TxDOT restructuring bill advances to Senate

Further changes still likely

Steve Hawley, May 12, 09.

UPDATE (05/15/09, 12:26 pm): According to an H-GAC staffer speaking at the Technical Advisory Committee meeting on Friday, the Senate is likely to reinstate the 5-member appointed board but is expected to reduce term lengths from six years to two.

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The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) would be significantly restructured under a bill passed by the House on Monday, according to the Trail Blazers blog at the Dallas Morning News.

Lawmakers altered the bill 20 more times on Monday, on top of 154 amendments approved last Thursday and Friday.

The current legislation would change the governing commission from a five-member appointed board to a 15-member elected commission. The chair would be elected at-large, while the other 14 commissioners would represent specific geographic districts. The bill would also create a legislative oversight committee.

There are also numerous provisions unrelated to TxDOT in the bill, including ones that would phase out the use of red-light cameras statewide, create a billboard advisory committee, and authorize new specialty license plate designs. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is likely to undergo further changes.

TxDOT has come under increasing criticism from lawmakers in recent years, “advancing its own agenda against objections of both the Legislature and the public,” according to a Sunset Advisory Commission report released in December.

The report included a number of recommendations to increase transparency and accountability at the agency. The current legislation appears to follow many of the recommendations, including creating the legislative oversight committee, increasing transparency in projects development, providing better access to independent information and research, and increasing contract accountability.

However, the biggest structural change - creating 15 elected commissioners - differs significantly from the Sunset report, which recommended a single appointed commissioner to increase accountability.

The legislation also contains several amendments restricting toll roads.