Texas bill could shift toll funds from Harris County to Houston, leaders push back

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The fight over how to spend the money you pay on tolls went from Houston to Austin on Thursday.

Mayor John Whitmire started the day by sending off hundreds of retiring Houston employees before rushing out the door.

"I'm going to Austin to clear up any misinformation," Whitmire explained.

The confusion, he said, is tied to a state toll road bill. The legislation would divert $80 million in toll road money from the county to the city.

Whitmire went to Austin to meet with House leaders. ABC13 learned county leaders were also in Austin to meet with lawmakers to discuss this bill.

This week, County Commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia released a letter to the mayor. They say the city introduced the legislation, and they'd like to meet with the mayor.

"It's nonsense to run a campaign against me or the city when I'm not the issue," Whitmire said.

The bill comes at a time when the city faces a more than $300 million deficit.

"It has nothing to do with our budget," Whitmire said. "We're going to roll out a balanced budget next week that anticipates no money from the toll road."

The mayor says the city, along with police and fire, is responsible for your safety on those toll roads. HFD data shows it responded to more than 8,200 calls on the toll road over the last few years.

During that same period, HFD responded to more than a million calls. The toll road-related calls account for less than one percent of what HFD handled.

The county believes it may be even less. The toll authority did a records request for data from the fire marshal and the Texas Department of Insurance.

It found fewer than 500 HFD calls last year were related to toll roads. However, city officials said the data the county obtained is incomplete.

County officials said they already spend millions on public safety for the toll roads. The Harris County Toll Road Authority budgets $40 million for safety.

They also said the majority of calls are worked by constable offices. Over the last few years, they said those departments handled more than 300,000 calls.

The current fire department budget is about $630 million. If $80 million comes from toll road money, that would account for nearly 15 percent of the budget.

Keep in mind, HFD data shows less than one percent of calls are related to toll roads.

"I have no idea of the outcome," Whitmire said. "I don't have time to run the legislature. Our Harris delegation, my friends at commissioners court, and I look forward to working with them for years."

It's unclear how Thursday's meeting went in Austin. ABC13 knows that if the House passes the bill that came out of the Senate, it would head to the governor's desk.

For updates on this story, follow Nick Natario on Facebook, X and Instagram.