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Committee hears bill to redirect Harris County excess toll revenues toward county road needs, grants city of Houston share
Summary
Senate Bill 2722 would set a formula for distributing excess toll‑road revenue in Harris County, directing a majority to county road maintenance and designating a 30% allocation for the City of Houston. County commissioner Tom Ramsey said the change would better align funds with the countys unincorporated road responsibilities.
Senate Bill 2722 drew testimony in the Senate Transportation Committee on a proposed formula for distributing so‑called excess toll road revenues collected by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA).
Sponsor and substitute
Sen. Bettencourt introduced a committee substitute for SB 2722 that would require most surplus HCTRA funds to be directed to county road needs and establish audit and transparency mechanisms. The substitute proposed that 70% of excess toll revenues be used for county roads (and related needs), while providing a 30% allocation to the City of Houston, the sponsor said, citing the number of public safety responses the city handles on county toll facilities.
County perspective
Tom Ramsey, Harris County commissioner for Precinct 3, told the committee he supported the substitute and asked members to consider distribution keyed to county road responsibilities. Ramsey said his precinct contains a disproportionate share of county roads (he estimated roughly 47% of county road miles in his precinct) but receives less than 25% of dispersed funds; he told senators he has "over $300,000,000 worth of projects to be done and have no funds to do them." Ramsey urged statutory clarity to ensure excess toll funds flow to county‑owned and maintained roads.
Questions and concerns
Sen. Miles and others pressed the sponsor and Ramsey for more detail on the 30% allocation to Houston and on audit language to ensure transparency and to prevent use for non‑transportation items. Sen. Miles asked why one municipality (Houston) would receive a portion of the county's excess revenue when the county contains multiple municipalities; the sponsor and Ramsey tied the allocation to the volume of police and fire responses on toll facilities and to an existing pattern of intergovernmental calls.
Committee action and next steps
The committee received the substitute and public testimony; Senator Bettencourt said the substitute includes provisions permitting a state audit of expenditures and penalties where appropriate. Because of time constraints the committee left SB 2722 pending and indicated it would reconvene to continue consideration after members review the substitute and related materials.
Ending
No vote was taken in the hearing. Supporters framed SB 2722 as an effort to align surplus toll revenues with county road maintenance obligations in unincorporated Harris County; some members sought clearer audit and transparency language and questioned the basis for the 30% allocation to the City of Houston. The committee left the bill pending for further consideration.
