Texas. Department of Transportation

See the online finding aid for the agency history.

The Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA) (since 2005 the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority) supports statewide law enforcement through auto theft initiatives, education, and public awareness. The Authority was created in 1991 by the 72nd Texas Legislature (House Bill 640, Regular Session) and is composed of six members appointed by the governor, to serve staggered six-year terms. Two members represent law enforcement, two are consumer representatives, and two are insurance representatives. The executive director of the Texas Department of Public Safety is an ex-officio member. In December 1993, through interagency contract, the Authority was moved from the Governor's Office to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The move was formalized and clarified by legislation in 1995 (74th Legislature, House Bill 2845, Regular Session). The name of the Authority was changed in 2005 to the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) (Senate Bill 1874, 79th Legislature, Regular Session). The state funds and supports automobile theft investigative task forces and crime prevention programs through the authority. An initial mandated responsibility was to work with the Texas Department of Public Safety to develop a statewide automobile registration program to help decrease auto theft in Texas. This program became known as the H.E.A.T. (Help End Auto Theft) Sticker Program. Staff developed a sticker to affix to a vehicle that would give a peace officer the owner's permission to stop and inquire as the ownership of the vehicle between one and five a.m. Through theft prevention grants the Authority has funded local and regional law enforcement programs specializing in vehicle theft investigation, recovery, prevention and prosecution. The general grant fund was established by legislation, requiring collection of an one dollar annual premium on each vehicle insurance policy issued in Texas. Currently, 30 grant programs are funded, allowing over 150 law enforcement officers in Texas to focus exclusively on the resolution of vehicle theft cases. (Sources: Texas Department of Transportation website - http://www.txdot.gov/about_us/administration/offices/abtpa.htm, accessed May 13, 2009; the "Guide to State Agencies," 10th edition; and the records of the Authority.)

The Texas Department of Transportation, in cooperation with local and regional officials, is responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining the state's transportation system. This involves the planning, designing, and right-of-way acquisition of state highways and other modes of transportation, plus transportation research to save lives and money; highway and bridge construction, and airport improvements; the maintenance of roadways, bridges, airports, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and ferry systems; public transportation, vehicle titles and registration, vehicle dealer registration, motor carrier registration, traffic safety, traffic information, and auto theft prevention.

The Texas Highway Department was created in 1917 (House Bill 2, 35th Texas Legislature, Regular Session) to stimulate the building and improvement of roads throughout the state. The Federal Aid Road Act of July 11, 1916 (39 Stat. 355; 16 U.S.C. 503; 23 U.S.C. 15, 48), signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, initiated federal aid for highways with the requirement that each state receiving aid have a state highway department that controlled the building of roads. The Department was to administer federal funds to counties for state highway construction and maintenance and to provide for state motor vehicle registration, fees from which were to generate the state's required matching funds. The department began operation on June 4, 1917. After gathering information at public hearings over that summer the commission proposed an 8,865-mile state highway network. Further influence from the national level came with the Federal Highway Act of 1921, which required state highway departments to control the design, construction and maintenance of roads rather than Texas' practice of allowing counties to undertake the work themselves with oversight from department engineers.

In 1969, the Legislature created the Texas Mass Transportation Commission (House Bill 738, 61st Legislature, Regular Session) to develop public mass transportation in Texas. This agency was merged with the Highway Department in 1975, creating the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (Senate Bill 761, 64th Legislature, Regular Session). An executive order of May 1976 transferred the Governor's Office of Traffic Safety to the Department. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was created in 1991 (House Bill 9, 72nd Legislature, 1st Called Session), merging the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, the Texas Department of Aviation (created as the Texas Aeronautics Commission in 1945, name changed to Texas Board of Aviation in 1989); and the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission (created in 1971). In 1997 the Texas Turnpike Authority merged with the Texas Department of Transportation (Senate Bill 370, 75th Legislature, Regular Session).

The Texas Department of Transportation's governing body is the Texas Transportation Commission, originally composed of three members, increased to five in 2003 (Senate Bill 409, 78th Legislature, Regular Session). Commissioners are representatives of the general public appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate for overlapping six-year terms. Since 2003, one of the members must represent rural Texas. The positions are part-time salaried positions, and the chair (appointed by the governor) was originally called the commissioner of transportation; since 2003, each member is referred to as a commissioner.

The agency is headed by an executive director, who is assisted by a chief financial officer; a deputy executive director; four assistant executive directors overseeing district operations, engineering operations, innovation project development, and support operations; a special assistant for strategic policy and performance management; and the general counsel. The Internal Compliance Program Office reports directly to the deputy executive director and the Audit Office reports directly to the Transportation Commission. Additional offices include the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority Office, Office of Civil Rights, the International Relations Office, and Office of Research and Technology Implementation.

The agency has twenty-one divisions and twenty-five district offices. Divisions are Aviation, Bridge, Construction, Design, Environmental Affairs, Finance, General Services, Government and Public Affairs, Human Resources, Maintenance, Motor Carrier, Motor Vehicle, Occupational Safety, Public Transportation, Right of Way, Technology Services, Texas Turnpike Authority, Traffic Operations, Transportation Planning and Programming, Travel, and Vehicle Titles and Registration. Districts offices are located in Abilene, Amarillo, Atlanta, Austin, Beaumont, Brownwood, Bryan, Childress, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Lufkin, Odessa, Paris, Pharr, San Angelo, San Antonio, Tyler, Waco, Wichita Falls, and Yoakum. A district engineer manages each TxDOT district office. Each district oversees the design, location, construction and maintenance of its area's transportation systems. The Austin District covers the following counties: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Gillespie, Hays, Lee, Llano, Mason, Travis, and Williamson.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition (2001); General and Special Laws; An Informal History of the Texas Department of Transportation, Hilton Hagan, 2000; and agency's website, http://www.dot.state.tx.us/about_us/, accessed in January 2009.)

In 1991, the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority Board was created as part of the Office of the Governor (House Bill 640, 72nd Texas Legislature, Regular Session); its functions were transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation in 1993 by means of an interagency contract, formalized by statute in 1995 (House Bill 2845, 74th Texas Legislature, Regular Session). The Texas Turnpike Authority, created in 1953 (House Bill 4, 53rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session), also merged with the Texas Department of Transportation in 1997 (Senate Bill 370, 75th Texas Legislature, Regular Session).

Two additional programs were transferred to the Department of Transportation: Oil Overcharge programs (transferred in 1993 from the General Services Commission's State Energy Conservation Office); and trucking regulation (transferred in 1995 from the Texas Railroad Commission to the newly created Motor Carrier Division of the Department of Transportation). The bulk of the work of the Texas Department of Transportation is accomplished within 25 geographic districts, each managed by a district engineer.

The Texas Department of Transportation's governing body is the Texas Transportation Commission, originally composed of three-members, increased to five in 2003 (Senate Bill 409, 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session). Commissioners are representatives of the general public appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate for overlapping six-year terms. Since 2003, one of the members must represent rural Texas. The positions are part-time salaried positions, and the chair (appointed by the governor) was originally called the commissioner of transportation; since 2003, each member is referred to as a commissioner.

The six-member Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation operates independently of the Transportation Commission. The same is true of the Texas Turnpike Authority Board and the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority Board.

(Sources include: the Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition (2001); the article Texas Department of Transportation by John D. Huddleston in the Handbook of Texas Online; the enabling legislation (1991, 1995, 1997, 2003); the Texas Department of Transportation web site (http://www.dot.state.tx.us/), accessed January 2006.)

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), in cooperation with local and regional officials, is responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining the state's transportation system. This involves planning, designing, and acquiring right-of-way for state highways and other modes of transportation; researching issues to save lives and solve problems; constructing bridges and improving airports; and maintaining roadways, bridges, airports, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and ferry systems. Other functions carried out by TxDOT include public transportation, vehicle titles and registration, vehicle dealer registration, motor carrier registration, traffic safety, traffic information, and auto theft prevention.

The Texas Highway Department was created in 1917 (House Bill 2, 35th Texas Legislature, Regular Session) to stimulate the building and improvement of roads throughout the state. The Federal Aid Road Act of July 11, 1916 (39 Stat. 355; 16 U.S.C. 503; 23 U.S.C. 15, 48), signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, initiated federal aid for highways with the requirement that each state receiving aid have a state highway department that controlled the building of roads. The Department was to administer federal funds to counties for state highway construction and maintenance and to provide for state motor vehicle registration, fees from which were to generate the state's required matching funds. The department began operation on June 4, 1917. After gathering information at public hearings over that summer, the commission proposed an 8,865-mile state highway network. Further influence from the national level came with the Federal Highway Act of 1921, which required state highway departments to control the design, construction and maintenance of roads rather than follow Texas' practice of allowing counties to undertake the work themselves with oversight from department engineers.

In 1969 the Legislature created the Texas Mass Transportation Commission (House Bill 738, 61st Legislature, Regular Session) to develop public mass transportation in Texas. This agency was merged with the Highway Department in 1975, creating the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (Senate Bill 761, 64th Legislature, Regular Session). An executive order of May 1976 transferred the Governor's Office of Traffic Safety to the Department. The Texas Department of Transportation was created in 1991 (House Bill 9, 72nd Legislature, 1st Called Session), merging the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, the Texas Department of Aviation (created as the Texas Aeronautics Commission in 1945, name changed to Texas Board of Aviation in 1989); and the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission (created in 1971). In 1997 the Texas Turnpike Authority merged with the Texas Department of Transportation (Senate Bill 370, 75th Legislature, Regular Session).

The Texas Department of Transportation's governing body is the Texas Transportation Commission, originally composed of three members, increased to five in 2003 (Senate Bill 409, 78th Legislature, Regular Session). Commissioners are representatives of the general public appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate for overlapping six-year terms. Since 2003, one of the members must represent rural Texas. The positions are part-time salaried positions, and the chair (appointed by the governor) was originally called the commissioner of transportation; since 2003, each member is referred to as a commissioner.

The Design Division guides the development of construction projects, from preliminary engineering to the completion of plans, specifications and estimates for construction bidding. The division also manages federal funds and letting schedules, as well as oversees professional services contracts. The Construction Division provides general oversight of the letting, management and administration of highway construction contracts.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition (2001); An Informal History of the Texas Department of Transportation, by Hilton Hagan (2000) (previously available on the TxDOT website, the link has since been removed); and divisional information, found on the agency's website ( http://www.dot.state.tx.us/about_us/ ) accessed June 2008.)

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), in cooperation with local and regional officials, is responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining the state's transportation system. This involves planning, designing, and acquiring right-of-way for state highways and other modes of transportation; researching issues to save lives and solve problems; constructing bridges and improving airports; and maintaining roadways, bridges, airports, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and ferry systems. Other functions carried out by TxDOT include public transportation, vehicle titles and registration, vehicle dealer registration, motor carrier registration, traffic safety, traffic information, and auto theft prevention.

The Texas Highway Department was created in 1917 (House Bill 2, 35th Texas Legislature, Regular Session) to stimulate the building and improvement of roads throughout the state. The Federal Aid Road Act of July 11, 1916 (39 Stat. 355; 16 U.S.C. 503; 23 U.S.C. 15, 48), signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, initiated federal aid for highways with the requirement that each state receiving aid have a state highway department that controlled the building of roads. The Department was to administer federal funds to counties for state highway construction and maintenance and to provide for state motor vehicle registration, fees from which were to generate the state's required matching funds. The department began operation on June 4, 1917. After gathering information at public hearings over that summer, the commission proposed an 8,865-mile state highway network. Further influence from the national level came with the Federal Highway Act of 1921, which required state highway departments to control the design, construction and maintenance of roads rather than follow Texas' practice of allowing counties to undertake the work themselves with oversight from department engineers.

In 1969 the Legislature created the Texas Mass Transportation Commission (House Bill 738, 61st Legislature, Regular Session) to develop public mass transportation in Texas. This agency was merged with the Highway Department in 1975, creating the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (Senate Bill 761, 64th Legislature, Regular Session). An executive order of May 1976 transferred the Governor's Office of Traffic Safety to the Department. The Texas Department of Transportation was created in 1991 (House Bill 9, 72nd Legislature, 1st Called Session), merging the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, the Texas Department of Aviation (created as the Texas Aeronautics Commission in 1945, name changed to Texas Board of Aviation in 1989); and the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission (created in 1971). In 1997 the Texas Turnpike Authority merged with the Texas Department of Transportation (Senate Bill 370, 75th Legislature, Regular Session).

The Texas Department of Transportation's governing body is the Texas Transportation Commission, originally composed of three members, increased to five in 2003 (Senate Bill 409, 78th Legislature, Regular Session). Commissioners are representatives of the general public appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate for overlapping six-year terms. Since 2003, one of the members must represent rural Texas. The positions are part-time salaried positions, and the chair (appointed by the governor) was originally called the commissioner of transportation; since 2003, each member is referred to as a commissioner.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition (2001); An Informal History of the Texas Department of Transportation, by Hilton Hagan (2000) (previously available on the TxDOT website, the link has since been removed); and divisional information, found on the agency's website ( http://www.dot.state.tx.us/about_us/ ) accessed March 2009.)

Robert L. Nichols was born in 1944 and was raised in Jacksonville, Texas. He received a degree in Industrial Engineering from Lamar University in 1968. He was a successful small businessman and served for a time as the Mayor of Jacksonville, streamlining government and cutting property taxes during his tenure. Governor George Bush appointed Nichols to the Texas Transportation Commission in 1997. He was reappointed in 2003 by Governor Rick Perry and served until June 30, 2005, when he resigned to run for the Texas Senate. In his resignation letter, Nichols listed accomplishments of the Commission during his tenure: tripling the number of roadway construction projects built each year without raising taxes, establishing regional mobility authorities, accelerating the reconstruction of deteriorating bridges, establishing and accelerating the construction of corridors throughout the state on the Texas Trunk System, passing rail legislation, signing working agreements with major railroads for the relocation and preservation of rail corridors, and beginning the implementation of the Trans Texas Corridor. Robert Nichols began serving as state senator for District Three in 2007. He also serves on several local boards, including Lon Morris College, the East Texas Medical Center, and the Nan Travis Hospital Foundation.

(Sources: Texas Senate website article on Senator Nichols (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist3/dist3.htm), accessed March 2009; Senator Nichols personal website (http://nicholsforsenate.com/about/), accessed March 2009; and the correspondence files in his records.)

The Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation is charged with the licensing and regulation of motor vehicle dealers, manufacturers, converters, lessors, and lease facilitators; with the enforcement of the law regulating motor vehicle dealer sales practices (regarding manufacturers' warranties and fraud, unfair practices, discrimination, impositions, and other abuses); and with the investigation of consumer complaints under the lemon law of 1983, protecting consumers purchasing new motor vehicles with defects that cannot be properly repaired.

The Texas Motor Vehicle Commission was created in 1971 (Senate Bill 140, 62nd Texas Legislature, Regular Session), to establish the qualifications of manufacturers and dealers of new and used motor vehicles, and to insure that their distribution and sale was conducted in compliance with the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission Code and subsequent regulations. Originally the commission was composed of six members, four of whom were motor vehicle dealers, with the other two representing the public. The number of commissioners was increased to nine in 1979 (House Bill 225, 66th Texas Legislature, Regular Session), of whom five were to be dealers and four represented the public. In 1987 (House Bill 1531, 70th Texas Legislature, Regular Session), the commission was decreased again to six members, all of whom were to be public members with no interests in businesses that manufacture, distribute, convert, or sell motor vehicles. All members have been (and still are) appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for overlapping six-year terms.

The Texas Department of Transportation was created in 1991 (House Bill 9, 72nd Texas Legislature, 1st Called Session), merging the following agencies: the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation; the Texas Department of Aviation; and (effective September 1, 1992) the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission. The Motor Vehicle Division of the Texas Department of Transportation took over the functions of the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission, and is governed by the Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation, which operates independently of the Transportation Commission; as the enabling legislation explains, in carrying out its policy-making and regulatory powers and duties under this chapter, the board is an independent entity within the department and is not an advisory body to the department. In addition to rulemaking powers, the board is given, but is not limited to, the powers to: initiate and conduct proceedings, investigations, or hearings; receive evidence and pleadings; issue subpoenas; issue, suspend, or revoke licenses; issue cease and desist orders in the nature of temporary or permanent injunctions; impose civil penalties; etc.

The six-member Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation was increased to nine in 1997 (House Bill 1595, 75th Texas Legislature, Regular Session), composed of two dealers licensed under the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 2301 (Sale or Lease of Motor Vehicles), at least one of whom is a franchised dealer; one representative of a manufacturer or distributor licensed under this chapter; and six public members.

(Note: the functions of the Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation should not be confused with the functions of the Motor Carrier Division of the Texas Department of Transportation, which registers motor carriers (including tow trucks and household goods carriers), issues oversize/overweight load permits and temporary registrations, and is also responsible for motor carrier insurance filings, vehicle storage facilities licensing and interstate movement authority. Part of these functions were carried out by the Railroad Commission of Texas until 1995. Nor should this division be confused with the Vehicle Titles and Registration Division of the Texas Department of Transportation, which handles motor vehicle registration and transfers of titles in Texas.)

(Sources include: the Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition (2001); the article Texas Motor Vehicle Commission by Richard Allen Burns in the Handbook of Texas Online; the enabling legislation (1971, 1979, 1987, 1991, 1997, 2005); the Texas Occupations Code, § 2301.051; and the Motor Vehicle Division portion of the Texas Department of Transportation web site (http://www.dot.state.tx.us/mvd/), accessed February 2006.)

The Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA) (since 2005 the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority) supports statewide law enforcement through auto theft initiatives, education, and public awareness. The Authority was created in 1991 by the 72nd Texas Legislature (House Bill 640, Regular Session) and is composed of six members appointed by the governor, to serve staggered six-year terms. Two members represent law enforcement, two are consumer representatives, and two are insurance representatives. The executive director of the Texas Department of Public Safety is an ex-officio member. In December 1993, through interagency contract, the Authority was moved from the Governor's Office to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The move was formalized and clarified by legislation in 1995 (74th Legislature, House Bill 2845, Regular Session). The name of the Authority was changed in 2005 to the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) (Senate Bill 1874, 79th Legislature, Regular Session).

The state funds and supports automobile theft investigative task forces and crime prevention programs through the authority. An initial mandated responsibility was to work with the Texas Department of Public Safety to develop a statewide automobile registration program to help decrease auto theft in Texas. This program became known as the H.E.A.T. (Help End Auto Theft) Sticker Program. Staff developed a sticker to affix to a vehicle that would give a peace officer the owner's permission to stop and inquire as the ownership of the vehicle between one and five a.m. Through theft prevention grants the Authority has funded local and regional law enforcement programs specializing in vehicle theft investigation, recovery, prevention and prosecution. The general grant fund was established by legislation, requiring collection of an one dollar annual premium on each vehicle insurance policy issued in Texas. Currently, 30 grant programs are funded, allowing over 150 law enforcement officers in Texas to focus exclusively on the resolution of vehicle theft cases.

(Sources: Texas Department of Transportation website - http://www.txdot.gov/about_us/administration/offices/abtpa.htm , accessed May 13, 2009; the Guide to State Agencies, 10th edition; and the records of the Authority.)

See online finding aid for agency history.

Robert L. Nichols was born in 1944 and was raised in Jacksonville, Texas. He received a degree in Industrial Engineering from Lamar University in 1968. He was a successful small businessman and served for a time as the Mayor of Jacksonville, streamlining government and cutting property taxes during his tenure. Governor George Bush appointed Nichols to the Texas Transportation Commission in 1997. He was reappointed in 2003 by Governor Rick Perry and served until June 30, 2005, when he resigned to run for the Texas Senate. In his resignation letter, Nichols listed accomplishments of the Commission during his tenure: tripling the number of roadway construction projects built each year without raising taxes, establishing regional mobility authorities, accelerating the reconstruction of deteriorating bridges, establishing and accelerating the construction of corridors throughout the state on the Texas Trunk System, passing rail legislation, signing working agreements with major railroads for the relocation and preservation of rail corridors, and beginning the implementation of the Trans Texas Corridor. Robert Nichols began serving as state senator for District Three in 2007. He also serves on several local boards, including Lon Morris College, the East Texas Medical Center, and the Nan Travis Hospital Foundation.