By: Pickett	H.B. No. 13

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the funding and operations of the Texas Department of
	Transportation and local transportation entities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sections 201.943(a) and (l), Transportation
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Subject to Subsections (e), (f), [and] (g), and (l), the
	commission by order or resolution may issue obligations in the name
	and on behalf of the state and the department and may enter into
	credit agreements related to the obligations. The obligations may
	be issued in multiple series and issues from time to time in an
	aggregate amount not exceeding the maximum obligation amount. The
	obligations may be issued on and may have the terms and provisions
	the commission determines appropriate and in the interests of the
	state. The obligations may be issued as long-term obligations,
	short-term obligations, or both. The latest scheduled maturity of
	an issue or series of obligations may not exceed 30 years.
	(l)  Obligations may not be issued under this section or
	Section 49-k, Article III, Texas Constitution, after August 31,
	2015 [if the commission or the department requires that toll roads
	be included in a regional mobility plan in order for a local
	authority to receive an allocation from the fund]. This subsection
	expires August 31, 2017.
	SECTION 2.  Section 222.003, Transportation Code, is amended
	by adding Subsections (l) and (m) to read as follows:
	(l
	)  Bonds or other public securities may not be issued under
	this section or Section 49-n, Article III, Texas Constitution, as
	proposed by H.J.R. 28, 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003,
	after August 31, 2015. This subsection expires August 31, 2017.
	(m)  The commission may use any constitutionally allowable
	source of funding to supplant funding previously obligated under
	this section or Section 49-n, Article III, Texas Constitution, as
	proposed by H.J.R. 28, 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003.
	This subsection expires August 31, 2017.
	SECTION 3.  Section 222.004, Transportation Code, is amended
	by adding Subsections (j) and (k) to read as follows:
	(j)  Bonds may not be issued under this section or Section
	49-p, Article III, Texas Constitution, after August 31, 2015. This
	subsection expires August 31, 2017.
	(k)  The commission may use any constitutionally allowable
	source of funding to supplant funding previously obligated under
	this section or Section 49-p, Article III, Texas Constitution. This
	subsection expires August 1, 2017.
	SECTION 4.  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, metropolitan transportation plans, 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
	operating;
	(2)  provide the department, legislature,
	stakeholders, and public with information to support decisions;
	(3)  assess the effectiveness and efficiency of
	transportation projects and service delivery; 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)  cost efficiency of the department's operations;
	(6)  project procurement, delivery, and final cost; and
	(7)  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 monthly and
	annual reporting schedules for all performance metrics and measures
	required under this section.
	SECTION 5.  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) The
	department shall work with all local transportation entities in the
	state to develop and adopt uniform guidelines governing the funding
	prioritization of the entities' transportation projects.
	(b)  The department shall recommend to the commission
	uniform guidelines to be adopted under Subsection (a) and
	implemented by all local transportation entities and department
	districts.
	(c)  In making recommendations under Subsection (b), the
	department shall consider:
	(1)  the time frame in which a project is needed;
	(2)  the feasibility of a project, including the
	availability of rights-of-way, funding support, and the ability to
	plan, design, and construct the project in a reasonable period of
	time;
	(3)  the viability of a project, including whether the
	project is a comprehensive solution with a measurable outcome; and
	(4)  all criteria established by the commission for
	prioritization of projects.
	(d)  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.
	(e)  The commission shall by rule adopt uniform standards
	established under this section.
	(f)  Using the uniform standards established under this
	section, 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 unified
	transportation program in order to provide financial assistance
	under this chapter.
	(b)  The department shall establish and the commission shall
	approve an overall performance-based process for setting category
	funding levels in the department's unified transportation program.
	The department shall consider a zero-based budget approach to
	address safety, maintenance, congestion, connectivity, economic
	development, and other needs.
	(c)  The department shall establish and the commission shall
	approve a point system for prioritization of projects for which
	financial assistance is sought from the commission. The project
	evaluation criteria must take into consideration the department's
	strategic goals as approved by the commission. The system must
	include a standard for the department to apply in determining how to
	take into account the diverse needs of the state so as to fairly
	allocate funding to all regions of the state.
	(d)  The department may not recommend and the commission may
	not approve a deviation from the department's selection of projects
	for funding of more than 10 percent of the current biennial budget
	of the department.
	(e)  In awarding points to 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 6.  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.