Legislative Affairs
Both the Texas Legislature and the United States Congress address many important transportation issues that affect the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Transportation and air quality in the North Central Texas region are impacted by legislative decisions at the State and federal levels.
NCTCOG staff regularly update policy and technical committee members, transportation partners and others interested in monitoring legislative initiatives related to the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) legislative priorities.
In order to understand current legislative initiatives, the RTC directed the development of a Transportation Funding 101 primer so legislators and the general public can better understand funding sources for transportation as well as trends that impact the amount of funding available. A shortfall of funding has been identified and the primer also addresses potential solutions to increase funding options.
Legislative Update
December 20, 2024
FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.
Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations
Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) at the end of September to keep the government funded at current levels through December 20, 2024. A new CR was proposed and brought to the House floor on Wednesday, December 18, with initial hopes of passage. However, President-Elect Trump signaled his disapproval of some of the measures in the CR, and this bill was subsequently shot down. Lawmakers are working toward satisfying Trump's specific measures while maintaining bipartisanship regarding this bill. The timing of the disapproval by the Trump team and the rapidly approaching deadline are making it difficult for lawmakers to find satisfactory lines to draw up this new CR in such a short amount of time. The government will shut down if a funding measure is not passed before midnight on December 20.
Water Resources and Development Act
The Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) has passed both chambers of Congress and is now being sent to the President’s desk for his signature into law. This bill is being passed as a package deal, bundled with four other bills, most notably the Fiscally Responsible Highway Funding Act of 2024. This bill will transfer $2 billion dollars in unspent Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans to the states to use toward their highway projects. House and Senate members have been working together to get these bills passed before the end of the year to get signed by the outgoing Biden administration.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Congressman Sam Graves (R-Mo) received a green light from the House Steering Committee to continue his chairmanship of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee coming into the new Congress. Pressure was mounted from his fellow republican colleague Rick Crawford (R-Ark) for the coveted chairmanship, but Crawford dropped his bid for the spot after the Steering Committee’s decision came to let Graves resume his chairmanship for a third term. Graves will continue his position as the head of the Committee going into the new Congress with a multitude of policy items on the docket under the new administration.
FROM AUSTIN
On December 6, one month before the start of the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature, House Speaker Dade Phelan announced that he had withdrawn his bid for another term for Speaker of the House. Phelan’s withdrawal cleared the path for Rep. David Cook of Mansfield to be endorsed by the House GOP Caucus, receiving a vote of 48-14. However, shortly after Rep. Cook's endorsement vote, Lubbock Rep. Dustin Burrows claimed he had enough votes to earn the speaker nomination. Following Rep. Burrows claim, Rep. Cook released a list of 56 Republican supporters. It is unclear whether certain House GOP Caucus members are willing to break caucus rules to support Rep. Burrows, but Rep. Cooks vows to keep working with members to secure the majority.
December Texas Transportation Commission
The Texas Transportation Commission met on December 17, 2024. Routine information was presented for their approval, including highway letting contracts, rejection of building maintenance bids, State Infrastructure Bank loans, Federal and State aviation awards, and rule adoptions. An item was approved for implementing TxDOT’s Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan. This plan outlines the implementation and potential use cases for AI regarding some routine tasks for the department, as well as plans to create a program dedicated to incident monitoring and notification in the hopes of assisting emergency response personnel.
MONITORED BILLS LIST
If you need information on the bills being tracked, please contact Jackie Nolasco at jnolasco@nctcog.org.
HIGHLIGHTED BILLS – US CONGRESS
H.R. 10455 – Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025. This bill has been introduced in the House and is awaiting passage.
This bill is a new continuing resolution (CR) of funding for the government through March 14, 2025. This CR is maintaining government spending at current levels but also includes a multitude of provisions giving supplemental funding to disaster aid relief, farmers and agricultural workers, and highway and transportation infrastructure assets.
S. 4367 – Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024. This bill has passed the Senate, and the House sent the bill back with their amendments for Senate approval. Once both chambers pass this bill it will go to the President’s desk for his signature.
This bill is being passed as part of a package of bills designed to provide funding necessary to improve the nation’s infrastructure programs. The Fiscally Responsible Highway Funding Act of 2024, which is being passed with the WRDA, will give nearly 2 billion dollars in unused loan balances to the states to assist in highway projects.
HIGHLIGHTED BILLS – TEXAS LEGISLATURE
Air Quality
HB 1361 Hernandez – Relating to the distribution of funds designated for the low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle retirement program. Proposes distributing the original LIRAP funds back to the counties for specific air quality uses.
High-speed Rail
HB 1402 Harris – Relating to a prohibition on the use of public money to pay for the alteration of a roadway related to high-speed rail construction. Would prohibit money of the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision of the state to pay for alteration of a roadway related to a HSR project operated by a public or private entity.
SB 424 Eckhardt – Relating to the use of state money for high-speed rail operated by a private entity and to the construction of certain high-speed rail. Would require TxDOT to enter into a CDA with a private entity to construct and operate high-speed rail connecting Dallas to Austin to San Antonio along the I-35 corridor.
Safety
HB 1357 Cunningham – Relating to the use of a portable wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle. Amends current statute by increasing the penalty for using a cell phone while driving.
Tolls
HB 1589 Gerdes – Relating to requiring voter approval for the construction of a new toll project by a toll project entity. Would mandate that any new toll project proposed by a toll project entity in Texas must receive approval from the majority of voters in each county through an election before construction can commence.
Texas Legislature - 89th Session January 14, 2025 - June 2, 2025
- Regional Transportation Council Legislative Program for the 89th Texas Legislature 
Texas Legislature - 88th Session January 10, 2023 - May 29, 2023
- Regional Transportation Council Legislative Program for the 88th Texas Legislature
- 88th Texas Legislature Summary of Bills (2023)
Other Resources
- Texas House of Representatives
Congressional Updates important to our region
In 2005 Congress passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) . This legislation guided surface transportation policy and funding through 2009. Nine short-term extensions passed since SAFETEA-LU expired in 2009. The final short-term extension of SAFETEA-LU extended surface transportation authorization through June 30, 2012.
On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law a two-year $105 billion surface transportation authorization, titled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). MAP-21 reauthorized the federal-aid highway, highway safety and transit programs that were last authorized by SAFETEA-LU. New programs and funding levels began on October 1, 2012, and continued through September 30, 2014. The final short-term extension of MAP-21 expired on December 4, 2015.
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act into law, which authorizes Federal highway, transit, safety and rail programs for five years at $305 billion. The FAST Act is effective October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2020.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law by President Biden on November 15, 2021, is a five-year bill that authorizes $567.5 billion for surface transportation, including roads and bridges, and an additional $550 billion for water, broadband, cybersecurity, and energy infrastructure. With a total funding amount of $1.2 trillion, the act aims to modernize infrastructure across the nation and is set to expire on September 30, 2026.
2019 RTC Principles for Federal Surface Transportation Authorization