
the original stating that the recommendations must include revisions to
TxDOT's funding formulas to increase funding to the Pharr, Laredo, and El
Paso districts of TxDOT.