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Senate Transportation
March 15, 2017
 
The Senate Committee on Transportation met to discuss pending business and SB 312 – Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Department of Transportation; authorizing an increase in rates charged for the use of state aircraft to provide for the acquisition of replacement aircraft. Pending business was voted on at the beginning of the hearing and during discussion on SB 312. 
 
Pending Business
SB 87 voted out (5-0)
CSSB 88 voted out (6-2)

  • Hall laid out CSSB 88 – eliminated Section 6 to allow remaining camera revenue to continue to flow to Trauma Fund, adds section back in prohibiting use of stationary speed cameras
  • Hinojosa – You’re stopping flow to trauma care?
    • No, original bill required funds to flow to GR, CS restores to the Trauma Fund

SB 278 voted out (6-2)
 
SB 312 (Nichols | et al.) Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Department of Transportation; authorizing an increase in rates charged for the use of state aircraft to provide for the acquisition of replacement aircraft.

  • TxDOT is preparing to spend billions in new funding, significant challenge for the TxDOT to deliver on this
  • Sunset found TxDOT made good faith efforts, recommendations aim to keep pressure on TxDOT to meet high expectations with new funding
  • Requires TxDOT streamline public information requests, upkeep databases, and unify processes for project selection and management
  • Ensures TxDOT completes efforts to monitor project development and increases communication with stakeholders
  • Provides TxDOT with standard contract oversight tools
  • Provides TxDOT a range of remedies for low-cost contracts
  • Directs TxDOT to develop criteria for areas such as Milestone payments
  • Requires TxDOT develop strategy/information on aging aircraft fleet
  • Requires electronic submission of law enforcement crash reports and elimination of unnecessary reporting
  • Discontinues 2 of TxDOTs reporting requirements and modifies 4 others
  • TxDOT required to report to legislature continually for 4 years
  • Rodriguez – Bill incorporates most of the Sunset provisions, but seems to leave out some transparency and oversight provisions
    • Some of these are covered in management actions, including regarding small businesses, district communications, etc.; Report is also due regularly to House and Senate transportation
  • Hancock – Provides a real strong mechanism to ensure proper use of funding provided to TxDOT
  • 6 amendments read and withdrawn to comply with procedure allowing them to be considered later on the Senate Floor

 
Amy Tripp, Sunset Commission – Resource

  • Rodriguez – How does the bill get TxDOT to do better with contracting?
    • Pointed to Section 18 for contracting reforms
    • Hinojosa – In terms of oversight, bill directs TxDOT to employ standard tools
    • Tripp – Also adopted 12 other contracting management actions, including centralized monitoring and special recommendations for engineering contracts
  • Perry – Who is ultimately responsible for setting up the rules and procedures for contracts?
  • Ultimately this would be the Exec. Director
  • Perry – Seems like these contracting measures are very basic & common sense, at what point does an agency use these basic practices without needing legislative oversight?
    • For some types of highway contracts, TxDOT felt they needed clear authority to adopt practices
  • Perry – This is the disconnect, authority shouldn’t be needed for common sense; somewhere we need to empower state personnel to utilize best practices for these contracts and this seems like a problem with every agency

 
Public Testimony – SB 312
Don Dickson, Self

  • Excited about funding to TxDOT to keep it stable and building roads
  • Recommends reviewing agency again in 4 years to ensure effective funding usage
  • Need to move away from agency taxation, get away from toll roads and RMS
  • Project selection needs to be improved, priority is not working

John Weisman, AGC of Texas

  • TxDOT has been working hard to implement provisions of SB 312, 12 year review period is necessary to fully implement the 10 year UTP plan

 
Russ Horton, Attorney in Austin

  • Represents a number of land use entities
  • Concerned over how TxDOT has been implementing some regulations recently, right-of-way/sign height regulations might run afoul of constitutional provisions
  • TxDOT is using statutory penalty provisions to prohibit certain land users to fairly combat arbitrary sign height regulations
  • Sign height regulations are not the same across the state, TxDOT should ensure sign height regulations are implemented in a fair way that makes sense & perhaps let cities set sign height requirements

 
Terri Hall, Texas for Toll-Free Highways

  • Sunset stated TxDOT is not equipped to handle funding influx
  • TxDOT tends to promote the status quo rather than using an appropriate priority system
  • 1) Sunset review should be 4 years, 2) Any new contract enforcement strategies need to apply to all contracts, not just low bid, 3) Require a public hearing for any project that substantially changes public highways
  • Hinojosa – TxDOT hasn’t received the money yet, trying to get away from tolls, funding has been a huge a challenge before & legislature has comprehensively evaluated TxDOT
  • Garcia and Hall discuss the location of SH 130
  • Rodriguez – So you’re saying that contracting revisions should apply to the larger contracts especially?
    • Yes, this SH 130 project is an example of why
  • Rodriguez – Is there a reason why we limit to low bid contracts
    • Nichols – Sen. Hall has an amendment that might address this

 
SB 312 voted out (8-0)