Infrastructure Policy Forum
ACEC Texas Commentary
April 16, 2009
The Easter break is past the halfway point of the current legislative session, and that is a good place to take stock of what the Legislature has accomplished – and not accomplished – in dealing with needed improvements to the state’s transportation system.
The most positive news is that the Senate has passed Sen. John Carona’s SB 855, a measure that will give voters the option of approving local fees and taxes to pay for specific local projects. Sen. Carona has made clear that he would prefer a statewide approach to transportation funding. But in the absence of leadership support for ongoing, stable funding sources (as opposed to one-time bonds), he has chosen to create local options that require voter approval. This is an important step forward and the House should follow suit.
The Sunset bill for the Texas Department of Transportation will be the vehicle for legislative improvements to TxDOT’s governance, operations, and efficiency. The Sunset bill is pending in the House Transportation Committee, which is expected to report a substitute bill next week. The outcome should be judged on whether the bill creates a transparent, project-specific business planning process for the agency so that citizens can know what projects will happen when and know that performance will be measured. Accountability in this area is not about having a plan; rather it is about executing a plan and having that execution monitored and measured. Finally, the Sunset bill should move the agency in the direction of a staffing level in its project delivery function that is more appropriate to a time of diminished budgets and greater delegation of project authority to local governments.
The Senate Finance Committee has approved legislation to implement the sale of Proposition 12 state general obligation bonds for transportation authorized by voters in 2007. The committee has also approved the creation of a state revolving fund that can receive some of these bond proceeds and use them to provide credit enhancement and direct loans for local projects.
On the negative side, it appears that the promise by state leaders last summer to reduce the diversion of transportation-related revenues to non-transportation uses may be affected by the economic downturn. The Appropriations bill passed by the Senate and pending in the House has a minimal reduction in diversions, although this still could change. There is movement in the Senate toward a constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. Carona that would phase out diversions over eight years, but that measure has far to go.
All in all, the Legislature’s record so far is encouraging progress, but much work remains to be done.
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