For the second straight year, the Texas Department of Transportation is turning to Texas voters for approval of a major boost in transportation funding. Proposition 7 will be on ballots statewide Nov. 3, giving voters say over a constitutional amendment that would provide $2.5 billion annually to the State Highway Fund in 2018, an amount that could rise to nearly $3 billion by 2020. Proposition 7 is tied to Senate Joint Resolution 5, which was authored by state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville. SJR 5 received bipartisan support in the Legislature, garnering a 28-2 approval in the Senate and a 142-1 approval in the House. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill June 1. “I am very excited that the House, Senate and governor were able to come together on SJR 5, which is critical for the future of transportation in our state,” Nichols said. “If passed by the voters, it would be the largest single increase in transportation funding in Texas history.”

Escalating needs

Heading into the 2013 legislative session, TxDOT officials said maintaining current congestion levels would require an additional $5 billion in funding annually. The biggest chunk of TxDOT's $23 billion budget for the 2016-17 biennium—39 percent, or roughly $9 billion—has been set aside for maintaining and replacing the existing system. If approved by voters, SJR 5 would start redirecting $2.5 billion of general sales tax revenue to the SHF starting Sept. 1, 2017. However, the money would only be redirected if sales tax revenue exceeds $28 billion. In 2019, a portion of motor vehicle sales tax would also start being redirected to the SHF as a result of SJR 5. After the first $5 billion in tax revenue is collected, 35 percent of all additional car sales tax revenue would go to the SHF. That 35 percent is expected to translate to roughly $500 million to $600 million for TxDOT in 2020, according to TxDOT estimates. According to the proposition, the transferred funds could only be used to pay debt, purchase right of way and to build, maintain and rehabilitate nontolled public roads.

Continued funding

Last November, voters passed Prop. 1, resulting in the transfer of $1.7 billion to the SHF from the Rainy Day fund in 2015. That number could fall in 2016 due to the declining oil and gas market, officials said. Officials with Transportation Advocacy Group in Houston said they are still concerned about the overall lack of future transportation funding and have been vocally supportive of Prop. 7. “Prop. 1 was a good start, but it didn’t provide us with that long-term reliable source of transportation funding TxDOT was asking for,” TAG Houston board member Jeff Collins said. “Now we’re seeing legislation that has the money in it. We’re seeing a genuine effort to address the problem.”

Local projects

Although no specific projects have yet been identified for Prop. 7, the distribution of Prop. 1 money provides some insight into the selection process. The Texas Transportation Commission, the governing body over TxDOT, decides which projects to fund based on conversations with local governments and metropolitan planning organizations. In February the TTC dedicated $278 million of the available $1.7 billion Prop. 1 funds to Greater Houston area projects. TxDOT worked closely with the Houston-Galveston Area Council in determining which projects to fund, H-GAC Transportation Director Alan Clark said. “H-GAC did not have a detailed selection criteria for these projects, but we were guided by legislative direction and direction from [TxDOT] to advance projects that could be ready for construction to begin in 2015,” Clark said. There are three Tomball and Magnolia area projects included on the H-GAC Transportation Improvement Program list released in early 2015 that could receive funding through Prop. 7 in the next few years. An estimated 200 projects totaling more than $3 billion are under review. The three projects are FM 2920 improvements from Business 249 to Willow Street, a widening of FM 1774 from FM 1488 to the Grimes County line and a widening of FM 1488 from FM 149 to Joseph Road.