As Tarrant County lawmakers prepare to kick off the Texas legislative session Jan. 14, Fort Worth Report journalists are exploring the policies set to be reshaped in Austin. Click here for more legislative coverage.
North Texas leaders seek funds to improve transportation infrastructure as the 89th Texas Legislature prepares to meet Jan. 14.
The Regional Transportation Council, an independent policy group made up of elected and appointed officials from 16 counties including Tarrant, spotlights funding mechanisms for roads, rail and transit services on its list of 2025 legislative priorities.
The group is seeking “fair-share” allocation of funds for capacity improvements to metropolitan regions or to allow the use of public-private partnerships to advance transportation projects.
The council also is advocating for innovative funding methods to expand rail and transit options with the North Central Texas Council of Governments representative area. Those efforts would include requiring expenditures from a portion of the Texas Mobility Fund for regional commuter rail and Class I railroad improvements, supporting dedicated funding for transit and rail via the Texas Department of Transportation’s budget rider and allocating money to the existing Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund.
The funding requests come as Fort Worth is seeing a boom in passenger rail services, including those offered by Amtrak as well as for the Trinity Metro transit agency’s two commuter lines, TEXRail and the Trinity Railway Express. Bus ridership is also up as Trinity Metro moves toward color-coded routes and simplified fares.
The North Texas population boom will require significant transit options, Michael Morris, transportation director for the council of governments, said.
“As NCTCOG and the Regional Transportation Council plan for 2050, the critical question is: Can local governments reduce congestion through land-use density, resulting in higher holding capacities and shorter trip lengths with a balance of jobs to housing?” Morris wrote in a commentary published in the Fort Worth Report in July. “In other words, how can cities help reduce traffic congestion while providing opportunities for jobs and housing near the workplace?”
Morris said the Regional Transportation Council is conducting a strategic review of public transportation authorities as part of the group’s Transit 2.0 initiative.
“This initiative lays out a series of tasks to reimagine what our public transportation system will look like in a quarter-century,” he said. “One of these tasks involves increased density around existing rail stations.”
The creation of a high-speed rail authority was among the Regional Transportation Council’s initial legislative priorities, but that item has been revised. Now, the council seeks a review with TxDOT and the Legislature to consider “options related to the creation of a new state high-speed rail authority” as proposed high-speed routes from Houston to Dallas and Fort Worth and Arlington to Dallas are considered.
The group said its priorities will encourage “retainment of eminent domain authority in (its) current statute to allow planning and development of new and/or expanded transportation corridors, including high-speed rail, commuter rail, freight rail, roadways and tolls.”
The council said it also will “support high-speed rail development in Texas and its superior safety history.”
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has said the proposed rail project is “an integral part of our transportation future and it will include Tarrant County.” She said the project would greatly benefit Fort Worth, now the 12th largest city in the nation.
Support of innovation in higher-speed transportation, transit, autonomous vehicles and freight is also on the priorities list.
State Rep. John H. Bucy III, D-Austin, has filed a bill to direct TxDOT to enter a developmental agreement with a private company to build, maintain and operate a high-speed rail line between Dallas, Austin and San Antonio along Interstate 35, one of the state’s busiest highways.
Through House Bill 483, Bucy also seeks to provide more state money for high-speed rail projects and other transportation initiatives, including passenger rail and bicycle lanes, since the Texas Constitution requires TxDOT to spend most of its budget on freeway construction and expansion. If approved, the bill would ask Texas voters to decide whether to amend the constitution to provide more money for transportation infrastructure rather than highways.
“We need to be able to move people,” Bucy told the Texas Tribune. “We need to give people other options.”
The effect of incoming President Donald Trump’s administration for federal transportation projects such as high-speed rail is not yet known.
The Regional Transportation Council is also seeking dedicated funding for existing transportation authorities as well as providing tools to aid transit agencies as they support transit-related developments planned in North Texas, including the Fort Worth area. Officials also want to maintain local control over such projects.
The council also will pursue the return of about $80 million in air quality user fees to counties for local initiatives.
Traffic safety is a big part of the group’s legislative priorities.
The council advocates lower excessive speed limits, including automated speed enforcement over 90 mph or in construction zones, reducing aggressive driving, increased enforcement of seat belt requirements and improved messaging in construction zones.
The priorities list includes support of a budget rider so that metropolitan planning organizations can receive $100,000 per year for the next two years to complete a safety action plan.
Leaders also will support the use of private-public partnerships for road projects and tolled managed lanes with local control.
Counties and cities also want expanded tools for land use control to preserve future transportation corridors.
Regional leaders will also support the continued collaboration between local governments, the military, state agencies and the Federal Aviation Administration to “advance regulations for compatible land use, infrastructure and the safe operations of unmanned aircraft.”
Morris told members of the Regional Transportation Council on Dec. 12 that the FAA is considering North Texas for the site of its planned Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies since the federal agency has a southwest regional headquarters in north Fort Worth.
The aviation agency is currently seeking input for the planned research and testing center, authorized under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in May.
The regional council said it will also support broadband expansion as a mode of transportation and legislation that improves air quality, including enhancement of the state’s emissions inspection and maintenance program, especially for heavy-duty trucks.
The Fort Worth Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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