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Senate advances House Bill 53 to create transportation corridor preservation revolving loan fund
Summary
House Bill 53 would authorize a Transportation Commission-administered revolving loan fund to acquire and hold land for future transportation corridors; senators asked about funding sources, administration and property-rights protections and the bill passed to third reading with broad support.
Senators debated House Bill 53, a bill to establish a revolving loan fund managed by the Transportation Commission to preserve transportation corridors by acquiring land in advance of future projects.
Sponsor Senator Steele outlined the purpose: as population and land use patterns change, preserving corridors proactively avoids substantially higher acquisition costs later. The bill creates administrative authority for the Transportation Commission to establish rules, prioritize applications, award and repay loans and otherwise operate the fund.
Questions from floor members focused on funding and implementation. Senator Hilliard noted the bill had no fiscal note as written and asked how funding would be identified; Steele said the bill is the administrative mechanism and additional legislation might identify sources. Senator Steiner asked whether the fund would hold land and whether sales back to counties or municipalities would be at cost; Steele said holding land is the primary purpose and rules would address transfer pricing and processes.
Other senators raised concerns about the proliferation of restricted accounts and loan funds; Senator McAllister noted the Legislature already has many restricted funds and cautioned about constrained appropriations. After discussion, the Senate called the question and voted to advance HB 53 to third reading (25–0, 4 absent).
