BILL ANALYSIS

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a regional transit agency authorized under Chapter 452, Transportation Code, and was created by voters and funded with a one-cent local sales tax on August 13, 1983. The service area consists of 13 cities: Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, and University Park. Stakeholders note that individual municipalities are able to review DART's budget, which is comprised of revenue generated from sales and use taxes imposed by the authority on member municipalities. These stakeholders also note that while municipal staff are able to review the revenue streams across DART region wide, they are unable to track whether services are equally distributed or utilized across the regional service areas in respect to the amount of revenue collected from the municipalities in that area.

This proposed legislation seeks to increase DART's financial transparency by requiring DART to breakdown expenditures by municipality in its financial audit.

(Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

C.S.S.B. 1370 amends current law relating to information contained in the annual financial audit of certain regional transportation authorities.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter J, Chapter 452, Transportation Code, by adding Section 452.453, as follows:

Sec. 452.453. DISAGGREGATION OF EXPENDITURES: CERTAIN AUTHORITIES. Requires the subregional board of an authority consisting of one subregion governed by a subregional board created under Subchapter O (Subregional Board in Subregion Having Principal Municipality with Population of More than 1.1 Million) to disaggregate expenditures by member municipality in an annual financial report using a uniform methodology that is proposed by the authority, provided to the board, and approved by resolution of a simple majority of the member municipalities' governing bodies. Requires the authority, on request of a simple majority of the member municipalities' governing bodies, to propose a new methodology for disaggregating expenditures by member municipality under this section.

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2023.