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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Silva

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/31/2007

HB 248

SHORT TITLE

Construction And Operation Of Toll Roads

SB

ANALYST Moser

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

FY09

$0.1

Recurring

Federal

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 248 amends Section 73-25-3, NMSA 1978, by adding “toll road" definition within

the definition of a “regional transit system" and by defining “toll road". The bill also amends

Section 7-25-6, the section that lists the powers of a regional transit district (RTD), to allow an

RTD to carry out feasibility studies regarding toll roads, and to “design, finance, construct,

operate, maintain, improve and reconstruct toll roads."

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

This bill may have fiscal impact if toll roads are established by an RTD by increasing revenues

received by the RTD and potentially decreasing federal dollars received by NMDOT for

construction of highways.

House Bill 248 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HB 248 amends Sections 73-25-3 and 6, NMSA 1978 to allow a regional transit district (RTD)

to, in effect, design, build and operate a system of toll roads independent of the existing state

road system.

Financing for these toll roads would come from bonds paid from revenue collected from users.

NMDOT points out that HB 248 does not provide for or require connection with existing

highway systems, although this could be accomplished through agreement between the RTD and

the agency or government with authority over the existing road.

Because the system of toll roads would be totally independent from the state highway system, the

vast body of laws, regulations and standards that govern the state highway system would

arguably not apply to the proposed toll road system. Rather, NMDOT contends that in its place,

the bill simply gives RTDs the authority to “design, plan, build," the toll roads without any

guidance for the multiplicity of elements that go into highway design, construction, operation

and maintenance. It is NMDOT’s opinion that this will increase operating costs for the RTDs.

NMDOT points out that it is doubtful that revenue from user fees/fares will be sufficient to pay

for the toll road system.

NMDOT indicates that this bill also does not allow RTDs to convert existing roads into a toll

road making it a strong possibility that RTDs will compete with NMDOT for federal and state

funding for new construction.

GM/nt