November ballot measure aims to drive road funding

The revenue would come without raising taxes and would have an assortment of strings attached, including a provision barring the moneyfrom being used for construction of toll roads and a mandate for TxDOT to identify $100 million of cost savings.

Scott Haywood, a spokesman for Move Texas Forward, an organization created by former TxDOT commissioners dedicated to lobbying for increased funding for Texas roads, said the measure would help TxDOT bridge its estimated $5 billion annual shortfall for maintaining existing roads and paying down its debt.

How we got here

Haywood said most of the state's transportation revenue sources have remained steady since the early 1990s, but costs and traffic congestion have soared.

Currently 20 cents of every gallon of gas purchased in Texas goes toward the state's fuel tax. Of that amount, 5 cents helps fund the state's education system, and 15 cents goes toward the SHF. The fund is also bolstered by the state's vehicle registration fee, among other sources.In 2012 the fuel tax provided $2.3 billion for the SHF.

Since the early 1990s, however, the cost of building roads has doubled, Haywood said. Additionally, in 2013, the average fuel economy of cars sold in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 24.9 miles per gallon, according to a study by the University of Michigan Transportation Institute. As fuel economy improves, drivers use less fuel, payless in fuel taxes and contribute less to the SHF.

According to a 2007 study commissioned by TxDOT entitled "Accounting for Fuel Efficiency in Texas Fuel Tax Revenue Estimations," the department could lose out on $86 billion in fuel tax collections because of assumed increases in the fuel efficiency of vehicles between 2007 and 2031. To overcome that deficit, the study found TxDOT would need to raise the state fuel tax 665 percent to $1.53 per gallon of gas.

To keep up with the state's growth, Texas voters approved bond debt issuance for road infrastructure in 2001, 2003 and 2007 totaling $17 billion, Haywood said.

In all, stagnating revenue sources and mounting debt have left the state with a cash-strapped department, he said.

"When you look at the next [two years], we have a significant drop-off in what the department can do from a transportation standpoint," Haywood said.

Identifying savings

If Prop. 1 passes, TxDOT must identify $100 million of savings. It is not clear how those savings will be identified, though.

"TxDOT is continuing to look at opportunities set forth in [the Prop. 1 legislation] that will fulfill this legislative requirement," TxDOT spokesman Mark Cross said in an email.

TxDOT already has a voluntary program meant to save money that involves turning over control and maintenance of some of its roads to cities.

Gary Hudder, Round Rock Transportation Director, said the program is meant to preserve TxDOT's maintenance dollars.

Round Rock officials have met with TxDOT and discussed taking over control and maintenance of a portion of Mays Street and FM 3406, also called Old Settlers Boulevard, Hudder said. Those roads essentially function as city roads. By taking control of them, Round Rock could use its own construction criteria that would better fit the city's needs, he said.

"If it is a local road, we have additional options as to how that road functions than would be available to us under TxDOT's control," Hudder said.

The Texas House of Representatives voted 124-2 in August 2013 to put Prop. 1 on this November's ballot.

State Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, said the state needs about $4 billion per year just to keep up with road maintenance throughout Texas. If Prop. 1 passes, it could put more than $1.5 billion toward that yearly funding need, he added.

Gonzales said Prop. 1 funds would be cash, debt free and not used to build toll roads.

"We've been bonding and borrowing money for our roads for a very long time, and we owe a lot of money," Gonzales said. "This would allow us to pay cash, and that is what is critical about this."

Gonzales said that while the potential use of oil and gas severance taxes for roads would help fill the funding gap, the state still needs to look for more revenue for roads.

"If you want to keep your economy moving, and you want to keep creating jobs, you have to have infrastructure," Gonzales said.