Transportation spending bill passes Texas House, moves to Senate

(Photo: XDarryl Kanouse / Flickr)(Photo: XDarryl Kanouse / Flickr)

The Texas House on Thursday voted to pass a bill that would raise about $800 million in transportation funding, moving the legislation to the state Senate, according to a report from the Texas Tribune.

The bill, House Joint Resolution 2 (HJR2), would remove a constitutional requirement that a quarter of the state’s gasoline taxes go to public education, transferring the funds instead to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

The resolution cleared the house on a vote of 108-25.

The Senate is expected to make changes to the measure, which would require the House and Senate to call a conference committee to work out differences.

If the bill passes the House and Senate, voters will need to approve the measure before it can become a constitutional amendment.

House Bill 16 also passed the House on Thursday. The bill, which is tied to HJR2, would dedicate a third of new motor vehicle sales taxes to go to TxDOT beginning in 2016.