|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 |
|
(Recovery Act) was enacted by the Congress and approved by the |
|
President of the United States on February 17, 2009, to, among other |
|
things, "preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery [;] |
|
assist those most impacted by the recession[; and] invest in |
|
transportation, environmental protection and other infrastructure |
|
that will provide long-term economic benefits;" and |
|
WHEREAS, the Recovery Act provides that its appropriated |
|
funds shall be used to achieve the Act's purposes "as quickly as |
|
possible consistent with prudent management;" and |
|
WHEREAS, Texas is entitled to approximately $2.2 billion in |
|
funds under the Recovery Act for transportation projects in this |
|
State, out of which approximately $500 million will be directly |
|
provided to local authorities; and |
|
WHEREAS, the Recovery Act directs the State to consider and |
|
prioritize designated criteria in approving transportation |
|
construction projects in order to better achieve the overall goals |
|
of the Act; and |
|
WHEREAS, Texas has a backlog of transportation |
|
infrastructure projects to ease the increasing highway congestion, |
|
both in magnitude and geography, that the State has experienced for |
|
the past three decades, with traffic delay in the State's urban |
|
areas increasing more than 500 percent in the last two decades; and |
|
WHEREAS, the Act allows the Texas Transportation Commission |
|
(commission) and the Texas Department of Transportation |
|
(department) 120 days from the date of the President's approval (or |
|
not earlier than June 17, 2009) to obligate 50 percent of all money |
|
provided under the Recovery Act to the State for transportation |
|
projects; and |
|
WHEREAS, the Act allows the commission and department 365 |
|
days from the date of the President's approval (or not earlier than |
|
February 17, 2010) to obligate the remaining 50 percent of the money |
|
provided under the Recovery Act to the State for transportation |
|
projects; and |
|
WHEREAS, the commission and the department have testified |
|
before a committee of the House that the obligation process for the |
|
first $500 million of the State's total $1.7 billion share of |
|
Recovery Fund money for transportation was approved on February 26, |
|
2009, for maintenance related projects, with no consideration of |
|
the priorities listed in the Act, and without specific information |
|
by project so that the Legislature and the public could evaluate how |
|
the projects will maximize job creation and stimulate the Texas |
|
economy toward achieving the goals of the Act; and |
|
WHEREAS, the commission and the department have announced |
|
their intent to begin the obligation process for the remaining $1.2 |
|
billion of the State's share of Recovery Act transportation funds |
|
for new construction projects on March 5, 2009; and |
|
WHEREAS, the commission and the department are unable to |
|
provide the House with sufficient information on the criteria by |
|
which projects, both maintenance and new construction, were |
|
selected; and |
|
WHEREAS, the commission and the department have not been able |
|
to clearly articulate how each project will spur a growth in jobs, |
|
how each project will make a meaningful investment in the long-term |
|
development of the State's transportation infrastructure |
|
development, or how each project was prioritized to meet the |
|
requirements of the Recovery Act; and |
|
WHEREAS, it is exceedingly clear that the commission and |
|
department are making a rush to judgment in obligating Recovery Act |
|
money without providing a rational basis for those actions, |
|
obtaining the advice and input of Members of the Legislature, or |
|
assuring transparency and accountability in their decision-making |
|
process; |
|
WHEREAS, it is the duty of the legislative branch to make all |
|
necessary provisions for the public good; |
|
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to ensure that Recovery |
|
Act money is used to further the Act's purposes; and |
|
WHEREAS, the House serves this public interest by providing |
|
unambiguous direction to the commission and the department before |
|
the irrevocable obligation of Recovery Act funds; now, therefore, |
|
be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
|
Legislature: |
|
(1) urges that the Texas Transportation Commission, the |
|
executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, and |
|
all department employees take no steps to irrevocably obligate any |
|
Recovery Act funds until the commission and the department can |
|
articulate a rational basis for the priorities used to select the |
|
projects for the initial $500 million funding by Recovery Act |
|
funds. |
|
(2) requests the commission and the department provide the |
|
House with a complete explanation of the project selection criteria |
|
and its practical application, including how the commission and the |
|
department considered the purposes and criteria of the Recovery |
|
Act, and specifically including the Act's provisions directing that |
|
funding priority be given to certain projects, and the data |
|
concerning which projects most maximize job creation and long-term |
|
economic stimulus. |
|
(3) insists that the commission and department act |
|
prudently in obligating Recovery Act money and in discharging its |
|
fiduciary responsibilities to the people of Texas with particular |
|
attention to transparency and accountability in all aspects of the |
|
selection of projects and the obligation and expenditure of |
|
Recovery Act funds. |
|
(4) calls on the commission and the department to allow time |
|
for meaningful input from elected officials at all levels of State |
|
government. |
|
(5) asserts that nothing in this resolution shall be |
|
construed to authorize the commission or the department to take any |
|
immediate action obligating Recovery Act funds. |