The bill, S.B. No. 798, seeks to authorize an optional county fee on vehicle registration specifically for certain counties in Texas, allowing the collected funds to be utilized for transportation projects. The bill amends the Transportation Code to expand the criteria for counties eligible to impose this fee. It specifies that the fee applies to counties that either border the United Mexican States and have a population exceeding 250,000, or have a population over 1.5 million and are coterminous with a regional mobility authority. Additionally, it introduces new criteria for counties with populations between 190,000 and 1.5 million that are also coterminous with a regional mobility authority, as well as counties that are part of a regional mobility authority created under Chapter 370 with at least two counties.

Furthermore, the bill allows the commissioners court of eligible counties with populations under 700,000 to increase the additional vehicle registration fee to a maximum of $20, contingent upon approval from a majority of qualified voters in a referendum election. The bill will take effect immediately if it secures a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the legislature; otherwise, it will become effective on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Transportation Code 502.402 (Transportation Code 502)