Tom Warne Report, 13 August 2013
Texas lawmakers have finally come to an agreement on a transportation funding plan for the state, approving a $1.2 billion-a-year on August 5. The House and Senate lawmakers have spent the majority of this year working on the transportation deal, which will go before voters during the November 2014 before it can be finalized.
Gov. Rick Perry called the third special session to find a solution to the state’s $4 billion transportation funding shortage without hiking taxes or fees. The governor said in a news release that he was satisfied that lawmakers were able to raise “funding for transportation without raising taxes,” and the action “sends an incredibly strong message that Texas is committed to keeping the wheels of commerce turning, while protecting the taxpayers.”
Lawmakers in both chambers have been trying to reach a compromise on plans to request voters to authorize using the state’s oil and gas severance tax to increase revenue for roads and bridges that do not charge tolls. The plan approved this week would dedicate half of the revenue from the oil and gas severance tax to the state highway fund, which amounts to about $1 billion annually. That money currently goes to the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
The second part of the bill will ensure the Rainy Day Fund does not fall below a certain threshold, or the diversions for transportation would cease. The Texas Department of Transportation will also be required to cut non-road usage of its funding by $100 million and use the extra cash to pay off debt.