80R9102 MTB-D
 
  By: Harper-Brown H.B. No. 3479
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration of, procedures related to, and other
reform measures for the Texas Department of Transportation.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  TOLL REVENUE PROJECTION. The Department of
Transportation may not make projections, using department
personnel, of revenue to be generated by a toll road project. Those
projections may be made only under an interagency contract between
the department and the comptroller of public accounts under which
the comptroller:
             (1)  makes the projections for the department; and
             (2)  projects the toll revenue for each geographic
region of a toll road segment before the department signs an
agreement with a developer to operate, lease, or finance that
segment.
       SECTION 2. AUDIT OF TOLL ROAD FINANCIAL STATEMENT. The
state auditor shall audit each annual financial statement prepared
for a toll road segment or a combination of segments.
       SECTION 3.  COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT APPROVAL.  
The Department of Transportation may not enter a comprehensive
development agreement with a term of more than four years or
requiring a total expenditure of more than $250 million unless the
department submits the proposed agreement to the attorney general
and obtains the attorney general's approval of the contract.
       SECTION 4.  POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR MONITORING
COMPLIANCE WITH CONTRACT PROVISIONS.  The Department of
Transportation may not make a payment on a project contract with a
private entity unless the department has developed and implemented
policies and procedures for monitoring the private entity to ensure
timely and complete compliance with contract provisions by the
private entity, including provisions requiring the entity to obtain
insurance.
       SECTION 5.  REPORT OF INDIRECT COSTS.  In each cost report
submitted to the legislature by the Department of Transportation
that includes information related to a project that is part of the
Trans-Texas Corridor, the department shall either include indirect
costs associated with the project or indicate that indirect costs
are not addressed in the report.
       SECTION 6.  FINANCIAL FORECASTS FOR TOLLED SEGMENTS OF
TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR. The Department of Transportation may not
enter into a contract for the financing, design, construction,
maintenance, or operation of a tolled segment of the Trans-Texas
Corridor, unless the department has prepared a financial forecast
for that segment of the Trans-Texas Corridor that includes the
projected toll revenues, construction costs, operating expenses,
and amount of revenue reasonably anticipated to be received by a
private participant and provided a copy of the financial forecast
to the governor, each member of the legislature, and the
comptroller of public accounts.
       SECTION 7.  INFORMATION FROM CONTRACTING PARTIES. The
Department of Transportation shall require, in connection with a
contract entered into by the department, that the contracting party
provide the department with sufficiently detailed information,
including invoices, timesheets, and other information as to its
charges, so that the department can properly allocate its costs and
link direct charges to the correct project.
       SECTION 8.  INVOICE DOCUMENTATION. The Department of
Transportation shall create uniform requirements for vendor
invoice documentation and the associated processes of submission
and approval of the documents. The documentation should be of
sufficient detail to allow determination of the allocation of all
costs, including wages, and whether those costs are permitted.
       SECTION 9.  COSTS INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH TRANS-TEXAS
CORRIDOR. In connection with the Trans-Texas Corridor 35 project,
the Department of Transportation shall account for the costs of the
project in a manner that:
             (1)  informs members of the public as to the costs
incurred by this state in the financing, design, construction,
maintenance, or operation of the project; and
             (2)  allows the public to judge whether those costs
were appropriate.
       SECTION 10.  POSTING OF COSTS RELATING TO THE TRANS-TEXAS
CORRIDOR ON INTERNET. The Department of Transportation shall post
on the department's Internet website, in a timely manner, the costs
incurred by the department in connection with the financing,
design, construction, maintenance, or operation of the Trans-Texas
Corridor.
       SECTION 11.  APPROVAL OF CREATION OF TRUST FUNDS BY THE
COMPTROLLER. The comptroller must approve the creation of any
trust fund outside the state treasury. The Department of
Transportation may not deposit bond proceeds for state highway toll
projects into a trust fund.
       SECTION 12.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect
September 1, 2007.