Sec. 366.302.  AGREEMENTS TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE TURNPIKE PROJECTS.  (a)  An authority may enter into an agreement with a public or private entity, including a toll road corporation, the United States, a state of the United States, the United Mexican States, a state of the United Mexican States, a local governmental entity, or another political subdivision, to permit the entity, jointly with the authority, to study the feasibility of a turnpike project or system or to acquire, design, finance, construct, maintain, repair, operate, extend, or expand a turnpike project or system.
(b)  An authority has broad discretion to negotiate provisions in a development agreement with a private entity.  The provisions may include provisions relating to:
(1)  the design, financing, construction, maintenance, and operation of a turnpike project or system in accordance with standards adopted by the authority;  and
(2)  professional and consulting services to be rendered under standards adopted by the authority in connection with a turnpike project or system.
(c)  An authority may not incur a financial obligation on behalf of, or otherwise guarantee the obligations of, a private entity that constructs, maintains, or operates a turnpike project or system.
(d)  An authority or a county in an authority is not liable for any financial or other obligation of a turnpike project solely because a private entity constructs, finances, or operates any part of a turnpike project or system.
(e)  An authority may authorize the investment of public and private money, including debt and equity participation, to finance a function described by this section.
(f)  If an authority enters into an agreement with a private entity that includes the collection by the private entity of tolls for the use of a turnpike project or system, the private entity shall submit to the authority for approval:
(1)  the methodology for:
(A)  the setting of tolls; and
(B)  increasing the amount of the tolls;
(2)  a plan outlining methods the entity will use to collect the tolls, including:
(A)  any charge to be imposed as a penalty for late payment of a toll; and
(B)  any charge to be imposed to recover the cost of collecting a delinquent toll; and
(3)  any proposed change in an approved methodology for the setting of a toll or a plan for collecting the toll.
(g)  An agreement with a private entity that includes the collection by the private entity of tolls for the use of a turnpike project or system may not be for a term longer than 50 years.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1171, Sec. 7.24, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by: 
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 281 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 2.67, eff. June 14, 2005.