The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is drafting an action plan that includes a set aside of $750 million in federal disaster mitigation funding to Harris County and will direct at least $500 million in additional funds to the county through a regional mitigation program. After Harris County was denied a direct allocation by the […]
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) a $5 million grant to test a new user-based funding method for highways and bridges. To help pay for road infrastructure improvements and maintenance and optimize roadway performance, TxDOT plans to assess the feasibility of using smartphone technology to better understand travel patterns. […]
The Texas Transportation Commission approved the Texas-Mexico Border Transportation Master Plan (BTMP) on March 25 that forecasts strong economic growth but cautions that border infrastructure improvements are needed to avoid crossing times rising to unmanageable levels. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) staff presented the plan, which projects: The value of goods moved by commercial motor […]
Multiple recovery efforts around the state will benefit from $19.3 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The EDA investments announced on February 18 are: Lamar State College Port Arthur will receive $4.3 million to support workforce development and diversification through the design and construction […]
The Texas Military Preparedness Commission will award $16.3 million to military communities from the Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant program. These grants assist military communities across the state that may be impacted by any closures. The funds will be invested in infrastructure projects and other initiatives to increase the military value of these installations in […]
The study team of the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released a revised Coastal Texas Study draft proposal on October 30 for the construction of a coastal storm surge barrier in Galveston Bay. The Coastal Texas Protection & Restoration Feasibility Study, or the Coastal Texas Study, is examining the feasibility […]
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV)’s Strategic Plan for 2021-2025 includes plans to demolish and replace Building 5 at its Camp Hubbard Campus in Austin. Estimated project cost is $72 million. Buildings 1 and 5 at Camp Hubbard were built in 1955 and are experiencing multiple infrastructure system failures. Based on these factors and […]
California – The California State Transportation Agency awarded the city of Inglewood a $95.2 million grant to put toward construction of the city’s $1.02 billion automated people mover and three stations. The Inglewood Transit Connector is designed to transport passengers from the LA Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line’s Downtown Inglewood Station to new housing and employment centers and […]
The Texas General Land Office (GLO) notified the city of Houston on April 22 that it will seek approval to cancel nearly $1 billion in federal Hurricane Harvey housing recovery funds to the city and take over administration of the program. GLO Commissioner George P. Bush wrote Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner that due to ongoing […]
Kansas – State legislators passed a $10 billion transportation infrastructure plan renamed The Eisenhower Legacy Plan that will span 10 years of scheduled projects. The bill, which is awaiting Gov. Laura Kelly’s signature, is an amended version of Kelly’s FORWARD plan, which she announced in February. This plan allows for the maintenance and improvement of roads and highways […]
Ohio – The board of trustees at Ohio State University (OSU) approved more than $600 million in construction projects that will support research and health care initiatives. The university can now enter into professional service and construction contracts for a number of projects including energy advancement, health care, recreation, and infrastructure. Money will come from a […]
Maine – The state’s department of transportation (MaineDOT) released a three-year work plan on January 14 that consists of more than $1.6 billion in highway, bridge, and multimodal capital projects. Overall, the work plan contains 2,051 individual items with an estimated value of $2.59 billion. Capital-related work includes bridge replacements, highway construction and paving, acquisition of buses […]
Michigan – Funding continues to flow to the planned New Soo Lock project after President Trump signed a spending bill December 20 that included $75.3 million for the $1 billion project. Parallel locks at the Great Lakes facility are showing signs of age. In August, the only lock that can accommodate larger vessels closed twice for […]
Houston-area government officials are voicing their concerns after the Texas General Land Office (GLO) announced the region would receive about one-fourth of the $4.3 billion in federal disaster assistance awarded to the state. Flood managers and other officials in Houston said they were expecting the area would get about half of the funds coming from […]
New Hampshire – The New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC) is interested in a public-private partnership (P3) along Interstate 95, heading northbound and southbound in Hampton. The commission wants to construct new liquor and wine outlets along this 88-acres of property and is looking to facilitate a sale. The NHLC plans to issue a request for proposals […]
Voters across Texas passed more than $12.2 billion out of a total $13 billion in bond propositions November 5. Of the 84 entities that had bond propositions on the ballot, 66 of them had propositions that passed or a portion that were successful. Fifteen of the 20 highest-dollar measures were for educational organizations, most of […]
Voters may start casting their ballots as early as Monday in the November 5 Texas constitutional amendment election. Early voting to determine 10 constitutional amendments, special elections, and local elections will be from October 21 to November 1. The amendments will appear as propositions on the ballot. In brief, they are: Proposition 1 – Permitting a […]
The Texas Comptroller’s Office released a Certification Revenue Estimate (CRE) on October 10 that projects revenues available to the state for general spending to total about $121.76 billion for the 2020-21 biennium. That amount, which is up 9.6 percent from the 2018-2019 biennium, will finance the $118.86 billion in general-purpose spending appropriated by the 86th […]
Utah – The National Governors Association (NGA) has a new mission after incoming chairman Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued a call to action to upgrade the country’s aging or vulnerable infrastructure. Hogan presented his “Infrastructure: Foundation for Success” initiative to association members at the NGA Summer Meeting on July 26 in Salt Lake City. The yearlong […]
Gov. Greg Abbott signed several disaster relief and preparedness bills June 13 to combine with $3 billion in aid earmarked from the state’s ‘Rainy Day Fund’ for areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Abbott signed the following bills: HB5 – Requires the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to develop a catastrophic debris management plan and training […]
The Texas Legislature passed a $250.7 billion budget on May 26 and approved several key bills highlighted by property tax relief and school finance reform. Lawmakers set a 3.5 percent cap on local government property tax hikes and a 2.5 percent limit on school district property tax increases. Only by voter permission can those governments […]
Texas voters made their voices heard by choosing for or against bond propositions put forth by cities, counties, school districts, special districts, a community college and hospital district. In total, 83 local government entities made the decision to call for a bond election to see if the majority of voters agreed with the propositions, such as one city that had five. […]
“This is not a closed book – this is a work in progress.” That is Gov. Greg Abbott’s take regarding ongoing state efforts to secure billions of additional federal dollars to help address damages and destruction left behind when Hurricane Harvey swept over parts of Texas in August. At a press conference Wednesday, Abbott spoke […]
The presiding officers of both the House and the Senate have released interim charges to committees on which issues to examine during the interim between the 85th Legislature and the 86th Legislature in 2019. In Texas’s biennial legislature, a legislative session occurs in odd-numbered years beginning the second Tuesday in January, and running for 140 […]
When a natural disaster occurs, state, county and city leaders must assess the damage and also do a head count of residents that may have lost food, water and shelter. Operations, plans and projects are put into place and state agencies begin requesting waivers and assistance at the federal level. For Texans, that natural disaster is Hurricane Harvey. The […]
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