By: Pickett H.B. No. 13
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the funding and operations of the Texas Department of
Transportation and local transportation entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 201.943(a) and (l), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsections (e), (f), [and] (g), and (l), the
commission by order or resolution may issue obligations in the name
and on behalf of the state and the department and may enter into
credit agreements related to the obligations. The obligations may
be issued in multiple series and issues from time to time in an
aggregate amount not exceeding the maximum obligation amount. The
obligations may be issued on and may have the terms and provisions
the commission determines appropriate and in the interests of the
state. The obligations may be issued as long-term obligations,
short-term obligations, or both. The latest scheduled maturity of
an issue or series of obligations may not exceed 30 years.
(l) Obligations may not be issued under this section or
Section 49-k, Article III, Texas Constitution, after August 31,
2015 [if the commission or the department requires that toll roads
be included in a regional mobility plan in order for a local
authority to receive an allocation from the fund]. This subsection
expires August 31, 2017.
SECTION 2. Section 222.003, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (l) and (m) to read as follows:
(l
) Bonds or other public securities may not be issued under
this section or Section 49-n, Article III, Texas Constitution, as
proposed by H.J.R. 28, 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003,
after August 31, 2015. This subsection expires August 31, 2017.
(m) The commission may use any constitutionally allowable
source of funding to supplant funding previously obligated under
this section or Section 49-n, Article III, Texas Constitution, as
proposed by H.J.R. 28, 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003.
This subsection expires August 31, 2017.
SECTION 3. Section 222.004, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (j) and (k) to read as follows:
(j) Bonds may not be issued under this section or Section
49-p, Article III, Texas Constitution, after August 31, 2015. This
subsection expires August 31, 2017.
(k) The commission may use any constitutionally allowable
source of funding to supplant funding previously obligated under
this section or Section 49-p, Article III, Texas Constitution. This
subsection expires August 1, 2017.
SECTION 4. Section 201.809, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (e) through (j) to read as follows:
(e) The department shall develop and implement, and the
commission shall approve, a performance-based planning and
programming process dedicated to providing the executive and
legislative branches of government with indicators that quantify
and qualify progress toward attaining all department goals and
objectives established by the legislature and the commission.
(f) The department shall develop and implement performance
metrics and performance measures as part of:
(1) the review of strategic planning in the statewide
transportation plan, metropolitan transportation plans, rural
transportation plans, and unified transportation program;
(2) the evaluation of decision-making on projects
selected for funding in the unified transportation program and
statewide transportation improvement program; and
(3) the evaluation of project delivery for projects in
the department's letting schedule.
(g) The department shall use and the commission shall review
performance metrics and measures to:
(1) assess how well the transportation system is
operating;
(2) provide the department, legislature,
stakeholders, and public with information to support decisions;
(3) assess the effectiveness and efficiency of
transportation projects and service delivery; and
(4) demonstrate transparency and accountability.
(h) The department shall develop and implement, and the
commission shall approve, specific performance metrics and
measures for sustainable objectives, including:
(1) congestion reduction;
(2) safety enhancements;
(3) expansion of economic opportunity;
(4) preservation of the value of existing
transportation assets;
(5) cost efficiency of the department's operations;
(6) project procurement, delivery, and final cost; and
(7) enhancements in public participation in the
infrastructure planning process.
(i) The requirement for the department to develop and
implement a performance-based planning and programming process
does not replace or alter the requirement of the department to
comply with the budgetary performance measures for each biennium as
established in the General Appropriations Act. The department may
not rely on its requirement to report budgetary performance
measures as satisfying the requirements imposed under this section.
(j) The department shall develop and implement monthly and
annual reporting schedules for all performance metrics and measures
required under this section.
SECTION 5. Subchapter P, Chapter 201, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 201.999 and 201.9991 to read as
follows:
Sec. 201.999. PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS BY LOCAL
TRANSPORTATION ENTITIES AND DEPARTMENT DISTRICTS. (a) The
department shall work with all local transportation entities in the
state to develop and adopt uniform guidelines governing the funding
prioritization of the entities' transportation projects.
(b) The department shall recommend to the commission
uniform guidelines to be adopted under Subsection (a) and
implemented by all local transportation entities and department
districts.
(c) In making recommendations under Subsection (b), the
department shall consider:
(1) the time frame in which a project is needed;
(2) the feasibility of a project, including the
availability of rights-of-way, funding support, and the ability to
plan, design, and construct the project in a reasonable period of
time;
(3) the viability of a project, including whether the
project is a comprehensive solution with a measurable outcome; and
(4) all criteria established by the commission for
prioritization of projects.
(d) In prioritizing projects, each local transportation
entity and department district shall include projects that meet
short-term and long-term needs of the entity's jurisdiction.
(e) The commission shall by rule adopt uniform standards
established under this section.
(f) Using the uniform standards established under this
section, each local transportation entity and department district
shall submit to the department the funding prioritization for
transportation projects in the entity's jurisdiction.
Sec. 201.9991. PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS BY DEPARTMENT AND
APPROVED BY COMMISSION. (a) The department shall prioritize and the
commission shall approve projects included in the unified
transportation program in order to provide financial assistance
under this chapter.
(b) The department shall establish and the commission shall
approve an overall performance-based process for setting category
funding levels in the department's unified transportation program.
The department shall consider a zero-based budget approach to
address safety, maintenance, congestion, connectivity, economic
development, and other needs.
(c) The department shall establish and the commission shall
approve a point system for prioritization of projects for which
financial assistance is sought from the commission. The project
evaluation criteria must take into consideration the department's
strategic goals as approved by the commission. The system must
include a standard for the department to apply in determining how to
take into account the diverse needs of the state so as to fairly
allocate funding to all regions of the state.
(d) The department may not recommend and the commission may
not approve a deviation from the department's selection of projects
for funding of more than 10 percent of the current biennial budget
of the department.
(e) In awarding points to projects, the department shall
give priority to projects that:
(1) address safety, maintenance, congestion
mitigation, and connectivity;
(2) provide assistance to urban and rural populations;
(3) provide regional balance;
(4) meet a high percentage of the infrastructure needs
of a community;
(5) have available funding;
(6) are able to begin without significant delay; and
(7) include public participation in the planning
process and public support for the project.
(f) In addition to criteria under Subsection (e), in
prioritizing projects the department shall consider:
(1) the local contribution to be made to construct the
project;
(2) the financial capacity of the entity responsible
for the project to repay the obligation if the assistance is in the
form of a loan;
(3) the ability to timely leverage state financial
support with local and federal funding;
(4) whether there is an emergency need for the
project;
(5) whether all preliminary planning and design work
associated with the project necessary to reasonably predict cost,
construction period, and benefits of the project have been
completed;
(6) whether all rights-of-way and easements necessary
to begin construction have been acquired or approved;
(7) the start date for and certainty of the beginning
of project construction;
(8) the demonstrated or projected impact on the
community; and
(9) the priority given the project by the applicable
local transportation entity under Section 201.999.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.