Proposition B Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: How much money does H-GAC allocate?
A: Over $2 billion in transportation, road, and infrastructure funding and $400 million in workforce development and childcare voucher money. The H-GAC also processes someone-time federal allocations to the region, such as the $488 million in flood control money last year (of which Houston and Harris County got 1.8%).
Q: Where does the funding H-GAC distributes come from?
A: The MPO approves infrastructure projects to receive federal formula funding from the US Department of Transportation. The COG facilitates the distribution of funding from other federal departments.
Full H-GAC budget breakdown is publically available at www.h-gac.com/financial-information.
Q: Does a change to the Houston charter affect other parts of the region as well?
A: Yes. A proportional voting system will help every area that is currently underrepresented, including Houston, Harris County, Fort Bend County, and Montgomery County. The reason the charter amendment is focused on the City of Houston is that, as the largest city in the region, Houston has leverage under federal law that other members lack.
Q: What’s the difference between a Council of Government (COG) and a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)?
A: The H-GAC’s spending decisions are made by two voting bodies: the Council of Government (COG), which represents thirteen counties in the greater Houston region, and the Transportation Policy Council (TPC), which serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the eight-county Houston Urban Area.
The Council of Government is a voluntary regional body established by agreement between local governments. Representatives are chosen by each member or, in the case of shared seats, by a vote among the members represented. The Council of Government applies for and distributes federal money for non-transportation-related projects, serves as the contractor for the Texas Workforce Commission to administer about $400 million/year in workforce development funding, and governance of H-GAC (e.g., staffing, structure, day-to-day operations).
The Metropolitan Planning Organization is a mandatory regional body established by agreement between local governments in compliance with federal regulations. Representatives are chosen by each member or, in the case of shared seats, are appointed by either the H-GAC board of directors or the TPC. The Metropolitan Planning Organization is responsible for about $2 billion/year in formula funding from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), produces the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is a list of infrastructure projects that are eligible to receive federal funding, develops funding criteria and scores projects submitted by TPC members, and planning and data analysis for transportation projects (e.g., population growth estimates, community outreach, and long-term goal-setting).
Q: What are examples of proportionality in other cities?
A: The charter amendment language gives a great deal of latitude to negotiate the specifics of what the new voting system will look like. While there are many possibilities, here are two examples of proportional voting systems in other regions that would satisfy the requirements of the amendment:
Seattle’s Puget Sound Regional Council uses a purely proportional system. Each member is assigned a weighted voting score based on a formula that reflects its percentage of population in the region. Incorporated cities split 50% of their weighted vote share with the counties in which they are located. Reaching quorum requires representation of the majority of the regional population and actions must garner 50% or more yes votes by weight to pass.The voting weights are evaluated every three years to account for population change and growth across the region.
Phoenix’s Maricopa Association of Governments operates on a two vote system similar to a bicameral legislature. Both the COG and the MPO share a voting body in which each participating local or county government gets a single vote. However, any government on the board can call for a second, weighted vote based on population. This structure ensures that approved actions have both the support of the majority of participating local governments and the support of representatives for a majority of the population in the region.
Q: What happens after Prop B passes?
A: If the charter amendment passes the first step will be negotiations at H-GAC to adjust by-laws to meet the population proportional voting requirement. All signs, including our conversations with leaders at H-GAC, point towards this being the most likely and final outcome. In the Houston Chronicle Endorsement of Proposition B, they delve into this frequently asked question, and they answer a few other burning questions. We recommend reading it.
The H-GAC’s members have the power to negotiate and pass updates to their bylaws–including voting systems–without the input of any other governing agencies. If they negotiate and make changes to the system that reflect population, then that will satisfy the requirements of the charter amendment. No further action will be necessary.
Federal law requires that all urban areas (as recognized by the census) have an MPO to distribute transportation funding. Federal law also requires that each MPO includes the largest incorporated city in the region, so Houston has significant leverage to negotiate a fairer deal.
If the members of H-GAC were unable to negotiate the new by-laws, Houston would pull out of the H-GAC. Under federal law, Houston’s withdrawal from H-GAC would trigger a redesignation of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Creating a new MPO would require the cooperation of both the largest incorporated city and governments representing at least 75% of the region. For example, Houston, Harris County, and Fort Bend County together would be enough.
If the MPO needed to be redesignated, federal law also stipulates that the old MPO would continue to function and distribute money during the redesignation process. Moreover, the majority of the money moving through the MPO and the Council of Governments (COG) is formula funding (allocated according to population or demographics). Legally, the money must be brought to the region. Currently funded projects would remain funded.
Q: Do we need the Governor’s approval?
If H-GAC updates its bylaws, the Governor plays no role in the process at all.
For the COG, the Governor designates the geographical regions and sub-regions that define service areas for COGs, but they do not need to validate a new COG. If participating local governments agree to it, that is all it takes. If redesignation were to be necessary for the MPO, it would have to be codified by the Governor. However, the Governor has limited power in the designation of an MPO. The Governor cannot force any municipality to participate in an MPO, and, additionally, all local governments have to agree that they will be in the MPO. An MPO cannot be formed or designated without the agreement of participating local governments, and any MPO must include the largest city in the region, which means Houston.