Transportation funding back on the ballot for November election[/caption]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 more than $3 billion by fiscal year 2021-22.
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.
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 Proposition 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 Proposition 7.
“Proposition 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.
