Texas Legislature report

[MaxConcrete]

The Texas Legislature session ended today. The Legislature meets for its 5-month session in odd years only.  https://capitol.texas.gov/Home.aspx

There was no immediately impactful legislation for transportation, but three important bills strengthen future TxDOT revenue. Generally speaking, the House was more active in moving transportation-related legislation, but the Senate was more selective in the bills it considered.

TxDOT budget
2024: $18.544 billion
2025: $18.684 billion

SCR 2 (awaiting Governor's signature): Extends proposition 7, which provides $2.5 billion plus a percent of auto sales tax each year. The $2.5 billion is extended 10 years to 2042, and the auto sales tax funding is extended 10 years to 2039.

HB 2230 (awaiting Governor's signature): Extends proposition 1, which provides funding from the rainy day surplus fund. Amount is dependent on oil prices, but is usually $1 to 2 billion per year. Expiration is extended 8 years from 2035 to 2043.

SB 505 (signed by Governor, effective Sept 1): imposes a $200 road use fee on electric vehicles, in recognition that electric cars don't pay any fuel tax for road maintenance. Although this will generate a small amount of revenue in the near term, it could become a substantial revenue source in the future.

HB 4797 (awaiting Governor's signature), which imposes requirements for toll road surface treatment in icy conditions. (This is in response to the multi-fatality accident on the North Tarrant Express.)

HB 3297 (awaiting Governor's signature), which ends vehicle safety inspections in Texas. However, emissions testing will continue so everyone in urban counties still needs to take their car to an inspection center.

Notable bills that died

SH 2795, which would have extended tolls on SH 130 by 20 years if the private operator funded a connector between SH 130 and I-35. This passed the House but died immediately in the Senate.

HJR 27, which would have allowed money in the state highway fund to be used for seaports, airports, spaceports, land ports of entry, and international bridges.

All bills related to tolling, including a bill to require the Harris County Toll Road Authority to use its revenue for roads only.

All bills related to Texas Central high speed rail, including HB 2357. Texas Central appears to be dead, so any bills would probably be pointless.

[Plutonic Panda]

that's a shame Texas refuses to do anything meaningful regarding high speed rail. They probably could've gotten most if not all of the triangle built before California got there's built. That could've strengthen them politically.

As far as the Harris county toll road thing, one that should've passed as well. Tolls collected from roads should only be used for roads.

Really some good stuff in here. At the end of the day they just can't get enough money pass for TxDOT do what they truly need to do which is a shame. Would $1 TRILLION EVEN REALLY GET EVERYTHING BUILT? There's still Corridors like I-27 and I 69..

[SectorZ]

Kudos on them getting rid of the safety inspections. I see what has brand new stickers on them in Massachusetts (cars with wheels at 20 degree angles inward or one inch off the ground, for example) and realize that system is just a scam.

[wxfree]

I'm somewhat in favor of getting rid of the safety inspections, as they're something of a joke.  I'd rather get rid of emissions inspections, although I think that's a federal mandate.  I'd at least like to make a tailpipe test available as a backup, so that a sensor reading that's a few millivolts off but doesn't actually cause a pollution problem won't cause a car to fail.  The change in law takes effect (if it goes into effect) on January 1, 2025, so after your inspection this year there will be one more.

One concern I have with the bill is that it repeals the section that makes it an offense to drive a vehicle in a mechanically unsafe condition.  You don't need to believe in mandatory inspections to believe that a car on the road should be required to be safe to drive.

[ZLoth]

I'm somewhat in favor of getting rid of the safety inspections, as they're something of a joke.

For the vehicle inspection portion, Texas charges $7 per vehicle. (Emissions testing is a separate charge). How detailed of an inspection do you expect for $7 based upon the inspection criteria? Brakes and tires are most important of these criteria in my opinion.

[rlb2024]

I'm somewhat in favor of getting rid of the safety inspections, as they're something of a joke.

For the vehicle inspection portion, Texas charges $7 per vehicle. (Emissions testing is a separate charge). How detailed of an inspection do you expect for $7 based upon the inspection criteria? Brakes and tires are most important of these criteria in my opinion.

I wish Louisiana would get rid of theirs.  It's a joke.  $10 for one year or $20 for two years -- and emissions testing only required in a five-parish area around and including Baton Rouge (with an additional fee and one-year inspection stickers only).  Some inspection stations are overly thorough and some don't even look at the vehicle.  Plus, three cities (New Orleans, Westwego, and Kenner) have their own inspection programs and their own stickers.

Mississippi did away with theirs a few years ago.

[Road Hog]

Arkansas is misleadingly cheap in tag renewals. The tag cost itself is $19 and change. But you also have to pay property tax assessment for your sled, which varies widely based on whether you drive a hoopty or a high-end Lambo.

Texas at least has a relatively flat tag renewal rate in the $65 range plus the emissions test in the home counties. If I lived 7 miles farther north, i could skip that.

(Beware immigrants: Out of staters have to pay a $250 charge to register in Texas.)

[CtrlAltDel]

(Beware immigrants: Out of staters have to pay a $250 charge to register in Texas.)

Guess I got here just in time. When I arrived in August 2021, I only had to pay $197.62, which is a lot but still a lot less than that.

[MaxConcrete]

This presentation for Thursday's commission meeting is a complete summary of results for TxDOT from the recent legislative session.

https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/commission/2023/0629/6.pdf