Bill > HB20

This bill mandates the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and regional planning organizations to adopt a performance-based approach to transportation planning and project selection, requiring the development of performance metrics and measures to assess system performance, project effectiveness, and transparency. It also defines "planning organization" to include metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) or TxDOT districts in areas without MPOs, and clarifies that "project" for planning purposes refers to roadway projects that add capacity or connectivity, excluding safety, bridge, maintenance, or preservation projects. Furthermore, the bill requires planning organizations to create 10-year transportation plans for their regions, with the first four years aligning with federal transportation improvement plan requirements, and establishes criteria for project recommendations that consider congestion, safety, economic development, environmental impacts, and socioeconomic effects. TxDOT's commission will prioritize and approve projects based on these criteria and establish a performance-based process for funding decisions, with a limit on discretionary funding. The bill also modifies rules regarding design-build contracts, increasing the cost threshold for their use and specifying conditions under which they cannot be utilized, and removes the Department of Public Safety's ability to use state highway funds for policing. Finally, it establishes legislative committees to study and report on TxDOT's operations, funding, and planning processes.