| (a) Applicability. This subchapter applies only to
a department toll project that will be developed under a concession
agreement, and for which:
(1) funds allocated to a metropolitan planning organization
are expected to be used to pay for project costs;
(2) local funds are expected to be used to pay for
project costs; or
(3) property of a city or county is expected to be
used as project right of way or a city or county is expected to pay
for the acquisition of right of way for the project.
(b) Formation and membership of committee. For a project
subject to Transportation Code, Chapter 373, Subchapter B, the committee
shall be formed after the department exercises its option under that
subchapter to develop, finance, construct, and operate the project.
The membership of a committee shall be determined after the commission
authorizes the department to initiate a procurement for a toll project
that provides for the potential delivery of the project through a
concession agreement. To be eligible to serve as a committee member,
a person must be an elected official or a full-time employee of the
represented entity. A committee consists of the following members:
(1) one member appointed by each metropolitan planning
organization within whose boundaries all or part of the proposed project
may be located;
(2) one member appointed by each local toll project
entity within whose boundaries all or part of the proposed project
may be located;
(3) one member appointed by each city and county which
has:
(A) provided local funds to pay for right of way acquisition
or other project costs or to acquire right of way for the project,
or has provided property of the city or county for use as project
right of way; or
(B) submitted to the department an order or resolution
adopted by the city council or county commissioners court committing
local funds or property to the project; and
(4) one member appointed by the executive director
to represent the department.
(c) Officers. The committee will, subject to the concurrence
of the commission, elect a chair and vice-chair by majority vote of
the members of the committee.
(d) Duties. A committee established under this subchapter
shall submit a report to the executive director before the date the
department issues a request for qualifications for the toll project,
except for a project for which the department and a local toll project
entity have agreed on the terms and conditions for the project under
Transportation Code, §228.0111, or for which a local toll project
entity has waived its option to develop, construct, and operate the
project, in which case the report shall be submitted before the date
the department issues a request for proposals for the project. If
the project is subject to a market valuation agreement, market valuation
waiver agreement, or similar agreement entered into under Transportation
Code, §228.0111, or a toll project agreement entered into under
Transportation Code, §373.006, the report may not include determinations
that are inconsistent with the provisions of the agreement that relate
to the determinations to be included in the report. A report shall
contain the following determinations:
(1) the distribution of project financial risk, which
is the allocation of revenue risk for a toll project between the department
and the private entity with which the department enters into an agreement
for the project;
(2) the method of financing for the project, which
is a determination of whether the project should be funded with private
or public funding or a combination of private and public funding;
and
(3) unless the project is subject to a regional tolling
policy, the project's tolling structure and methodology.
(e) Failure to submit report. All members of a committee
will utilize their best efforts to support the generation of a report.
If a committee does not submit a report by the date the department
is scheduled to issue a request for qualifications or request for
proposals, as applicable, for a project, the department will use any
business terms applicable to the project that have been adopted by
the metropolitan planning organization and that relate to the determinations
to be included in the report.
(f) Meetings.
(1) Meeting requirements. The department's Office of
General Counsel will submit to the Office of the Secretary of State
notice of a meeting of the committee at least eight days before the
date of the meeting. The notice will provide the date, time, place,
and purpose of the meeting. A meeting of a committee will be open
to the public. A committee will follow the agenda set for each meeting
under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2) Scheduling of meetings. Meeting dates, times, places,
and agendas will be set by the office designated under subsection
(g) of this section. Any committee member may suggest an agenda item,
provided that the agenda item must be approved by the chair of the
committee and the department. A committee's report may only discuss
items that are within the committee's jurisdiction. The office designated
under subsection (g) of this section will provide notice of the time,
date, place, and purpose of meetings to the members, by mail, email,
telephone, or any combination of the three, at least eight calendar
days before each meeting. All meetings must take place in Texas and
must be held in a location that is readily accessible to the general
public.
(3) Committee action. A quorum of the committee is
one half or more of the number of members appointed to the committee.
A committee may act only by majority vote of the members present at
the meeting and voting.
(4) Record. Minutes of all committee meetings shall
be prepared and filed with the executive director. The complete proceedings
of all committee meetings must also be recorded by electronic means.
(5) Public information. All minutes, transcripts, and
other records of the committees are records of the department and
as such, are subject to disclosure under the provisions of Government
Code, Chapter 552.
(g) Administrative support. For each committee, the
executive director will designate an office or division of the department
that will be responsible for providing any necessary administrative
support essential to the functions of the committee. The department
will provide project information and other information to the committee
to assist the committee in carrying out its duties, including the
project procurement schedule.
(h) Duration. After a committee submits the report
described in subsection (d) of this section, the committee ceases
to exist. The department may, in its discretion, reconvene a committee
if changed circumstances may result in a change in the committee's
determinations.
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