Budgeting and Appropriations | Biennial enactment of two 12-month budgets; fiscal year begins September 1. |
Bonding or Pay-as-You-Go | Texas used pay-as-you-go financing until the Transportation Commission was granted approval through a 2001 constitutional amendment to issue bonds secured by a newly created Texas Mobility Fund. Another amendment-approved in 2003-allows the Legislature to authorize the commission to issue bonds, known as Proposition 14 bonds, secured by revenues deposited to the State Highway Fund such as motor fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees. The Transportation Commission and TxDOT started using these bond programs in 2005. In 2007, Texas voters approved Proposition 12 bonds secured by revenues deposited to the General Revenue Fund. The Legislature authorized issuance of a portion of these bonds in 2009, and the bond program began in 2010. |
State-Level Funding Provided for DOT Budgets | FY 2011 (approved): $6.1 billion |
Allocation of Federal Transportation Funds to the DOT | Federal transportation funds are allocated to TxDOT through state legislative appropriation at the program or category level. The state General Appropriations Act provides appropriation authority for federal funds. All funds received are deposited into the State Highway Fund. TxDOT is the state administrative authority for these funds. |
Allocation of State Transportation Funds to the DOT | State transportation funds are allocated to TxDOT through state legislative appropriation in the General Appropriations Act by category. |
Traditional State Funding and Finance for Highways | Fuel taxes; vehicle registration/license/title fees; vehicle or truck weight fees; tolls; interest income; sales tax on motor lubricants; vehicle inspection fees; driver record information fees; general obligation bonds; revenue bonds. |
State Funding and Finance for Other Modes | No dedicated funding sources for other modes. TxDOT can and has used State Highway Fund revenues from sources that are not constitutionally dedicated to highway purposes for other functions carried out by the department (Tex. Transportation Code Ann. §222.002), including transit, rail, aviation, ports and bridges. |
Innovative Transportation Funding and Finance | GARVEE bonds (authorized but not used as of 2009); private activity bonds (PABs) (issued); Build America Bonds; federal credit assistance (TIFIA); state infrastructure bank (federally capitalized); PPPs (authorized in statute, many provisions expired in 2009; used for at least four projects); design-build (authorized in statute, many provisions expired in 2009; used as a component of at least eight projects); impact fees; creation of nonprofit, quasi-public entities; tapered matching; advance construction; toll credits or "soft match;" pass-through financing (shadow tolls); other. Traffic camera fees are used only at the local level; 50 percent of the revenues after operating costs must be used for traffic safety programs (Tex. Transportation Code Ann. §707.008). |
Dedicated/Restricted State Funds and Revenues | The state constitution restricts the use of motor fuels taxes, sales tax on motor lubricants and vehicle registration fees to acquiring rights-of-way, constructing, maintaining and policing public roadways and for administration of laws pertaining to the supervision of traffic and safety on such roads. A quarter of motor fuel tax revenues, however, are constitutionally allocated to the Available School Fund (Tex. Const. art. VIII, §7-a). The State Highway Fund, which receives the rest of these revenues, cannot be used to guarantee a loan or issue bonds for a toll facility (Tex. Transportation Code Ann. §222.001). The Texas Mobility Fund cannot receive revenues from motor fuel taxes, sales tax on motor lubricants or vehicle registration fees, and use of the fund is constitutionally restricted to financing state highways, public toll roads and transit projects (Tex. Const. art. III, §49-k). |
DOT Authorized to Retain Surplus Funds | TxDOT has traditionally been granted authority through the General Appropriations Act to carry forward unspent appropriations between years of a state fiscal biennium for major transportation planning, construction and maintenance. In general, unexpended appropriations remaining at the end of one biennium are subject to legislative appropriations for the next. |
Legislative Approval Required to Move Funds Between Projects | Yes, at the category level. TxDOT must receive approval from the Texas Legislative Budget Board and the governor to transfer funds between items of appropriation at the General Appropriations Act category level. Legislative approval is not required to transfer funds between projects within those categories, however. |
Transportation Funding Allocations through Local Aid | A portion of state gasoline tax receipts is deposited to the County and Road District Highway Fund (Tex. Tax Code Ann. §162.503), from which the state comptroller distributes money to counties by a statutory formula based on area, rural population and lateral road mileage (Tex. Transportation Code Ann. §256.002). Counties also receive funds from appropriations to the Special County Road Assistance Program. These funds are distributed by a statutory formula based on total and unincorporated population; and lineal, paved and concrete road miles (Tex. Local Government Code Ann. §§615-101 et seq.). In addition, counties act as agents for the state in collecting vehicle registration fees; a portion of these fees is retained by the collecting county (Tex. Transportation Code Ann. §502.102). The state allocates federal local aid per federal requirements; some is discretionary based on the state transportation plan and, for aviation, project qualifications. |