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.