84R23625 JAM-F
By: Simmons, Pickett, Burkett H.B. No. 20
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 20:
By: Martinez C.S.H.B. No. 20
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operations of and transportation planning and
expenditures by the Texas Department of Transportation and local
transportation entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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, 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
performing and operating;
(2) provide the department, legislature,
stakeholders, and public with information to support decisions in a
manner that is accessible and understandable to the public;
(3) assess the effectiveness and efficiency of
transportation projects and service; 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) environmental sustainability;
(6) system reliability;
(7) freight mobility;
(8) cost efficiency of the department's operations;
(9) project procurement, delivery, and final cost; and
(10) 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 periodic
reporting schedules for all performance metrics and measures
required under this section.
SECTION 2. 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) All local
transportation entities in the state shall develop, adopt, and
submit to the department guidelines governing the funding
prioritization of the entities' transportation projects.
(b) In developing guidelines under Subsection (a), a local
transportation entity shall at a minimum consider:
(1) the time frame over which various types of
projects are needed and developed;
(2) the readiness of projects considered for
short-term and long-term funding opportunities;
(3) the viability and sustainability of a project,
including whether the project is a comprehensive solution with a
measurable benefit;
(4) local criteria determined by each metropolitan
planning organization policy board that focus on local goals and
objectives unique to each area; and
(5) all criteria established by the commission for
prioritization of projects.
(c) 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 with
emphasis given to projects already approved in a regional
transportation plan.
(d) 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 statewide
transportation improvement plan under Section 201.601 in order to
provide financial assistance under this chapter.
(b) The department shall establish and the commission shall
approve a performance-based process for setting funding levels for
the categories of projects in the department's unified
transportation program.
(c) The department shall establish and the commission shall
approve a scoring system for prioritizing projects for which
financial assistance is sought from the commission by local
transportation entities. The criteria used to score projects must
take into consideration the department's strategic goals as
approved by the commission. The system must account for the diverse
needs of the state so as to fairly allocate funding to all regions
of the state.
(d) The commission may make discretionary funding decisions
for no more than 10 percent of the current biennial budget of the
department.
(e) In scoring 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 3. (a) In this section:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Transportation
Commission.
(2) "Department" means the Texas Department of
Transportation.
(b) Not later than the earlier of 30 days after the
effective date of this Act or September 1, 2015:
(1) the speaker of the house of representatives shall
appoint nine members to a House Select Committee on Transportation
Planning and designate one member as chair; and
(2) the lieutenant governor shall appoint nine members
to a Senate Select Committee on Transportation Planning and
designate one member as chair.
(c) The committees established under this section may meet
separately at the call of the chair of the committee or jointly at
the call of both chairs. In joint meetings, the chairs shall act as
joint chairs.
(d) The committees established under this section, meeting
separately or jointly, shall review, study, and evaluate:
(1) department projections regarding the revenue
needed by the department to maintain current maintenance,
congestion, and connectivity conditions;
(2) the development of funding categories, the
allocation of funding to such categories by formula, project
selection authority for each funding category, and the development
of project selection criteria for commission, department, and
district-selected projects;
(3) department rules and policies regarding the
development and implementation of performance-based scoring and
decision making for project prioritization and selection of
commission, department, and district-selected projects;
(4) the use and utilization of alternative methods of
financing that have been authorized by the legislature for
projects;
(5) performance metrics and measurement tools used by
the department to evaluate the performance of a department project
or program;
(6) the department's collaboration with state elected
officials, local governments, government trade associations,
metropolitan planning organizations, regional mobility
authorities, and other entities when adopting rules or formulating
policies; and
(7) any proposed rule, policy, program, or plan of the
commission or department of statewide significance.
(e) Following consideration of the factors described by
Subsection (d) of this section, the committees shall jointly adopt
recommendations related to the reviewed subjects and shall, not
later than November 1, 2016, provide to the legislature a written
report of the committees' recommendations on the reviewed subjects.
(f) The committees established under this section may
exercise any power of a committee of their respective chambers and
any powers of a joint committee. For the purposes of this section,
the committees established under this section are considered a
joint committee and the cost of operation of each committee may be
borne in the same manner as the cost of a joint committee. The Texas
Legislative Council may provide funding for the operations of the
committees. To the extent not inconsistent with this section, the
joint rules adopted by the 84th Legislature for the administration
of joint interim legislative study committees apply to the
committees established under this section.
(g) Not later than September 1, 2015, the department shall
submit an initial report to the select committees. The report shall
provide information necessary for the select committees to review,
study, and evaluate the factors described by Subsections (d)(1),
(2), and (3) of this section. Not later than November 1, 2015, the
department shall submit to the select committees a preliminary
report on the remaining factors described by Subsection (d) of this
section.
(h) The department shall submit reports to the select
committees on any other matters not included in Subsection (d) of
this section as requested by the committees.
(i) This section expires January 13, 2017.
SECTION 4. Section 201.117, Transportation Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. 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.