Apr
18
Written by:
Mark Lavergne
4/18/2011 2:29 PM
The Texas Senate today passed the Texas Department of Transportation sunset bill, which required TxDOT to take steps to be more transparent in its road construction contracting process and granted more flexibility to pursue those projects.
In the process, Ogden attached to the bill an amendment on a 22-6 vote which the Senate had previously passed, to streamline the environmental review process.
The amendment was opposed by a couple of Republicans, including Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy). Hegar told LSR that although he believed the amendment was good policy that had been vetted, he voted no to attach it because the bill being amended was a sunset bill that he wanted to keep clean. He said he did not want a “trend to develop” in which every sunset bill became a vehicle for other legislation – good or bad.
Hegar observed Ogden’s amendment had already been passed out on another bill (Nichols’ SB 548, which passed unanimously). The amendment was originally a stand-alone bill filed by Kirk Watson.
Ogden called it an effort to increase efficiency in the environmental review process to minimize delays and encourage collaboration.
“This thing's been pretty well vetted,” because the bureaucracy can kill projects by the delay in the environmental documentation necessary to get the review, Ogden said.
Ogden admitted that he intended to provide, by offering the amendment, a backup mechanism in case SB 548, the other vehicle for the language, did not survive the legislative process. But he also said he considered the amendment appropriate to the bill.
This is an effort to improve what everybody says is a “cumbersome and sometimes broken process,” Ogden argued. The amendment will help Texas and local governments to improve the road-building process, he said.
The sunset bill itself retains the five member Transportation Commission; requires TxDOT to strengthen internal controls to ensure transparency and accountability and maintain public trust; requires TxDOT employees to adhere to a code of ethics and provides a hotline to report fraud and abuse; requires TxDOT to formulate a public involvement policy and to better track complaints; and authorizes TxDOT to use design-build contracting for non-tollway projects.
“Design-build” refers to a process in which a governmental entity contracts with a single company to both design and build a road project. Current law requires TxDOT to hold contract bids to design roads, and a separate bidding process to build the roads. Supporters of design-build contracting have said it is more efficient and more flexible for the agency. Critics say the method gives too much power to the contractor and TxDOT, and offers the public and lawmakers too few chances to guide the project.
The bill now heads for the House.