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The committee met to receive updates from agencies on issues such as legislation passed in the 84th Legislative Session, utility relocation, the budget, the Unified Transportation Program, and toll roads.
 
In his opening comments, Chair Joe Pickett discussed TxDOT Deputy Executive Director John Barton’s retirement.
 
Shelly Mellott, Deputy Executive Director, TxDMV

  • Rep. Larry Phillips asked what the agency will do for facilities since the Governor vetoed the new building
    • Working to identify a new location; all the currently owned buildings are full
    • General Joe Weber, TxDOT Executive Director noted DMV is not being thrown out of anywhere; will be working with the agency over the next few years to find a good location for them; relocation will be necessary in the future
  • SB 1512 re-created TxDMV fund; provided one-time transfer of $23 million from GR; part of the effort to be more transparent with transportation dollars
  • Rep. Ron Simmons noted he doesn’t want the fees DMV is collecting to be used just because the money is there and going to the agency
    • There have been complaints that DMV is just a money raising agency for TxDOT; it is just the nature of DMV, because of fees, that the agency raises money
  • The committee discussed the progress of the single sticker program and other bills regarding vehicle inspection, specialty plates and oversize overweight permits

 
Utility Relocation
 
General Joe Weber, Executive Director, TxDOT

  • Over the last few weeks, many people have been asking what is going on in Texas as far as how $5 billion was found to help with transportation needs
  • Pickett noted it will be important to push for passage of Prop 7
  • Randy Hopmann, TxDOT discussed utility relocation; through legislation, utility rights have been subrogated to TxDOT, this eases the process for TxDOT when building roads; TxDOT will first of all try to avoid a conflict; if unavoidable, design will be adjusted or changed to minimize conflict, after that the utility owner will be asked to relocate their utilities so roads can be built only if necessary
  • Pickett asked about the problem of delaying construction
    • It is a problem, contractors are being delayed and they are being paid for delays; also causing inconvenience for the public; trying to identify problems earlier and work on relationships with providers to ensure there aren’t issues with clearance and right of way that delay infrastructure development; when multiple utilities are inhabiting a single space there is a sequence that must take place for relocations, sometimes this exacerbates the delay
  • Pickett asked that a stakeholder group of utilities and TxDOT staff be developed to report back to the legislature on the current situation and how it progresses; would like TxDOT to appoint someone within the agency as the “utilities guru” to handle all issues with utilities

 
John Montford, AT&T

  • Relocation projects are very important to AT&T and are taken very seriously
  • Allegations that AT&T has slowed down projects intentionally are taken seriously as well
  • There are many factors that contribute to project delays including the Corps of Engineers who sometimes require ecological impact studies once digging has begun, internet security issues, issues of traffic that is flowing over lines, splicing issues
  • AT&T is willing to make any adjustments necessary to help solve this problem

 
Greg Beck, AT&T

  • Splicing in the state is scheduled about 9 weeks out; it is very important to be aware of projects as they are getting closer to beginning
  • Pickett noted the dollar amounts flowing into the agency to begin projects could be higher than normal in the near future; need to ensure utilities are putting enough resources into the necessary areas to facilitate the projects
  • AT&T tries to engage in a project at 95% design completion; this prevents premature action and allows for acquisition of right of ways in a timely fashion
  • AT&T must attempt to trail other utilities’ relocation such as electric because of federal regulations; sometimes this causes issues and delays
  • Simmons noted he doesn’t believe there are proper incentives and disincentives in place to get utilities to complete relocation in a timely manner

 
HB 1
 
Gen. Weber returned to testify regarding HB 1 (General Appropriations Bill, 84R)

  • The committee and legislature was right in questioning some of the savings TxDOT was taking credit for
  • TxDOT has been responsible for significant cost savings such as in reducing overlays from 2” to 1”
    • $18 million in savings on materials
  • James Bass, CFO, TxDOT discussed how paying some bonds off early and refinancing will save over $225 million in total over the next few years; as bond dates come up more opportunities for cost savings are presenting themselves
    • Bonds outstanding: $13.6B  with a debt service around $22.4B
  • Pickett asked for a schedule of what is owed and what it will cost to pay those debts going forward

 
UTP
 
Mark Williams, Director of Planning, TxDOT

  • The Unified Transportation program is the 10 year plan of projects that will be planned and delivered throughout the state
  • Heading toward the FY16 update of the UTP which will be considered by the Commission at the next meeting
  • Will be submitting a preliminary report to the HB 20 report soon which will identify metrics, measures and tools that are available to TxDOT in evaluating and planning projects
  • Rep. Burkett asked about toll funding
    • The legislature determined that Prop 1 and potential Prop 7 funds are not to go toward toll projects; federal funds however, can still be used for toll projects

 
Toll Roads
 
James Bass returned to testify regarding toll road issues

  • Response times for toll road help lines have improved significantly
  • A new staff member has been brought in to help with many issues within TxDOT especially the toll division, including TxDOT staff and contractors
  • Burkett asked if all back office responsibilities such as customer service, monitoring tags and payment stations, pay by mail etc. are all contracted out
    • Yes; this brings challenges with interoperability, billing, etc.; there could be efficiencies to be gained by increasing these entities collaboration; there already is complete interoperability for drivers using a toll tag anywhere in the state
  • Burkett asked if that is a need for legislation
    • The current contract for back office is scalable; need to look for opportunities to bring in other contractors to handle individual issues; the only area with consistent problems is with pay by mail

 
Don Dixon, Self

  • Collecting tolls is a very expensive thing for taxpayers; $100 million to collect tolls
  • Have not heard any complaints about people paying gas taxes but have heard many complaints about people paying toll taxes
  • The public road system needs to be truly public so that everyone can use it
  • The legislature is addressing symptoms instead of addressing the cause of the symptoms

 
Ten Year Plan
 
Ashby Johnson, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

  • TxDOT has been reaching out to MPOs to talk about requirements of HB 20 and producing the ten year plan
  • Focus of meetings has been on production of the report due to the legislature by September 1
  • The ten year plan is a good idea that will make allocation of scarce public dollars more transparent and it will give a better sense of return on investment of public dollars
  • Need to decide what performance metrics will be used and to determine if data is readily available to measure
  • The requirement will necessitate that many MPOs go back and revisit their prioritization and project selection methods and processes
  • Rep. Armando Martinez asked when new funding is announced, what process is followed to solicit projects
    • Normally a call for projects is announced, then projects are ranked and then selected; everybody does not have to follow the same standard

 
Allen Clark, Houston-Galveston Area Metropolitan planning Organization

  • New money coming in has shown MPOs they need to develop new ways of measuring goals and projects using better information that may not have been available in the past
  • HB 20 is offering the opportunity to give the public the best idea of what improvements are being made from end to end and how the projects will look in completion as opposed to piece by piece
  • Martinez asked if there is any documentation required to verify the status of projects
    • Johnson noted the closest thing Capital Area has is the transportation improvement program; it will vary widely between MPO; Capital Area is working on, and every MPO should have, a document like that to keep the public informed and to help organize
  • One thing that needs to be done is to measure the outcomes of projects that have been completed; will help with future planning and needs to be done more often