By: Lucio S.B. No. 1502 Line and page numbers may not match official copy. Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E. A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the planning, programming, and funding mechanisms of 1-3 the Texas Department of Transportation. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. DEFINITION. In this Act, "department" means the 1-6 Texas Department of Transportation. 1-7 SECTION 2. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING REGIONS. (a) The 1-8 department shall establish transportation planning regions based on 1-9 logical geographical boundaries and the prerogatives of local 1-10 interests. 1-11 (b) The number of planning regions and their geographical 1-12 boundaries should be established through a consensus-based process 1-13 that is led by the department but incorporates the needs and 1-14 interests of local governments. 1-15 (c) After the regions are defined, the department shall 1-16 assist local officials in establishing regional planning advisory 1-17 bodies and work in partnership with the planning advisory bodies to 1-18 select projects for the region. 1-19 SECTION 3. STATEWIDE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. A Statewide 1-20 Advisory Committee is created. The department shall work with the 1-21 committee and the regional planning advisory committees to 1-22 establish a 10-year "Statewide Mega-Project" transportation 1-23 program. 2-1 SECTION 4. CATEGORIZATION OF FUNDS. (a) The department 2-2 shall eliminate its current funding category structure, and combine 2-3 funds into two primary categories: 2-4 (1) mega-projects (40 percent of total construction 2-5 funding); and 2-6 (2) regional programs (60 percent of total 2-7 construction funding). 2-8 (b) The department shall abandon all non-mandatory funding 2-9 categories and manage its funding through two primary pools of 2-10 funding. The first must combine all of the current statewide 2-11 funding categories and focuses on mega-projects throughout this 2-12 state. The second must combine all of the district bank balance 2-13 programs into one fund that is allocated by formula and programmed 2-14 based on consensus decision by the engineering districts and the 2-15 appropriate regional planning advisory bodies. 2-16 SECTION 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF ALLOCATION FORMULA. (a) The 2-17 department and the Statewide Advisory Committee shall establish a 2-18 new allocation formula for overall construction funding. The 2-19 formula must include a minimum guarantee funding level for planning 2-20 regions equal to 90 percent of a region's estimated highway fund 2-21 contributions. The minimum guarantee level should apply to Regional 2-22 Program allocations on a annual basis, and mega-project funding 2-23 over the life of the program. 2-24 (b) The minimum-guarantee level should be established as a 2-25 percentage of each planning region's estimated highway revenue 2-26 contributions, using the department's calculated percentage 3-1 methodology or another formula developed with consensus of the 3-2 statewide advisory committee. 3-3 (c) This minimum guarantee level must apply to all 3-4 construction funds and not be limited to system preservation 3-5 funding, and be set at a level that returns most of the funds that 3-6 a region pays in, while allowing the agency the flexibility to 3-7 reallocate some funding if appropriate. 3-8 SECTION 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF FUNDING ALLOCATION. The 3-9 department shall implement the new funding allocation over the next 3-10 four years, and develop a plan, in consultation with the Statewide 3-11 Advisory Committee and regional planning advisory bodies, to avoid 3-12 disruption of existing project requirements. 3-13 SECTION 7. ANNUAL REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. The department 3-14 shall submit an annual report to the Legislature documenting the 3-15 status of the mega-projects program and the ability of district 3-16 offices and local governments to implement projects and achieve the 3-17 anticipated system performance improvements. 3-18 SECTION 8. PUBLIC ACCESS TO DEPARTMENT PROCESSES. (a) The 3-19 department shall make its highway construction project programming, 3-20 planning, and funding allocation processes more available to the 3-21 general public. The department shall publish information regarding 3-22 those processes on the department's Internet Web site. 3-23 (b) The Web site must include the funding categories and 3-24 formulae, projects by transportation district in the unified 3-25 transportation program (UTP) and in the statewide transportation 3-26 improvement program (STIP). Other transportation district project 4-1 and funding information must include project lettings by district, 4-2 project status (Priority 1 and Priority 2), construction project 4-3 status, ranking according to the cost effectiveness index (CEI), 4-4 the CEI index, and ranking according to disadvantaged county 4-5 status. 4-6 (d) The department's Internet Web site must also include: 4-7 (1) a glossary of terms and frequently asked 4-8 questions; and 4-9 (2) a Web page that provides project status and 4-10 funding information about this state's priority corridors and 4-11 transportation projects underway or planned for those corridors. 4-12 SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September 4-13 1, 2001.