| (a) Eligibility.
(1) A public or private entity that is authorized by
state law to acquire, design, construct, finance, operate, or maintain
a toll facility is eligible to submit a request for financial assistance
under this subchapter.
(2) A private entity is not eligible to submit a request
for a grant.
(3) For requests submitted after January 1, 2010, to
be eligible to receive funds under this subchapter, an entity must
have adopted an internal ethics and compliance program that satisfies
the requirements of §10.51 of this title (relating to Internal
Ethics and Compliance Program) and must enforce compliance with that
program.
(b) Basic request. Except as otherwise noted below
with respect to a request for funding of development costs only, a
request must be accompanied by:
(1) an overview of the project, which shall include
a description of the project, the estimated total cost of the project
or the preliminary cost estimate of development costs if the request
is to fund only development costs, and the proposed use of the requested
financial assistance;
(2) a list of all proposed funding sources, including,
but not limited to, bond revenue, any equity contribution from the
requestor, and the financial assistance requested under this subchapter,
and the proposed use of the funding;
(3) the requested terms of the financial assistance;
(4) a description of the need, or potential need in
the case of a request to fund development costs, for the project and
potential impact on traffic congestion and mobility;
(5) a statement of the amount of unencumbered (or unreserved)
cash on hand or the requestor's latest audited financial statement;
(6) the latest bond rating obtained by the requestor
when using similar sources of revenue to be pledged, if applicable;
(7) a preliminary design study which includes:
(A) an initial route and potential alignments;
(B) the project's logical termini and independent utility,
if applicable; and
(C) potential revisions or changes to state highway
system facilities necessitated by the project;
(8) a description of the extent to which the requestor's
toll collection system or plan for a toll collection system provides
interoperability;
(9) unless the request is to fund development costs
only, official written approval of the project by the governing body
of each entity that may become liable for repayment of any financial
assistance;
(10) a binding commitment that the environmental consequences
of the proposed project will be fully considered in accordance with,
and that the proposed project will comply with, all applicable local,
state, and federal environmental laws, regulations, and requirements;
(11) a binding commitment to implement all EPIC; and
(12) documentary evidence, to the extent then available,
of community involvement in development of the proposed project and
public opinion about it.
(c) Supplemental information and data. Except as provided
in subsection (d) of this section, the requestor shall submit the
following supplemental information and data.
(1) Financial feasibility study. Unless the request
is to fund development costs only, the requestor shall submit a financial
feasibility study that includes:
(A) a project construction or asset acquisition schedule
identifying the timing, amount, and source of all funds required;
(B) an analysis of the expected financing period of
the project;
(C) a pro forma annual cash flow analysis for the expected
financing period of the project showing:
(i) if applicable, anticipated revenues to be used
in repayment by source;
(ii) anticipated disbursements for preliminary studies
and engineering, construction, EPIC, right of way acquisition, utility
adjustments, operations, and maintenance;
(iii) anticipated debt service coverage ratios for
each debt obligation; and
(iv) funds expected to be used to meet the requirements
of any sinking funds, reserve funds, and amortization payments;
(D) a description of the methods used in preparing
the financial feasibility study, the assumptions contained in the
study, and persons and entities responsible for the preparation of
the study;
(E) if the financial assistance is required to be repaid,
the length of time the financial assistance will be outstanding or
obligated;
(F) the anticipated interest rates for any and all
debt outstanding during the term of the financial assistance;
(G) the anticipated benefits to the state and to the
requestor resulting from the assistance; and
(H) based upon then available information and analyses,
a description of how the requested assistance will, to the extent
applicable, accomplish the following (it being understood that failure
to accomplish all of these items will not necessarily cause a request
to be ineligible for financial assistance):
(i) expand the availability of funding for transportation
projects;
(ii) reduce direct state costs;
(iii) maximize private and local participation in the
cost of projects; and
(iv) improve the efficiency of the state's transportation
systems.
(2) Project impacts. The requestor shall provide the
following information concerning the impact of the project:
(A) how the project will be consistent with the Statewide
Transportation Plan and, if appropriate, with the metropolitan transportation
plan developed by an MPO;
(B) if the project is in a nonattainment area, how
the project will be consistent with the Statewide Transportation Improvement
Program, with the conforming plan and Transportation Improvement Program
for the MPO in which the project is located (if necessary), and with
the State Implementation Plan; and
(C) a preliminary description of any known environmental,
social, economic, or cultural resource issues, such as hazardous material
sites, impacts on wetlands and other water resources, endangered species,
parks, neighborhoods, businesses, historic buildings or bridges, and
archeological sites.
(d) Waiver of required information or data. The executive
director may waive submission of individual items of information or
data required by subsection (c) of this section if:
(1) the information or data required by this section
is not relevant to the project or the financial assistance requested;
(2) the department already possesses information or
data in a format that may be substituted for the required information
or data; or
(3) the past performance of the requestor on previous
projects developed in collaboration with the department indicates
that the requestor will adequately and prudently address the issues
and impacts described in the requested information or data.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §27.53 adopted to be effective August 15, 2002, 27 TexReg 7178; amended to be effective March 18, 2004, 29 TexReg 2745; amended to be effective February 19, 2009, 34 TexReg 1114; amended to be effective January 6, 2011, 35 TexReg 11964; amended to be effective May 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 3122 |
