By: Morales Shaw H.B. No. 5154
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to design considerations of transportation projects by the
Texas Department of Transportation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 201.615, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) The department shall consider, in accordance with the
NEPA requirements for studying design alternatives, the following
factors when developing transportation projects that involve the
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or resurfacing of a
highway, other than a maintenance resurfacing project:
(1) the extent to which the project promotes safety;
(2) the durability of the project;
(3) the economy of maintenance of the project;
(4) the impact of the project on:
(A) the natural and artificial environment;
(B) the scenic and aesthetic character of the
area in which the project is located;
(C) preservation efforts; and
(D) each affected local community and its
economy;
(5) the access for other modes of transportation,
including those that promote physically active communities; [and]
(6) except as provided by Subsection (c), the
aesthetic character of the project, including input from each
affected local community;
(7) except as provided by Subsection (d), an
alternative design for the project that has been approved by a vote
of the governing body of a municipality or county that represents an
affected local community; and
(8) the negative impacts to an affected local
community from previous transportation projects.
(d) Subsection (a)(7) does not apply to a transportation
project if the department finds that an alternative design for a
transportation project approved by the governing body of a
municipality or county is frivolous, unreasonable, or intended to
delay a transportation project.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.