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.