Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HR709 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Coleman H.R. No. 709
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4	4	R E S O L U T I O N
5	5	WHEREAS, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
6	6	(Recovery Act) was enacted by the Congress and approved by the
7	7	President of the United States on February 17, 2009, to, among other
8	8	things, "preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery [;]
9	9	assist those most impacted by the recession[; and] invest in
10	10	transportation, environmental protection and other infrastructure
11	11	that will provide long-term economic benefits;" and
12	12	WHEREAS, the Recovery Act provides that its appropriated
13	13	funds shall be used to achieve the Act's purposes "as quickly as
14	14	possible consistent with prudent management;" and
15	15	WHEREAS, Texas is entitled to approximately $2.2 billion in
16	16	funds under the Recovery Act for transportation projects in this
17	17	State, out of which approximately $500 million will be directly
18	18	provided to local authorities; and
19	19	WHEREAS, the Recovery Act directs the State to consider and
20	20	prioritize designated criteria in approving transportation
21	21	construction projects in order to better achieve the overall goals
22	22	of the Act; and
23	23	WHEREAS, Texas has a backlog of transportation
24	24	infrastructure projects to ease the increasing highway congestion,
25	25	both in magnitude and geography, that the State has experienced for
26	26	the past three decades, with traffic delay in the State's urban
27	27	areas increasing more than 500 percent in the last two decades; and
28	28	WHEREAS, the Act allows the Texas Transportation Commission
29	29	(commission) and the Texas Department of Transportation
30	30	(department) 120 days from the date of the President's approval (or
31	31	not earlier than June 17, 2009) to obligate 50 percent of all money
32	32	provided under the Recovery Act to the State for transportation
33	33	projects; and
34	34	WHEREAS, the Act allows the commission and department 365
35	35	days from the date of the President's approval (or not earlier than
36	36	February 17, 2010) to obligate the remaining 50 percent of the money
37	37	provided under the Recovery Act to the State for transportation
38	38	projects; and
39	39	WHEREAS, the commission and the department have testified
40	40	before a committee of the House that the obligation process for the
41	41	first $500 million of the State's total $1.7 billion share of
42	42	Recovery Fund money for transportation was approved on February 26,
43	43	2009, for maintenance related projects, with no consideration of
44	44	the priorities listed in the Act, and without specific information
45	45	by project so that the Legislature and the public could evaluate how
46	46	the projects will maximize job creation and stimulate the Texas
47	47	economy toward achieving the goals of the Act; and
48	48	WHEREAS, the commission and the department have announced
49	49	their intent to begin the obligation process for the remaining $1.2
50	50	billion of the State's share of Recovery Act transportation funds
51	51	for new construction projects on March 5, 2009; and
52	52	WHEREAS, the commission and the department are unable to
53	53	provide the House with sufficient information on the criteria by
54	54	which projects, both maintenance and new construction, were
55	55	selected; and
56	56	WHEREAS, the commission and the department have not been able
57	57	to clearly articulate how each project will spur a growth in jobs,
58	58	how each project will make a meaningful investment in the long-term
59	59	development of the State's transportation infrastructure
60	60	development, or how each project was prioritized to meet the
61	61	requirements of the Recovery Act; and
62	62	WHEREAS, it is exceedingly clear that the commission and
63	63	department are making a rush to judgment in obligating Recovery Act
64	64	money without providing a rational basis for those actions,
65	65	obtaining the advice and input of Members of the Legislature, or
66	66	assuring transparency and accountability in their decision-making
67	67	process;
68	68	WHEREAS, it is the duty of the legislative branch to make all
69	69	necessary provisions for the public good;
70	70	WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to ensure that Recovery
71	71	Act money is used to further the Act's purposes; and
72	72	WHEREAS, the House serves this public interest by providing
73	73	unambiguous direction to the commission and the department before
74	74	the irrevocable obligation of Recovery Act funds; now, therefore,
75	75	be it
76	76	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
77	77	Legislature:
78	78	(1) urges that the Texas Transportation Commission, the
79	79	executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, and
80	80	all department employees take no steps to irrevocably obligate any
81	81	Recovery Act funds until the commission and the department can
82	82	articulate a rational basis for the priorities used to select the
83	83	projects for the initial $500 million funding by Recovery Act
84	84	funds.
85	85	(2) requests the commission and the department provide the
86	86	House with a complete explanation of the project selection criteria
87	87	and its practical application, including how the commission and the
88	88	department considered the purposes and criteria of the Recovery
89	89	Act, and specifically including the Act's provisions directing that
90	90	funding priority be given to certain projects, and the data
91	91	concerning which projects most maximize job creation and long-term
92	92	economic stimulus.
93	93	(3) insists that the commission and department act
94	94	prudently in obligating Recovery Act money and in discharging its
95	95	fiduciary responsibilities to the people of Texas with particular
96	96	attention to transparency and accountability in all aspects of the
97	97	selection of projects and the obligation and expenditure of
98	98	Recovery Act funds.
99	99	(4) calls on the commission and the department to allow time
100	100	for meaningful input from elected officials at all levels of State
101	101	government.
102	102	(5) asserts that nothing in this resolution shall be
103	103	construed to authorize the commission or the department to take any
104	104	immediate action obligating Recovery Act funds.