Bill Text: TX HB2802 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the financing of transportation projects.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-02 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2802 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB2802-Comm_Sub.html

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82R22391 JAM-F
By: Pickett H.B. No. 2802
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2802:
By: Fletcher C.S.H.B. No. 2802

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the financing of transportation projects.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 201.943(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) Obligations must be secured by and payable from a pledge
of and lien on all or part of the money in the fund, including the
revenues of this state that are dedicated or appropriated for
deposit to the fund. Obligations may be additionally secured by and
payable from credit agreements. The commission may pay amounts due
on the obligations from discretionary money available to it that is
not dedicated to or appropriated for other specific purposes.
(c) The commission may create within the fund accounts,
reserves, and subfunds for purposes the commission finds
appropriate and necessary [in connection with the issuance of
obligations].
(d) Obligations may be issued for one or more of the
following purposes:
(1) to pay all or part of the costs of constructing,
reconstructing, acquiring, and expanding state highways, including
any necessary design and acquisition of rights-of-way, in the
manner and locations determined by the commission that, according
to conclusive findings of the commission, have an expected useful
life, without material repair, of not less than 10 years;
(2) to provide participation by the state in the
payment of part of the costs of constructing and providing publicly
owned toll roads and other public transportation projects that are
determined by the commission to be in the best interests of the
state in its major goal of improving the mobility of the residents
of the state;
(3) to make loans to public entities, including a
transportation corporation created under Chapter 431, for a purpose
described in Subdivisions (1) and (2);
(4) to create debt service reserve accounts;
(5) [(4)] to pay interest on obligations for a period
of not longer than two years;
(6) [(5)] to refund or cancel outstanding
obligations; and
(7) [(6)] to pay the commission's costs of issuance.
(e) Long-term obligations in the amount proposed to be
issued by the commission may not be issued unless the comptroller
projects in a comptroller's certification that the amount of money
dedicated to the fund pursuant to Section 49-k(e), Article III,
Texas Constitution, and required to be on deposit in the fund
pursuant to Section 49-k(f), Article III, Texas Constitution,
together with any other money or revenues that the commission
pledges or otherwise commits for the purposes of the fund,
including loan repayments to be deposited in the fund under Section
201.9461, receipts from credit agreements, and money received or to
be received from the federal government, uncommitted fund balances,
and the investment earnings on [that] money in the fund, during each
year of the period during which the proposed obligations are
scheduled to be outstanding will be equal to at least 110 percent of
the requirements to pay the principal of and interest on the
proposed long-term obligations during that year.
(f) Short-term obligations in the amount proposed by the
commission may not be issued unless the comptroller, in a
comptroller's certification:
(1) assumes that the short-term obligations will be
refunded and refinanced to mature over a 30-year [20-year] period
with level debt service [principal] requirements and bearing
interest at then current market rates, as determined by the
comptroller; and
(2) projects that the amount of money dedicated to the
fund pursuant to Section 49-k(e), Article III, Texas Constitution,
and required to be on deposit in the fund pursuant to Section
49-k(f), Article III, Texas Constitution, together with any other
money or revenues that the commission pledges or otherwise commits
for the purposes of the fund, including loan repayments to be
deposited in the fund under Section 201.9461, receipts from credit
agreements, and money received or to be received from the federal
government, uncommitted fund balances, and the investment earnings
on [that] money in the fund, during each year of the assumed 30-year
[20-year] period will be equal to at least 110 percent of the
requirements to pay the principal of and interest on the proposed
refunding obligations during that year.
SECTION 2. Subchapter M, Chapter 201, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 201.9461 and 201.9462 to read as
follows:
Sec. 201.9461. REPAYMENT TERMS; DEPOSIT OF REPAYMENTS. (a)
For money disbursed from the fund as a loan, the commission shall
determine the terms and conditions of repayment, including the
interest rate to be charged.
(b) The department shall deposit in the fund all amounts
received from repayment of a loan.
Sec. 201.9462. BORROWING FROM FUND BY PUBLIC ENTITY. (a) A
public entity, including a municipality, county, district,
authority, agency, department, board, or commission, that is
authorized by law to construct, maintain, or finance a highway
improvement project, toll road project, or public transportation
project may borrow money from the fund and may enter into any
agreement relating to receiving a loan made from money in the fund.
(b) Money borrowed under Subsection (a) must be segregated
from other funds under the control of the public entity and may be
used only for a purpose authorized by this subchapter.
(c) To provide for the repayment of a loan, a public entity
may:
(1) pledge revenues or income from any available
source;
(2) pledge, levy, and collect any taxes, subject to
any constitutional limitation; or
(3) pledge any combination of revenues, income, and
taxes.
(d) This section is wholly sufficient authority for a public
entity to borrow money from the fund as authorized by this
subchapter and to pledge revenues, income, or taxes, or any
combination of revenues, income, and taxes, to the repayment of a
loan.
SECTION 3. Sections 222.003(c) and (e), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) Proceeds from the sale of bonds and other public
securities issued under this section:
(1) shall be used to fund state highway improvement
projects; and
(2) may be used to make loans to public entities,
including a transportation corporation created under Chapter 431,
for the purpose described by Subdivision (1).
(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 described by this section [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 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 222.0031 and 222.0032 to read as
follows:
Sec. 222.0031. REPAYMENT TERMS; DEPOSIT OF REPAYMENTS. (a)
For money disbursed under Section 222.003 as a loan, the commission
shall determine the terms and conditions of repayment, including
the interest rate to be charged.
(b) The department shall deposit all amounts received from
repayment of a loan in:
(1) the state highway fund; or
(2) a subaccount in the state infrastructure bank.
Sec. 222.0032. BORROWING FROM BOND PROCEEDS BY PUBLIC
ENTITY. (a) A public entity, including a municipality, county,
district, authority, agency, department, board, or commission,
that is authorized by law to construct, maintain, or finance a
highway improvement project, toll road project, or public
transportation project may borrow money from the department through
a loan made under Section 222.003, and may enter into any agreement
relating to receiving a loan under that section.
(b) Money borrowed under Subsection (a) must be segregated
from other funds under the control of the public entity and may be
used only for the purpose authorized by Section 222.003(c)(1).
(c) To provide for the repayment of a loan, a public entity
may:
(1) pledge revenues or income from any available
source;
(2) pledge, levy, and collect any taxes, subject to
any constitutional limitation; or
(3) pledge any combination of revenues, income, and
taxes.
(d) This section is wholly sufficient authority for a public
entity to borrow money as authorized by Subsection (a) and to pledge
revenues, income, or taxes, or any combination of revenues, income,
and taxes, to the repayment of a loan.
SECTION 5. Sections 222.004(b) and (g), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission by order or resolution may issue general
obligation bonds for the purposes provided in this section. The
commission may at any time during a biennium issue bonds or other
public securities, and enter into related credit agreements, up to
the aggregate amount of general obligation bond proceeds
appropriated for that biennium, notwithstanding any estimate in an
appropriations act relating to amounts expected to be expended in a
fiscal year during that biennium. The aggregate principal amount
of the bonds that are issued may not exceed the amount specified by
Section 49-p(a), Article III, Texas Constitution.
(g) Bonds may be issued for one or more of the following
purposes:
(1) to pay all or part of the costs of highway
improvement projects;
(2) to make loans to public entities, including a
transportation corporation created under Chapter 431, for the
purpose described in Subdivision (1); and
(3) [(2)] to pay:
(A) the costs of administering projects
authorized under this section;
(B) the cost or expense of the issuance of the
bonds; or
(C) all or part of a payment owed or to be owed
under a credit agreement.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 222, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 222.0041 and 222.0042 to read as
follows:
Sec. 222.0041. REPAYMENT TERMS; DEPOSIT OF REPAYMENTS. (a)
For money disbursed under Section 222.004 as a loan, the commission
shall determine the terms and conditions of repayment, including
the interest rate to be charged.
(b) The department shall deposit all amounts received from
repayment of a loan made under Section 222.004 in a subaccount in
the state infrastructure bank.
Sec. 222.0042. BORROWING FROM BOND PROCEEDS BY PUBLIC
ENTITY. (a) A public entity, including a municipality, county,
district, authority, agency, department, board, or commission,
that is authorized by law to construct, maintain, or finance a
highway improvement project, toll road project, or public
transportation project may borrow money from the department through
a loan made under Section 222.004, and may enter into any agreement
relating to receiving a loan under that section.
(b) Money borrowed under Subsection (a) must be segregated
from other funds under the control of the public entity and may be
used only for the purpose authorized by Section 222.004(g)(1).
(c) To provide for the repayment of a loan, a public entity
may:
(1) pledge revenues or income from any available
source;
(2) pledge, levy, and collect any taxes, subject to
any constitutional limitation; or
(3) pledge any combination of revenues, income, and
taxes.
(d) This section is wholly sufficient authority for a public
entity to borrow money from the fund as authorized by Subsection (a)
and to pledge revenues, income, or taxes, or any combination of
revenues, income, and taxes, to the repayment of a loan.
SECTION 7. Section 222.103, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) The department may participate, by spending money from
any available source, in the cost of the acquisition, construction,
maintenance, or operation of a toll facility of a public or private
entity on terms and conditions established by the commission. The
commission:
(1) shall [may] require:
(A) the repayment of any money spent by the
department for the cost of a toll facility of a public entity; or
(B) the public entity to agree to share project
revenue with the department, on terms and conditions approved by
the commission; and
(2) shall require the repayment of any money spent by
the department for the cost of a toll facility of a private entity.
(b) Money repaid as required by the commission and other
payments received by the department in connection with an
expenditure made under this section shall be deposited to the
credit of the fund from which the expenditure was made. Money
deposited as required by this section is exempt from the
application of Section 403.095, Government Code.
(b-1) Loan repayments and revenue sharing and other
payments received by the department in connection with an
expenditure made under this section may be used by the commission or
the department to finance the construction, maintenance, or
operation of tolled or nontolled transportation projects, as
defined by Section 228.001, in any location in this state.
SECTION 8. Section 222.103(a), Transportation Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to money loaned by the Texas
Department of Transportation on or after the effective date of this
Act.
SECTION 9. 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.