The House Committee on Transportation has released its interim report to the 87th Legislature. The report covers recommendations on transit safety, autonomous technology, ports, and road maintenance and upkeep. For more details please view the complete report.
Spotlight on Recommendations
Charge #1A – Toll Service
- The State, toll entities, and law enforcement should continue to work together and resolve any issues with the vehicle registration records database.
- Toll entities should provide the function of allowing registered vehicle owners to list their preferred method of communication.
Charge #1B – Finance
- The Legislature should consider actions to support the intelligent and strategic use of toll roads and toll lanes in Texas.
- The Legislature should consider the merits of reauthorizing CDAs to enhance the ability of TxDOT and other transportation entities to partner with the private sector to deliver essential infrastructure projects, as evaluated in the 2030 Committee Report. The Legislature should also continue to review how CDAs impact the citizens of Texas and Texas industry and find ways to ensure Texas interests are protected.
- The Legislature should consider the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the other various transportation infrastructure tools listed in this section.
- The Legislature should continually assess whether the state’s transportation funding streams are preparing Texas’s major metropolitan centers for the immense population and economic growth projected by 2050. This is increasingly important because 67% of all Texans live in Texas’s five major metropolitan centers.
Charge #1C – Billboards
- The Texas Department of Transportation should adopt rules for SB 357 that track the intent of the legislature.
Charge #2 – Safety
- The State should find ways to amplify TxDOT’s #EndTheStreakTX campaign to improve driver behavior on the roads. We must continue to look for opportunities to educate Texans that driver behaviors are the leading cause of traffic fatalities.
- The State should prioritize research and investment in smart infrastructure technologies to prevent crashes, such as intersection collision avoidance systems, dynamic curve warning systems, wildlife detection systems, and road weather sensors.
Charge #3 – Autonomous Technology
- The state should eliminate various unnecessary vehicle inspection requirements that ZOVs must adhere even though ZOVs neither carry passengers nor serve a purpose for ZOVs to operate safely on roadways, such as a brake pedal, mirrors, windshields, wiper blades, speedometers, and seatbelts.
- The state should continue to closely monitor the advancement of autonomous vehicle technology in an effort to ensure that Texas law and regulations keep up with the rapidly advancing technology.
Charge #4 – Ports
- The Legislature should consider the potential economic benefits to the state of funding the Port Capital Plan and the Ship Channel Improvement Revolving Fund for critical port improvements.
- The Legislature should continue to fund the Port Access Improvement Program.
- The Legislature should consider adopting legislation that allows maritime ports to develop property for commercial, light industrial, recreation, and tourism spaces rather than only for industrial purposes.
- The Legislature should consider adopting legislation similar to HB 260 from the 86th Legislative Session. The bill required that TxDOT, in collaboration with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, develop and maintain a publicly accessible web portal designed to provide real‑time information regarding motor vehicle movements at ports of entry between Texas and the United Mexican States and in surrounding areas for the purpose of alleviating cross-border motor vehicle traffic congestion.
- The Legislature and TxDOT should consider prioritizing funding for border cities for port of entry expansion projects and for integration of new technologies to improve inefficiencies.
Charge #5 – State Auditor’s Review
- No recommendations, link to the State Auditor’s Reports here.