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Lobbyists tell Rockwall County officials to push Legislature to shift more motor-vehicle sales tax to highways
Summary
At a Rockwall County commissioners' meeting, lobbyists Drew Campbell and Brandy Bird said the states 10-year transportation plan (UTP) faces declines in the 2027 draft and urged local officials to press lawmakers to gradually increase the share of motor-vehicle sales tax flowing to the highway fund under a Prop 7 transition proposal.
Drew Campbell, senior partner at Capital Insights and executive director of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition, and Brandy Bird, president of Bird Advocacy and Consulting, told Rockwall County officials that the states 10-year Unified Transportation Program (UTP) is expected to shrink in the draft 2027 plan and that sustained local advocacy is needed to secure funds for projects in the Dallas district.
Campbell said the coalition was formed in 1989 to ensure Dallas-Fort Worth and its 27 local governments, including Rockwall County, received a fair share of TxDOT dollars. "If you don't advocate in Austin for transportation funds at all, you aren't gonna get any," he said. He warned that inflation and supply constraints have reduced buying power for highway projects, estimating roughly a 25% loss in purchasing power over recent years.
Bird outlined recent UTP trends, saying the statewide UTP rose from about $20 billion in 2010 to more than $100 billion in 2024-25 but that the draft 2027 UTP is estimated at approximately $94,000,000,000. She attributed the downward draft to lower federal funding projections and falling Proposition 1 revenues tied in part to oil-price shifts. "The message from TxDOT is likely no new projects in the 2027 UTP statewide," she said, urging local delegations to press Congress to maintain or increase federal reauthorization levels.
Campbell and Bird described a legislative proposal to increase gradually the portion of motor-vehicle sales tax that flows to the highway fund (the second portion of Proposition 7). Their outline calls for raising the highway share by about 10% per year until it reaches 100%, producing an estimated near $4.5 billion annually to the highway fund under their scenario by FY2043. Bird said the change would affect general revenue and appropriations committees and that gradual implementation is intended to ease budgetary impacts.
The presenters asked county officials to engage their state representatives and senators and to support outreach to legislative leaders. "We want you to help us in that effort, engaging with your legislative delegations and getting them on board to support a concept like this," Bird said. Campbell added that strong local advocacy has helped Dallas-Fort Worth win projects through the rack-and-stack acceleration process when the region is organized and ready.
County officials did not take a formal vote on the proposal during the session. The presentation closed with an offer from the presenters to answer follow-up questions and to be available for county staff coordination.
What happens next: Campbell and Bird urged commissioners to raise the proposal with their legislative delegations and monitor forthcoming UTP drafts and federal reauthorization developments.
