DALLAS Higher registration fees for cars and trucks in Travis County would finance road local construction under a pair of bills introduced by two Austin lawmakers.
Senate Bill 579 by Sen. Kirk Watson and House Bill 1432 by Rep. Donna Howard, both Austin Democrats, would allow the Travis County Commissioners Court to add up to $10 to the annual vehicle registration fee. The fee is now $64.25 for a passenger car. As an alternative, the Commissioners Court could ask Travis County voters to approve a fee increase of up to $20. The fee could increase over time to keep up with inflation.
The bill comes as a local solution to the problems of the rapidly growing Austin area as Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick propose using half of the sales tax for vehicle sales for transportation projects. Abbott has proposed raising $4 billion per year for transportation projects without raising taxes, tolls or fees.
Money raised under Watson’s and Howard’s bills could amount to $22 million annually based on Travis County’s 1.1 million registered vehicles.
The funds would be allocated by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, a government agency that operates toll roads in the area. The authority would be allowed to leverage the fees up to 10 times through bond sales.
With several major highway projects on the drawing boards, the authority does not have a specific application for the money.
Combined with other revenue, state highway funds or bond proceeds could finance major projects such as the 183 tollway in East Austin, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The authority would like to start the $680 million project within a year.
Revenue from the higher fees cannot be used for mass transit projects due to a provision in the state constitution restricting vehicle registration fees to highways.
To date, the 12-year-old Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has spent its money only to build and operate tollways.
