Bill Text: TX HB3941 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of a revolving loan program to finance ship channel improvements.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-03 - Referred to Transportation [HB3941 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB3941-Introduced.html
| 85R8463 SLB-D | ||
| By: Phelan | H.B. No. 3941 | |
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| relating to the creation of a revolving loan program to finance ship | ||
| channel improvements. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 4, Transportation Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Chapter 56 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 56. FUNDING OF SHIP CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS | ||
| Sec. 56.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Commission" means the Texas Transportation | ||
| Commission. | ||
| (2) "Department" means the Texas Department of | ||
| Transportation. | ||
| (3) "Fund" means the ship channel improvement | ||
| revolving fund. | ||
| (4) "Navigation district" means a navigation district | ||
| created under Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, | ||
| Texas Constitution, and operating under Chapter 60, 61, 62, or 63, | ||
| Water Code. | ||
| Sec. 56.002. SHIP CHANNEL IMPROVEMENT REVOLVING FUND. (a) | ||
| The ship channel improvement revolving fund is an account in the | ||
| general revenue fund. The fund is administered by the department. | ||
| (b) The following money shall be credited to the fund: | ||
| (1) money the department receives as a gift, grant, or | ||
| donation for a purpose of this chapter; | ||
| (2) money appropriated to the department for the | ||
| purposes of this chapter; | ||
| (3) money received by the department for the repayment | ||
| of a loan made by the program established under Section 56.003; and | ||
| (4) interest earned on deposits and investments of the | ||
| fund. | ||
| (c) Money in the fund may be appropriated only to the | ||
| department for the purposes of administering the fund and the | ||
| program established under Section 56.003. | ||
| (d) The financial transactions of the fund are subject to | ||
| audit by the state auditor. | ||
| Sec. 56.003. REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM. (a) The commission by | ||
| rule shall establish a revolving loan program to use money from the | ||
| fund to finance qualified projects for navigation districts. | ||
| (b) To be a qualified project, a project must: | ||
| (1) deepen or widen a ship channel; | ||
| (2) demonstrate federal matching funds in an amount | ||
| not less than 30 percent of the cost of the project; | ||
| (3) be authorized by the United States Army Corps of | ||
| Engineers under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of | ||
| 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-121); and | ||
| (4) meet any other standards provided by commission | ||
| rule. | ||
| (c) A project for maintenance dredging is not a qualified | ||
| project under this section. | ||
| SECTION 2. 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, 2017. | ||
