Transportation Policy Research Center (PRC) Director, Ginger Goodin and TTI Research Scientist, John Overman, testified March 29, 2016 to the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation.
The Committee heard invited testimony on the following interim charges:
- Review State Highway Fund grants and loans to Regional Mobility Authorities (RMA) and make recommendations if additional oversight procedures are needed to ensure the RMA’s expenditures are a valid and accountable use of State Highway Funds.
- Review current state and federal regulations, penalties and fines related to oversize and overweight vehicles and make recommendations to minimize impacts on the state’s roadways and bridges.
To serve as an independent resource on the first interim charge, Goodin and Overman shared findings from the PRC Regional Mobility Authorities in Texas: History and Current Status research project. This research profiles the nine existing RMAs in Texas looking at their demographics, current financial state, and role in transportation development.
RMAs function as regionally focused transportation development and implementation authorities. RMAs are independent government agencies enabled by legislation (TCC, Chapter 370) to finance, acquire, design, construct, operate, and maintain multimodal transportation projects.
A summary of findings may be found in the full report.