82R2725 VOO-D
By: Cook H.B. No. 3755
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to management of certain metropolitan rapid transit
authorities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 451, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter C-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C-1. ADDITIONAL MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN
AUTHORITIES
Sec. 451.131. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to an authority confirmed before July 1, 1985, in which the
principal municipality has a population of less than 850,000.
Sec. 451.132. BUDGET. (a) The board shall include in the
budget adopted under Section 451.102:
(1) operating expenses and capital expenditures; and
(2) amounts budgeted and sources of funding for each
major department of the authority.
(b) Before adoption of a budget the board shall consider
detailed information from each major department of the authority on
capital improvement projects proposed for the applicable fiscal
year and budget needs for those projects. The considered
information must include:
(1) project purposes;
(2) project benefits;
(3) project funding sources;
(4) project implementation costs; and
(5) any operational costs resulting from a project.
Sec. 451.133. FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN. (a) The
board shall adopt a five-year plan for capital improvement projects
that supports the strategic goals outlined in Section 451.137 and
that:
(1) describes planned projects, including type and
scope;
(2) prioritizes the projects;
(3) addresses proposed project financing, including
any effect a project may have on ongoing operational costs;
(4) identifies sources of funding for projects,
including local and federal funds; and
(5) establishes policies for projects, including
policies on:
(A) planning;
(B) approval;
(C) cost estimation;
(D) project reports; and
(E) expense tracking.
(b) The board shall hold a public meeting on a proposed
capital improvement plan before adopting the plan and must make the
proposed plan available to the public for review and comment.
(c) The board shall annually reevaluate and, if necessary,
amend the capital improvement plan to ensure compliance with this
section.
(d) The capital improvement plan should, as appropriate,
align with the long-range transportation plan of the metropolitan
planning organization that serves the area of the authority.
Sec. 451.134. OPERATING EXPENSES AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURES.
(a) An authority may not spend for capital improvements money in
excess of the total amount allocated for major capital expenditures
in the annual budget.
(b) The board shall adopt rules requiring each major
department of the authority to report quarterly on operating
expenses and capital expenditures of the department. A report must
include status information on:
(1) any completions of capital improvement projects;
(2) work completed on capital improvement projects in
relation to money spent on those projects; and
(3) problems or concerns regarding contract
management for capital improvement projects.
(c) The board shall establish a system for tracking the
progress of the authority's capital improvement projects,
including:
(1) baseline budgets;
(2) contract awards;
(3) contract changes; and
(4) expenditures to date.
Sec. 451.135. OPERATING RESERVE ACCOUNT. (a) The board
shall establish, in an account separate from other funds, a reserve
account in an amount that is not less than an amount equal to
budgeted operating expenses for two months.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the board must
maintain in the reserve account a balance that is not less than the
amount in the account at the beginning of the fiscal year.
(c) The board may make an expenditure from the reserve
account that causes the balance in the account to be less than the
amount required under Subsection (b) only if the board considers
the expense necessary to address emergency circumstances that could
not have been planned for or anticipated. The board shall adopt
criteria for emergency expenditures under this subsection.
(d) If reserve funds are spent under Subsection (c), the
board shall, as soon as practicable, restore the balance of the
reserve account to at least the amount in the account at the
beginning of the fiscal year in which the emergency spending
occurred.
(e) The board shall maintain, update, and post on the
authority's Internet website accounting records of the reserve
account's:
(1) balance at the end of the fiscal year;
(2) deposits;
(3) expenditures; and
(4) interest income.
Sec. 451.136. GENERAL MANAGER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION. (a)
The board shall adopt a policy of regular evaluation of the general
manager's performance. In accordance with Section 551.074,
Government Code, the board may discuss an evaluation of the general
manager's performance in a closed meeting.
(b) The board shall adopt a policy regarding discussion of
general manager compensation at public meetings. The board must
vote on proposed changes in the general manager's compensation,
including raises and bonuses, in a public meeting.
Sec. 451.137. FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. (a) The board
shall adopt a strategic five-year plan that establishes the
authority's mission and goals and summarizes planned activities to
achieve the mission and goals.
(b) The plan must set policies and service priorities to
guide the authority in developing a budget and allocating
resources.
(c) The plan should, as appropriate, align with the
long-range transportation plan of the metropolitan planning
organization that serves the area of the authority.
(d) The board shall annually reevaluate and, if necessary,
amend the plan to ensure compliance with this section.
Sec. 451.138. RAIL DIRECTOR. (a) The board shall employ a
rail director to oversee and be accountable for all rail system
development, operations, maintenance, and safety. The rail
director shall:
(1) oversee all personnel and contractors responsible
for operating and maintaining commuter rail and freight rail
systems and equipment;
(2) oversee rail safety activities, including testing
to ensure a safe and effective signal system and operations and
control center;
(3) develop a plan that specifies a division of rail
system responsibilities between rail capital improvement project
activities and rail maintenance activities and that ensures the
safety of railroad bridges;
(4) ensure compliance with any applicable federal,
state, and local rail safety regulations or requirements;
(5) coordinate with the authority's engineering and
construction department or equivalent department to design and
construct any new rail projects; and
(6) report to the general manager and board on the rail
system's safety, performance, and financial status.
(b) The rail director may stop rail operations at any time
if the rail director believes the stop is necessary to protect
public safety.
Sec. 451.139. RAIL SAFETY PLAN AND REPORTS. (a) The board
shall adopt and implement a rail safety plan in accordance with
federal and industry standards for all authority rail activities,
including commuter and freight rail activities.
(b) The plan must address and emphasize ongoing maintenance
and safety of the authority's railroad bridges.
(c) To ensure that contractor services on the authority's
rail system meet safety obligations, the plan must include
specifics regarding monitoring of contractors for safety-related
performance, including regular:
(1) hazard analyses;
(2) risk assessments; and
(3) safety audits.
(d) The rail director shall report quarterly to the board on
the safety of the authority's rail system. The authority shall
report quarterly to the Texas Department of Transportation on the
safety of the authority's rail system and shall report on any aspect
of the safety of the rail system on request from that department.
Sec. 451.140. COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR AND PURCHASE OF TRANSIT
SERVICES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), after
providing notice of a proposal, a board must submit to competitive
bids a contract for and must purchase transit services that:
(1) include:
(A) administration of motor bus or sedan transit
services;
(B) motor bus or sedan driving, maintenance, or
repair;
(C) transit services for persons who have
disabilities, including through a program established under
Section 451.254; or
(D) rail transit services; and
(2) are not provided wholly by an employee of the
authority who is directly paid by the authority and works under the
daily supervision of the authority's general manager.
(b) For the purposes of Subsection (a)(2), services are not
provided wholly by an employee of the authority if the person is an
employee of an entity incorporated as a state nonprofit by the board
of the authority and with which the authority contracts for transit
or employee services.
(c) Notice under Subsection (a) must be published in a
newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the authority
is located at least once each week for two consecutive weeks before
the date set for receiving the bids. The first notice must be
published at least 15 days before the date set for receiving bids.
(d) A contract let under this section must include:
(1) performance control measures;
(2) incentives for performance;
(3) penalties for noncompliance; and
(4) a contract termination date.
(e) The board shall adopt rules on:
(1) the taking of bids;
(2) the awarding of contracts; and
(3) the waiver of the competitive bidding requirement
if there is:
(A) an emergency; or
(B) only one source for the service or purchase.
(f) Subsection (a) does not apply to a contract or purchase:
(1) in an amount of $25,000 or less;
(2) for personal or professional services; or
(3) for the acquisition of an existing transit system.
Sec. 451.141. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT POLICY. (a) The board
shall adopt a policy of involving the public in board decisions
regarding authority policies. The policy must:
(1) ensure that the public has an opportunity to
comment on board matters before a vote on the matters;
(2) ensure that any consent agenda or expedition of
consideration of board matters at board meetings is used only for
routine, noncontroversial matters;
(3) establish a time frame and mechanism for the board
to obtain public input throughout the year, including input on:
(A) strategic planning;
(B) budgeting;
(C) capital improvement project planning;
(D) transit initiatives; and
(E) service changes; and
(4) plan for dissemination of information on how the
public can be involved in board matters.
(b) The board shall post the policy adopted under this
section on the authority's Internet website.
SECTION 2. Sections 451.132 and 451.134(a), Transportation
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a budget adopted on or
after September 1, 2012.
SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2014, a metropolitan
rapid transit authority required to establish a reserve account
under Section 451.135, Transportation Code, as added by this Act,
shall establish the account.
SECTION 4. Not later than September 30, 2012, a
metropolitan rapid transit authority required by Sections 451.133,
451.134(c), 451.136, 451.137, 451.139, and 451.141, Transportation
Code, as added by this Act, to establish a five-year capital
improvement plan, a capital improvement projects tracking system,
general manager policies, a five-year strategic plan, a rail safety
plan, and a public involvement policy, respectively, shall develop
the plans, policies, and system.
SECTION 5. Not later than September 1, 2012, individuals
providing for a metropolitan rapid transit authority transit
services described by Section 451.140, Transportation Code, as
added by this Act, must be providing those services as employees of
the authority or under a contract or agreement that complies with
the competitive bidding and purchase requirements of that section.
SECTION 6. Not later than September 30, 2012, a
metropolitan rapid transit authority required to hire a rail
director under Section 451.138, Transportation Code, as added by
this Act, shall hire that director.
SECTION 7. Not later than September 30, 2012, a
metropolitan rapid transit authority required to adopt rules under
Section 451.134(b), Transportation Code, as added by this Act,
shall adopt those rules.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.