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The Senate Committee on Transportation met on  March 29 to hear invited testimony and discuss the following interim charges:
 
Review State Highway Fund grants and loans to Regional Mobility Authorities (RMA) and make recommendations if additional oversight procedures are needed to ensure the RMA's expenditures are a valid and accountable use of State Highway Funds.
 
James Bass, Texas Department Of Transportation, Executive Director

  • RMAs are governmental entities composed of one or more counties that are authorized by legislature to operate local transportation projects
    • Governed by board of directors
  • TxDOT assists RMAs with state funds – grants typically come from the State Highway Fund
  • $3 billion committed and $1.6 billion of those funds have been dispersed so far
  • Chair Nichols asks about oversight required by commission for RMAs
    • If there is a loan, the reporting requirements are higher for RMAs than if they do not have a loan
    • RMAs submit annual compliance reports that cover a general overview
    • Department has access to all financial records of RMAs
  • Sen. Hall asks how much of the $3 billion has gone to actual operating and maintenance costs
    • RMAs are better suited to ask the question
    • We provide money with oversight and reporting requirements
  • Sen. Huffines says the issue at hand is the comingling of state funds with RMA funds and asks how much of the funding is from the state
    • About 1/3 of the funding comes from the state
    • Amount of state funding comes from the legislature, not from TxDOT
    • Gas tax funds and vehicle registration fees are the main sources of state money used to fund RMAs
  • Sen. Huffines asks what the department’s goal is with the RMAs
    • Deliver safe and effective transportation under the guidelines of the legislature, regardless of what those guidelines may be
  • Sen. Nichols explains that RMAs were a push for local control – there has been an amazing amount of creativity as a result
  • Sen. Huffines asks if the department thinks RMAs are efficient or if they could be improved
    • There is always room for improvement, but the department is pleased with the operations of RMAs
    • Counties should be asked about their satisfaction level with RMAs
  • Sen. Hall says when the legislature created guidelines for RMAs, they probably did not expect multiple decade long leasing of roads to companies

 
Ginger Goodin, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Director

  • TAMU submitted a study on the history and current status of RMAs to provide a resource documents
  • RMAs are diverse with respect to geography, demographics, travel behavior, etc.
  • RMA reporting requirements are minimal and may not capture all detailed financial data
    • Some RMAs have very robust websites, but some have very limited information available
  • Recommends project performance measures and project performance section in reports
  • Could improve reporting by identifying sources of funding to show if and when tax payer dollars are used
  • Central Texas RMA is a good example of how RMAs should report – there is currently no consistency between RMA reports
  • Chair Nichols says he is not yet ready to add a project performance section in reports, but we may suggest consistency in reporting to RMAs – we could use the Central Texas RMA as a model
  • Sen. Hancock says we should focus on what Central Texas RMA has done to avoid recreating the wheel for other RMAs – focus on what has already been put in place
  • Sen. Hall recommends more oversight of RMAs

 
Cynthia Long, Central Texas RMA

  • RMAs are local entities that are locally accountable and responsible
  • CTRMA has improved Williamson county with mobility and economic development
  • Projects have been completed on time and under budget with one of the fastest project deliveries she has ever seen
  • Projects have grown economy by over $600 million and 2,000 jobs
  • CTRMA was a just-in-time organization that delivers for a county with a growing population
  • Sen. Hancock asks if toll roads are only avenues from point A to point B in some cases, or if there are alternative routes
    • There are alternative routes – nobody is forced onto a toll road

 
Brian Cassidy, Locke Lord

  • Concept of RMAs was to address growing infrastructure needs when funds were not keeping up with demands
  • RMAs have no taxing authorities, they make due with money they make from projects and state funding
  • With regards to reporting, they requirements are very flexible because RMAs have different needs
  • RMAs do multiple layers of accounting and reporting and are subject to all sorts of auditing
  • The local counties/municipalities are the ones who decide to create an RMA, appoint board members, and receive primary information/reports, and this was done on purpose
  • State auditor has ability to audit RMAs
  • MPOs decide if they want to create toll roads or not
  • There is enough oversight available for RMAs
  • Sen. Hall asks how organizations like Locke and Lord are funded if state funds cannot be used for lobbying
    • We do not receive any state funds for lobbying, they pay with local revenues
    • Most grants are reimbursements from TxDOT, and RMAs account separately for any money from TxDOT vs. local funds
  • Sen. Huffines says he is concerned about operational oversight of RMAs and asks how we focus on that
    • That is better handled by local municipalities because they appoint the board members and form the RMAs
  • Sen. Huffines asks if RMAs could ever be independent from the state
    • The state has needs that need to be met, so they rely on RMAs, but as time goes on, it is possible that RMAs will rely less on state money

 
Raymond Telles, Camino Real RMA

  • State Spur 601 project was expedited and funded more efficiently because of RMA
  • RMAs are flexible and can fill gaps to speed up projects and spend money more efficiently
  • The RMA does what it was intended to – partners with city and county to get projects done
  • Sen. Nichols asks if consistent format of reports would cause issues for RMAs
    • We could probably do that as long as it is kept in mind that each RMA is very different

 
David Guerra, Hidalgo County RMA

  • HCRMA has received $0 from the state to this point
  • We work very closely with TxDOT – they have a lot of input into project priority
  • Our latest project is being paid solely by MPO dollars (local funding)
  • We have full disclosure and transparency with very strong conflict of interest policies
  • 365 project take industrial traffic off of congested Highway 2
    • Are close to closing on a grant from state, but they are also providing local money
  • IBCT project will complete loop and connect to Highway 68 which is in development
  • Sen. Fraser asks how it is justified to have two RMAs in the area
    • I cannot personally justify it; believes RMAs should be merged
  • Sen. Hinojosa says we should set criteria/qualifications for appointments for RMA boards
  • Sen. Hall says toll road contracts are very lucrative, and suggests that officials should be elected rather than appointed
    • Elected vs. appointed should not be the focus – you need to focus on the board itself regardless of how it is composed
    • You need to keep politics out of formulation of board as much as possible and then hold the members accountable
  • Sen. Nichols believes the region will eventually evolve into one MPO from the current 3 MPOs and one RMA instead of the current 2

 
Mike Heiligenstein, Central Texas RMA

  • Prior to RMAs we were trapped between constituents who were demanding better infrastructure and a lack of funds
  • In 10 years, we have completed or made headway on projects that we had previously been looking at since 1980
  • 183 toll financing was completed in 2005 – majority was for construction itself
    • This was start of what will be a fantastic system of toll roads in Central Texas
    • Critical bypass for the city of Austin that is necessary as IH35 will be under construction at some point in the future
  • 290 toll is now open to Houston
  • Sen. Hall says toll roads are made for the elite and asks how many of the roads have a free route
    • 40-45% of everything we build is non-toll
  • Sen. Hall asks what other techniques have been thought about for congestion management
    • Smart phone app that will bring people together to carpool together
    • Another smart phone app that gives better routes to take from point A to point B
    • Had idea of giving discounts to people who went to work earlier, but it did not have much effect
  • Sen. Hall asks what conversations have happened regarding ramp metering
    • Ramp metering could be a piece of the puzzle, but it would not be a fix-all issue
  • Sen. Hall believes more focus should be put on ramp metering; says it is cheap and effective

 
Pete Sepulveda, Cameron County RMA

  • RMA was formed in 2004 and has worked to keep staffing and overhead lean
  • CCRMA was randomly selected in 2014 to go through a TxDOT audit where no findings were reported
  • System map is composed of over $2 billion worth of projects
  • One of top priorities is a second access point to South Padre Island
  • 10 projects have already been completed and we have worked closely with TxDOT every step of the way
  • RMAs help prioritize local funding and help build needed projects
  • Sen. Hall asks if fees have been voted on by citizens
    • All authority for fees has come from the state legislature
  • Money we receive goes to construction, not to soft costs

 
Review current state and federal regulations, penalties and fines related to oversize and overweight vehicles and make recommendations to minimize impacts on the state's roadways and bridges.
 
Mark Marek, TxDOT, Director of Engineering and Safety Operations

  • Large focus on heavy vehicles and bridges
  • TxDOT is tasked with role of providing routing information to DMV
  • Good working relationship with DMV staff
  • It is estimated that bridges were struck by over-weight vehicles with repairs over $2 million which is then reimbursed by the responsible party
  • Sen. Nichols says we went in in 2013 to update fees for overweight vehicles and asks if TxDOT has been able to do any comparison of damages since that was passed
    • Not aware of any comparison, but we work to make sure large trucks have routes available that allow them to travel safely
  • Sen. Nichols says some trucking companies say TxDOT does not have anybody available to issue routes on weekends
    • We could do that with a week advance in notice

 
Shelly Mellott, Department of Motor Vehicles

  • There has been an  increase in fees collected since 2013 even with less citations issued
  • Many bridge hits happen because trucks have not received correct information or because they got off route
  • Sen. Nichols says he expects the fees collected to go down as industry gets used to the increased focus on overweight/oversized vehicles
  • We do outreach and training on how to use Texas Permitting and Routing Optimization TxPROs system for routes

 
Captain Omar Villareal, Department of Public Safety

  • Drop in amount of citations for oversize/overweight trucks
    • Part of drop is a redirection of resources to the border and also drops in the energy industries
  • Sen. Hancock says drilling dropped, but also more permits have been requested, so there should be a decline in citations
  • Sen. Nichols asks if DPS has what they need to enforce oversize/overweight vehicles
    • Yes

 
Mike Murphy, University of Texas Center for Transportation Research

  • Conducting several studies regarding oversize/overweight vehicles
  • Working with bridge division of TxDOT to work proactively with trucking industry and stakeholders to evaluate truck size and weight in advance of the 85th legislature
  • Rider 36 study made complete assessment of permit fee structure and marginal consumption of oversize/overweight vehicles
    • Reports are available online
  • Developed price over length of vehicle model for fees
  • Sen. Nichols explains that ultimately the goal was to decide how much it costs the state when oversize/overweight vehicles are on the road
  • Adding more axels is better for pavement because the more you spread the load the better; that is not necessarily the case for bridges, though
    • However, each axel increases the tare weight of the vehicle which means they can carry less cargo
  • Triple axels would allow for a larger load because double axels have a maximum load of 34,000, but this is a federal legislation issue
  • Bridge consumption, as opposed to pavement consumption, takes into account the whole group of axels as opposed to each axel individually
  • Different types of bridges with different supports behave differently
    • Simply supported bridges are susceptible to highly concentrated loads
    • Configuration of the bridge matters
  • If load is balanced out correctly, there will not be additional damage to bridges in heavy weight corridors, but bridges still need to be invested in

 
John Esparza, Texas Trucking Association

  • Industry has taken initiative to discuss possibility of weight corridor and weight issues
  • Industry is committed to productivity and wants to be part of any conversation of change in the future
  • We want to make sure drivers are taken care of and that safety is a priority
  • Grandfathering of 2060 permits is important with regards to passing of FAST act

 
Jim Allison, County Judges and Commissioners’ Association

  • Residential growth in rural areas has exploded and entire subdivisions are growing up in unincorporated areas
  • This has resulted in a tremendous increase in cost for county roads
  • Estimates reach $1 billion for repairs needed due to oversize/overweight trucks
    • Grants to repair roads are appreciated
  • We need to make sure the roads are ready for when drilling increases again in the future
  • We need to focus on county roads and the costs associated with larger vehicles
  • County roads are narrow and do not have large shoulders
  • The 2060 permit has been used for 30 years, but it still allows for trucks to travel on county roads that they cannot handle – fees do not cover the damage
  • Fines had been so low in the past that there was an incentive to not get permits, but that has been somewhat remedied by legislation in 2013

 
Hearing Adjourned