Texas House lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bill that would change how Dallas Area Rapid Transit is funded.
House Bill 3187, along with companion Senate Bill 1557, would compel the agency to create a permanent general mobility program, funded by 25% of DART’s annual sales tax revenue. The House Transportation Committee voted to advance a substituted version of the bill during a meeting Tuesday morning aimed at addressing pending committee business.
The version removes a section of the bill that would eventually limit DART’s ability to collect the full 1% sales tax from its member cities, and revised the legislation to prevent impacts to current bondholders, author Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, said during an April hearing.
“Because of DART’s unwillingness to be transparent and address massive overpayments by several of its member cities, the Texas Legislature has been forced to step in and address DART’s recalcitrance,” Shaheen said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, members of the House Committee on Transportation did the right thing by voting out the DART Reform Act.
“I look forward to getting this bill to the Senate and ultimately to the Governor’s desk.”
DART has said the bill would amount to a loss of more than $230 million in 2026, an amount that would cripple the agency. Widespread service cuts throughout the region, slowed frequencies and layoffs would follow the passage of either bill, agency leaders say.
Related:DART warns of hard hit to Dallas-Fort Worth service if Texas funding bill passes
“HB 3187 kills DART,” agency spokesperson Jeamy Molina said in a statement Tuesday. “It slashes services across the board by more than 30% and eliminates millions in capital spending, preventing the critical purchase of new vehicles and infrastructure.
“These cuts will decimate recent gains in ridership and customer satisfaction, and they will only compound as costs increase, infrastructure deteriorates, service quality declines and ridership plummets until the system collapses.”
Committee members last month heard more than two hours of testimony during a public hearing that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.
Opponents pleaded for more time to come to a local agreement, yet committee members at several points mentioned that other bills aimed at solving disputes between DART and member cities had been heard previously.
“I think the legislature has tried to give it [time] to you locally,” committee chair Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said. “After two or three sessions, I think the pressure is pretty high for the legislature to do something this time.”
‘Could really hurt us economically’
During the hearing last month, leaders from DART and mobility management partner Transdev, Trinity Metro, Richardson, Dallas, Rowlett, Glenn Heights, the Regional Hispanic Contractors’ Association, and riders all spoke in opposition to the bill.
Speakers argued the diversion of agency revenue to a mobility program and subsequent service cuts would mean longer waits and fewer route options for riders.
It could also compromise system safety and paratransit service for passengers with disabilities, and would jeopardize regional transportation for the FIFA World Cup next summer, they added.
“It could really hurt us economically throughout the entire region, not just Dallas,” said Omar Narvaez, Dallas City Council member and chair of the city’s transportation and infrastructure committee.
In late March, the DART board committed to a voluntary general mobility program that will allocate 5% of DART’s annual sales tax revenue to funding the initiative for three years, in the hopes of appeasing cities that have pushed for legislative action.
Under the fund, seven cities that an EY study show paid a surplus into DART in 2023 would be eligible to receive a collective $42 million back in the first year, for use on non-DART transportation projects in their cities.
The agency also expects to spend at least $18 million on service requests from member cities. Those dollars, along with more than $9 million for additional Silver Line operations and “unknowns,” together create a more than $78 million projected budget shortfall for 2026.
But several cities have indicated that the moves do not go far enough — a key reason why negotiations between DART and member cities facilitated by the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Regional Transportation Council have stalled.
“I think we need a structural fix that has the permanence of state legislation to it,” Plano representative Anthony Ricciardelli said during a vote on the voluntary general mobility fund last month.
Proponents of the bill who spoke Thursday, including the mayors of Plano, Carrollton, Highland Park and Irving, echoed those statements.
“What came out of the partnership discussions, both through RTC (Regional Transportation Council) and directly, is that it’s going to require all this to be codified,” Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick said.
Several criticized DART’s statements about the impact of funding cuts, pointing to increased revenue over the past several years.
“DART from 2010 to 2020, their revenues increased 54% [but] their ridership only increased by 13%, a 40% delta,” Shaheen said.
“Just keep that in mind when you have multiple people come forward to you today to talk about the devastation of this bill [because] it’s inaccurate.”
DART spokesperson Molina said Tuesday the bill “breaks the covenant” with voters who agreed to remain in DART “on multiple occasions.”
The House bill will next be considered for placement on a chamber calendar. A twin Senate bill has been referred to the Senate Transportation Committee but not yet scheduled for a hearing.
