For the second straight November election, 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 $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 84th Texas 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.” Heading into the 2013 legislative session, officials with TxDOT said maintaining Texas roadways at 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, Proposition 7 would start redirecting $2.5 billion of general sales tax revenue to the highway fund 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. 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.

Escalating needs

Officials with TxDOT started applying pressure to lawmakers to address the department’s funding shortfall leading into the 2013 legislative session. In November 2014 voters passed Proposition 1 with 80 percent approval, funding transportation with an additional $1.7 billion annually from the Rainy Day Fund. Even with Proposition 1 approval, transportation funding still fell vastly short of what was needed to keep up with demand and population growth, said Veronica Beyer, director of media relations for TxDOT. “As Texas grows by more than 1,000 people daily, we are seeing more congestion and therefore an increasing need to build, repair and maintain our roadways,” Beyer said. “Transportation is the backbone of economic prosperity, so we must do what we can to keep commerce and goods moving.” Officials with Transportation Advocacy Group in Houston said they are still deeply concerned about the overall lack of future transportation funding and have been vocally supportive of Proposition 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 been identified yet for Proposition 7, the distribution of Proposition 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 Proposition 1 funds to Greater Houston area projects. TxDOT worked closely with the Houston-Galveston Area Council in determining which projects to fund, taking cues from H-GAC’s list of Transportation Improvement Projects. In Brazoria County, Proposition 1 funds paid for the $7.75 million rehabilitation of FM 523 between Hwy. 35 and Hwy. 335, according to H-GAC documents. “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,” H-GAC Transportation Director Alan Clark said. “We looked to develop a list that fit within the funding available but also provided the best benefit to the Houston region.” H-GAC released its TIP list for 2015, and it consists of pending priority road projects in the Greater Houston area that are in need of funding. Clark said that some projects on the list could benefit from additional funding provided by Proposition 7 should voters elect to approve it in November. The TIP list includes 17 projects in Brazoria County. Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta said Proposition 7 funding is intended to alleviate heavy traffic congestion on major thoroughfares in the county. However, the possible increase in funding will not provide a long-term solution, Sebesta said. “We are at pretty heavy congestion levels now, and I think adding Prop. 1 [funding] from last year and Prop. 7 this year will only be a part of trying to keep up with the current congestion levels,” he said. “There’s still going to have to be something done in the future in addition to Prop. 7 to hopefully try and get ahead of the curve on traffic congestion.”

Future funding

Andrea French, executive director for TAG Houston, said because the $5 billion needed annually only maintains current congestion levels and does not do much to improve mobility, future legislative sessions will have to find additional solutions. She said the transportation funding from Proposition 7 will get the state closer to solving its shortfall but does not solve the problem entirely. “It’s great that we can look at existing revenue streams and transfer them to highway funding,” French said. “But I think we still need to look at the philosophical notion that user fees are really important and that we pay to use the roads because they are essentially a service that we are provided.” French said the Legislature could explore increasing vehicle registration fees both at the state and county level as well as increasing or indexing the motor fuel tax to have it mirror the cost of inflation. Both options, however, require an increase in fees that could create a contentious political climate that will be challenging to work against. “I know the gas tax is not popular but something needs to be done with it,” she said. “Whether you get rid of it and replace it with something else or you increase it or you index it to inflation because we haven’t touched it since 1991. It’s no longer a sustainable funding stream.” Additional reporting by Connor Hyde