Texas Transportation Code Title 6, Chapter 453 - Municipal Transit Departments

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 453.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Board" means the governing body of a transit department. (2) "Mass transit" means the transportation of passengers and hand-carried packages or...
• Texas Section 453.002 - Excluded Municipalities
  (a) This chapter does not apply to a municipality any part of which is located in: (1) a county that contains territory within the corporate...

SUBCHAPTER B CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF TRANSIT DEPARTMENT

• Texas Section 453.003 - Continuing Application Of Chapter
  The continuation of a transit department created in compliance with, and for which a tax has been approved under, this chapter is not affected by...
• Texas Section 453.051 - Creation Of Transit Department
  (a) The governing body of a municipality, by ordinance or resolution, may create a transit department if: (1) the municipality operates a mass transportation system;...
• Texas Section 453.052 - Administration Of Transit Department
  The board of a transit department shall administer and operate the transit department. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
• Texas Section 453.053 - Board
  (a) The board of a transit department consists of the members of the governing body of the municipality that creates the transit department. (b) Service...
• Texas Section 453.054 - Board Meetings
  (a) The board shall hold at least one regular meeting each month for the purpose of transacting business of the transit department. (b) The presiding...
• Texas Section 453.055 - Conflicts Of Interest: Transit Department Employees
  An employee of a transit department may not have a pecuniary interest in, or receive a benefit from, an agreement to which the transit department...
• Texas Section 453.056 - Transfer Of Municipal Resources To Transit Department
  (a) The governing body of a municipality may transfer to a transit department created by the municipality: (1) property and employees of a division of...
• Texas Section 453.057 - Investments
  (a) A board may invest transit department funds in any obligation, security, or evidence of indebtedness in which the municipality for which the transit department...
• Texas Section 453.058 - Accounts And Deposit Of Money; Dedication Of Money
  (a) The board shall deposit all transit department money, other than money invested as provided by Section 453.057, with the treasurer of the creating municipality...
• Texas Section 453.059 - Liability Of Creating Municipality
  A municipality that creates a transit department is liable for an expense the transit department incurs before the date a sales and use tax is...
• Texas Section 453.060 - Prohibition Of Consumption Of Alcoholic Beverage
  (a) A board by resolution may prohibit the consumption of an alcoholic beverage on property a transit department possesses or controls. The resolution must describe...

SUBCHAPTER C POWERS OF TRANSIT DEPARTMENT

• Texas Section 453.061 - Transportation Disadvantaged
  The board shall consider the interests of the transportation disadvantaged in making decisions under this chapter. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1038, Sec....
• Texas Section 453.101 - Powers Applicable To Transit Department Having Tax
  Except for the administration of assets transferred under Section 453.056, this subchapter applies only to a transit department that has a local sales and use...
• Texas Section 453.102 - Acquiring And Disposing Of Property
  (a) A transit department may acquire, hold, use, sell, lease, or dispose of property, including licenses, patents, rights, and other interests, necessary, convenient, or useful...
• Texas Section 453.103 - Transit Department System
  (a) A transit department may in the municipality creating the transit department: (1) acquire, construct, own, operate, and maintain a transit department system; (2) use...
• Texas Section 453.104 - Fares And Other Charges
  The board shall, after a public hearing, impose reasonable and nondiscriminatory fares, tolls, charges, rents, or other compensation for the use of the transit department...
• Texas Section 453.105 - Agreement With Utilities, Carriers
  A transit department may agree with a public or private utility, communication system, common carrier, or transportation system for: (1) the joint use of the...
• Texas Section 453.106 - Contracts; Acquisition Of Property By Agreement
  (a) A transit department may contract with any person and may accept a grant or loan from any person. (b) A transit department may acquire...
• Texas Section 453.107 - Use And Acquisition Of Property Of Others
  (a) A transit department may not alter or damage any property of this state or a political subdivision of this state or owned by a...
• Texas Section 453.108 - Routes
  A transit department shall determine each route, including route changes, as the board considers advisable. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept....
• Texas Section 453.109 - Tort Liability And Governmental Immunity
  (a) A transit department is a separate governmental unit for purposes of Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and operations of a transit department...

SUBCHAPTER D TRANSIT DEPARTMENT TAX ELECTION

• Texas Section 453.110 - Tax Exemption
  The assets of a transit department are exempt from any tax of the state or a state taxing authority. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165,...
• Texas Section 453.151 - Board To Order Tax Election
  (a) If the board determines that implementation of a mass transit plan developed by the transit department is feasible, the board shall order an election...
• Texas Section 453.152 - Notice Of Election
  (a) Notice of the election must include a description of the nature and rate of the proposed tax. (b) The board shall send a copy...
• Texas Section 453.153 - Ballot Proposition
  At an election under this subchapter, the ballots shall be prepared to provide for voting for or against the proposition: "Levy of a proposed local...

SUBCHAPTER E SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS

• Texas Section 453.154 - Results Of Election
  (a) If a majority of the votes received at the election favor the proposition, the board shall: (1) record the result in its minutes; and...
• Texas Section 453.201 - Transportation For Jobs Program Participants
  (a) A transit department shall contract with the Texas Department of Human Services to provide, in accordance with federal law, transportation services to a person...

SUBCHAPTER G BONDS

• Texas Section 453.202 - Waiver Of Federal Requirements
  If, before implementing Section 453.201, the Texas Department of Human Services determines that a waiver or authorization from a federal agency is necessary for implementation,...
• Texas Section 453.301 - Definition
  In this subchapter, "bond" includes a note. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
• Texas Section 453.302 - Power To Issue Bonds
  (a) A transit department may issue revenue bonds at any time and for any amounts it considers necessary or appropriate for: (1) the acquisition, construction,...
• Texas Section 453.303 - Bond Terms
  (a) A transit department's bonds are fully negotiable. (b) The transit department may make the bonds redeemable before maturity at the price and subject to...
• Texas Section 453.304 - Sale
  Bonds may be sold at a public or private sale as determined by the board. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept....
• Texas Section 453.305 - Approval; Registration
  (a) A transit department's bonds and the records relating to their issuance shall be submitted to the attorney general for examination before the bonds may...
• Texas Section 453.306 - Incontestability
  Bonds are incontestable after they are: (1) approved by the attorney general; (2) registered by the comptroller; and (3) sold and delivered to the purchaser....
• Texas Section 453.307 - Security Pledged
  (a) To secure the payment of a transit department's bonds, the transit department may: (1) pledge all or part of revenue received from any tax...
• Texas Section 453.308 - Pledge Of Revenue Limited
  The expenses of operation and maintenance of a transit department system, including salaries, labor, materials, and repairs necessary to provide efficient service and every other...
• Texas Section 453.309 - Refunding Bonds
  A transit department may issue refunding bonds for the purposes and in the manner authorized by Chapter 1207, Government Code, or other law. Acts 1995,...
• Texas Section 453.310 - Bonds As Authorized Investments
  (a) A transit department's bonds are authorized investments for: (1) a bank; (2) a trust company; (3) a savings and loan association; and (4) an...

SUBCHAPTER H TAXES

• Texas Section 453.311 - Interest Exemption
  Interest on bonds issued by a transit department is exempt from any tax of the state or a state taxing authority. Acts 1995, 74th Leg.,...
• Texas Section 453.401 - Sales And Use Tax
  (a) The board may impose for the transit department a sales and use tax at a permissible rate that does not exceed the rate approved...
• Texas Section 453.402 - Maximum Tax Rate
  (a) A board may not adopt a sales and use tax rate, including a rate increase, that when combined with the rates of all sales...
• Texas Section 453.403 - Election To Change Tax Rate
  (a) At an election ordered under Section 453.401(b)(2), the ballots shall be prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The increase (decrease) of...

SUBCHAPTER I DISSOLUTION OF TRANSIT DEPARTMENT

• Texas Section 453.404 - Sales Tax: Effective Dates
  (a) A transit department's sales and use tax takes effect on the first day of the second calendar quarter that begins after the date the...
• Texas Section 453.451 - Election To Dissolve Transit Department
  (a) A board may order an election on the question of dissolving the transit department. (b) The board shall dissolve the transit department if the...
• Texas Section 453.452 - Election Procedures
  (a) The provisions of Subchapter D that relate to the notice and conduct of an election under that subchapter apply to an election to dissolve...
• Texas Section 453.453 - Ballots; Notice Of Election Results
  (a) At the election, the ballots shall be prepared to provide for voting for or against the proposition: "Dissolution of (name of transit department)." (b)...
• Texas Section 453.454 - Effective Date Of Dissolution
  The repeal of a transit department's sales and use tax under this subchapter takes effect on: (1) the first day of the first calendar quarter...

Last modified: September 28, 2016