Bill Caption

Relating to an annual permit for certain equipment used to apply paint to roadways; authorizing a fee.

Fiscal Notes

Estimated Two­year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB 1865, As Introduced: a positive impact of $202,000 through the biennium ending August 31, 2023.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

Bill Analysis

SB 1865 would create an oversize/overweight permit for vehicles used to paint highways stripes. The permit would be required to be renewed annually.

An application for the permit would be subject to a fee established by the board of TxDMV, in consultation with the Texas Transportation Commission, not to exceed $7,000. The first $1,000 of the fee would be to the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the general revenue fund; and any amount in excess of $1,000 to the comptroller with 90 percent of the excess to the credit of the state highway fund and 10 percent of the excess to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

The bill would also require a permit holder to pay a highway maintenance fee of between $150 and $375 depending on the vehicle's weight. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

We recognize that it is within the authority of the state to regulate the use of public roads and that other oversize/overweight vehicles are subject to similar regulation. For these reasons we remain neutral on SB 1865. Still, we are concerned about the proliferation of unnecessarily exorbitant fees and would support an amendment to significantly reduce the $7,000 cap on permit fees of this nature.