By: Simmons, Pickett, Burkett, Phillips,	H.B. No. 20
	Goldman, et al.

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the operations of and transportation planning and
	expenditures by the Texas Department of Transportation and planning
	organizations.
	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;
	(4)  demonstrate transparency and accountability; and
	(5)  address other issues the department considers
	necessary.
	(h)  The department shall develop and implement, and the
	commission shall approve, to the extent not in conflict with
	federal law, performance metrics and measures, including:
	(1)  congestion reduction;
	(2)  safety enhancements;
	(3)  expansion of economic opportunity;
	(4)  preservation of the value of existing
	transportation assets;
	(5)  environmental considerations;
	(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 Section 201.9901 to read as follows:
	Sec. 201.9901.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
	(1)  "Planning organization" means:
	(A)  a metropolitan planning organization; or
	(B)  for an area that is not within the boundaries
	of a metropolitan planning organization, the department district
	that serves the area.
	(2)  "Region" means the area for which a planning
	organization develops plans under this subchapter.
	SECTION 3.  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 PLANNING
	ORGANIZATIONS. (a) All planning organizations in the state shall
	develop, adopt, and submit to the department guidelines governing
	the funding prioritization of the organizations' transportation
	projects.
	(b)  In developing guidelines under Subsection (a), a
	planning organization 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 short-term and long-term viability 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 planning organization
	shall include projects that meet short-term and long-term needs of
	the organization's jurisdiction with emphasis given to projects
	already approved in a regional transportation plan.
	(d)  Each planning organization shall submit to the
	department the funding prioritization for transportation projects
	in the organization'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 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 planning
	organizations. 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 consider
	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 with
	consideration given to the time needed to purchase rights-of-way
	and complete environmental studies, if required;
	(7)  include public participation in the planning
	process and public support for the project;
	(8)  are in the state highway system; and
	(9)  meet other criteria adopted by the department.
	(f)  In addition to criteria under Subsection (e), in
	prioritizing projects the department shall consider other
	criteria, including:
	(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
	planning organization under Section 201.999.
	SECTION 4.  (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 five members
	to a Senate Select Committee on Transportation Planning and
	designate one member as chair.
	(b-1)  In making appointments under Subsection (b) of this
	section, the speaker and the lieutenant governor should consider
	members that reflect diverse constituencies with respect to:
	(1)  geographic areas in the state;
	(2)  urban and rural areas; and
	(3)  ethnicity.
	(b-1)  In making appointments under Subsection (b) of this
	section, the speaker and the lieutenant governor shall consider
	members that reflect diverse constituencies with respect to:
	(1)  geographic areas in the state;
	(2)  gender; and
	(3)  ethnicity.
	(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;
	(7)  any proposed rule, policy, program, or plan of the
	commission or department of statewide significance;
	(8)  any possible benefits of utilizing zero-based
	budgeting principles; and
	(9)  any other matter the committee considers
	appropriate.
	(e)  Following consideration of the factors described by
	Subsection (d) of this section, the committees shall prepare a
	written report on the reviewed subjects and shall, not later than
	November 1, 2016, provide to the legislature the report.
	(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 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.