The Senate Committee on Transportation has published its interim report to the 86th Legislature.
The report addresses multiple issues, including state response to Hurricane Harvey, Texas port funding, speed of transportation projects, toll road penalties, human trafficking, highway naming, and monitoring legislation from the 85th under the committee’s jurisdiction. For full details and conclusions from the committee, please see the complete report.
Spotlight on Recommendations
Hurricane Harvey Response
- Addressing the flood risks on the highways identified in this report efficiently and effectively will require careful consideration of the potential benefits from:
- working with federal, state and local partners to reduce regional flood risk through improved capacity for regional and/or localized storm water detention;
- developing of additional reservoir management options;
- increasing storm water detention and drainage capacity on high flood risk roadway segments;
- revising development standards and incentives to encourage open space preservation that decreases storm water runoff; and
- elevation of high flood risk roadway segments, bridges and bridge approaches where adjacent land uses and access to them can be maintained or acquired at reasonable cost.
- Where elevation of existing or proposed roadways appears to be the most cost-effective solution, opportunities may exist to modify plans already under development so that the accommodation adds only an incremental cost and tolerable delay to a planned project letting. Because of the potential visual, noise, drainage and right of way impacts to adjacent land uses, early discussions with affected residents and businesses will be essential to achieving timely solutions. In locations where the flood risk has led to a determination that acquisition and removal of existing land uses from the floodplain is necessary, conflicts with existing land uses may be mitigated.
- Many strategies may significantly reduce flood risk individually or in combination. Because of the cost and potential for undesired impacts, selective use of roadway elevation may be necessary and should be applied where possible in coordination with larger flood management and mitigation strategies.
Funding Opportunities for Texas Ports
- Expand SB 28 by amending Section 55.001 (4-a) of the Transportation Code, by including language directing that eligibility for funds shall include all Texas ports, whether a navigation district operating under the Water Code or a port governed by the Transportation Code. This would allow Port of Galveston to be eligible for critical dredging funds to maintain sufficient channel depths and infrastructure projects.
- The legislature should continue to monitor this issue. A study comparing best practices across the country would also be beneficial.
Project Acceleration
- The TxDOT budget has restrictions. Two primary examples are Rider 3 – Transfer Authority which states TxDOT must receive prior written approval of the Legislative Budget Board to transfer funding among project-related strategies such as project engineering, right of way, construction contracts, maintenance contracts and construction grants and services. The other is Proposition 1 and Proposition 7, derived from different sources, yet have similar characteristics and spending restrictions. Combining the two budget strategies could accelerate project development and delivery.
Toll Road Penalties
- Cooperation and communication between toll project entities is imperative to improving customer service. Currently, electronic toll collection customer account information, including contact and payment information and trip data, is confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Public Information Act. This precludes toll project entities from sharing information that would streamline customer service and toll collection efforts. At a minimum, toll project entities should be permitted by statute to share customer email addresses, zip codes, and phone numbers to allow communication of billing issue and emergency notices to the customer and for overall enhancement of the customer’s experience. Any proposed legislation should include customer protections such as provisions explicitly stating that the information is confidential and may only be shared between toll entities for the limited purpose of facilitating customer service issues and toll collection efforts.
- Require first invoice to explicitly state that the violator has 30 days to file a written dispute of the tolls assessed.
- Under Sec. 228.0547(a)(2), a violator has 30 days from receipt of a first invoice to pay the toll or submit a “written request to the [toll authority] for a review of the toll assessment”.
- Improve interoperability between toll authorities when account (payment/address) information is updated.
- For example, X toll tag is operated by toll road 1 and can be used to cover toll usage on toll road 2. The tag will only cover toll usage when an owner goes through the toll on the toll road 2. It does not cover toll violations incurred on toll road 2. Owner realizes they have an expired credit card on file with toll road 1 (tag operator), they contact toll road 1 fix credit card issue and pay all violations that may have occurred on toll road due to expired card. However, their new credit card information is not sent to toll road 2 and in some cases, they don’t know or understand that they must pay toll road 2 separately for violations incurred on the toll road 2 because of their expired credit card.
- Require all toll roads to explicitly list on their invoices the specific toll roads they operate. [Note: Some toll roads already do this.]
- Expand the authority to send invoices via email to regional mobility authorities under Chapter 284, Transp. Code.
Human Smuggling
- Senate Bill 128 was a good bill in the right direction, it required TxDPS by rule to make a curriculum for human trafficking. It would be beneficial, if other agencies required their employees to take an optional course regarding human trafficking and human smuggling. An example would be the Texas Department of Transportation, an agency that is visible and operational in 254 counties but also is out at a lot of construction projects where they interact with multiple stakeholders that are involved in the act of transporting and delivering goods. The Legislature should continue to monitor this issue and look to other industries for best practices.
Highway Naming
- TxDOT has tracked the implementation of legislative memorial designations and their funding since the 83rd (2013) Legislative Session. Since 2013, there have been 23 designations not funded to date and therefore no signs have been fabricated or installed at those designated locations. The state should continue to monitor the number of highways named after individuals that lack donor funds and determine if after a certain period that legislation is null and void if the sign is never erected.
85th Legislature Monitoring Charge
- SB 312 by Nichols, 85th Regular Session contained the following statutory changes: requiring toll road entities to use toll revenue to pay back TxDOT for grants used to construct toll roads; prohibiting TxDOT from operating or transferring a HOV lane as a tolled lane; authorizing TxDOT to convert non-tolled lanes as toll lanes – only if the number of non-tolled lanes is greater than or equal to the number in existence before the toll conversion project; and prohibiting TxDOT from awarding contracts unless the contractor participates in E-verify. All statutory provisions have been implemented by TxDOT.
- TxDMV has completed all necessary, functional implementation tasks under its purview related to the [overweight] permit. The permit has been available for stakeholders to purchase since January 1, 2018, and TxDOT has completed all necessary functions under its purview. The agency has analyzed the bridges and roads around the ports. Currently only the Port of Houston region is seeing activity. The permit is still very early on its implementation stage so no further recommendations are suggested at this time.