VMT Fee Assessment

This final report summarizes the institutional structure of administrative systems for the three state entities that would likely play a significant role in a potential road user charging effort if pursued in Texas. These entities are (1) the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts; (2) the Texas Department of Public Safety; and (3) the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The introduction highlighted several conclusions that might be informative for Texas based on previous and ongoing assessments/implementations of the road user charging concept. The section, Texas Institutional Assessment, presents an overview of the three state agencies in terms of (1) institutional framework governing each agency; (2) state statutes, ordinances, executive orders, or administrative regulation pertinent to each agency; (3) relevant transportation-related taxes and fees that each state agency collected; (4) current agency processes for collecting such taxes and fees; and (5) payment and filing processes and methods that the agency uses. The final section of the report presents the evaluation of conclusions drawn from other research, relative to the previous institutional assessment. This way, planners could identify opportunities for and barriers to implementation within Texas.