This week I will continue discussing the interim charges for House committees.  The charges are good indicators of what legislation the legislature will take up during the next session. Interim charges are the issues that the Speaker asks committees to study during the time between regular legislative sessions in order to make recommendations for legislation for the following legislative session.   Legislators rely on public input when crafting legislation, and it is important that they hear from citizens during the interim.  

This week, I will discuss the Committee on Transportation.  The chairman of the Transportation Committee is not seeking re-election; therefore, he made each of these charges a separate subcommittee consisting of five members of the Transportation Committee.  The Subcommittee on Teen Driver Safety, which I chair, met on April 30.  I was honored to have members of the local advocacy group "Less Tears, More Years" come testify before the subcommittee on this important issue. 

House Committee on Transportation

• Research and make recommendations to the legislature on programs to improve safety for teen drivers.
• Study the concept of using corridor planning organizations to provide a mechanism for local involvement in the Trans-Texas Corridor.
• Study and make recommendations for funding mechanisms for the Rail Relocation Fund.
• Study and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of a motor bus-only lane program for state highways in Texas that focuses on the use of improved shoulders as a low-speed bypass of congested highway lanes. Examine comparable laws from other states that allow transit buses to operate on state highway shoulders.
• Examine the role of metropolitan planning authorities in state law, as well as the creation of rural planning authorities to address the planning needs outside of metropolitan planning organizations but within council of government boundaries.
• Study and make recommendations for changes to statutes regarding handicapped parking.
• Review the effectiveness of the Driver Responsibility Program and provide recommendations for increasing the collection rate of assessed penalties. Provide recommendations for amnesty and incentive programs established last session. Examine the status of Texas' current statewide trauma system infrastructure and how the system may be optimized to meet future trauma care needs in a rapidly growing state with overburdened emergency rooms. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on Public Health)
• Review the current requirements for driver's license and identification card holders in Texas in order to recommend legislative measures to prevent these documents from being used to further criminal activities, and recommend ways to enhance homeland security. (Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations)
• Monitor the continued implementation of the Texas Financial Responsibility Verification Program and determine whether any further statutory enhancements are needed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on Insurance)

• Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction: Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Transportation Commission.

The Committee on Transportation can be reached at 512-463-0818.  For more information on these charges or any other matter of state government, please contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.    My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.