Chapter 939 Oregon Laws 1999

Session Law

AN ACT

HB 2478

Relating to budgeting for the Department of Transportation; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 184.610.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. Sections 4 to 9 of this 1999 Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Transportation Spending Accountability Act."

SECTION 2. ORS 184.610 is amended to read:

184.610. As used in ORS 184.610 to 184.647, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) "Commission" means the Oregon Transportation Commission.

(2) "Department" means the Department of Transportation.

(3) "Director" means the Director of Transportation.

(4) "Highway Construction Plan" or "plan" means the plan described in section 5 of this 1999 Act.

(5) "STIP" means the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which is a list of transportation projects that:

(a) Are to be implemented within four years following adoption or modification of the list;

(b) Are consistent with the long-range transportation plan developed pursuant to ORS 184.618 and with metropolitan plans; and

(c) Can be implemented with resources reasonably expected to be available.

SECTION 3. Sections 1 and 4 to 9 of this 1999 Act are added to and made a part of ORS 184.610 to 184.647.

SECTION 4. (1) The Governor shall submit to the Legislative Assembly a proposed biennial program budget for the Department of Transportation that specifies how existing revenues from all sources will be spent in the following categories:

(a) Aeronautics.

(b) Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots.

(c) Central services.

(d) Driver and motor vehicle services.

(e) Highways.

(f) Motor carriers.

(g) Rail.

(h) Transit.

(i) Transportation development.

(j) Transportation safety.

(k) Others, including:

(A) Capital construction.

(B) Capital improvements.

(C) Light rail debt service.

(D) Nonlimited.

(2) The budget presented for highways shall show projected expenditures in each of the following categories:

(a) Bridges.

(b) Emergency relief.

(c) Highway planning.

(d) Highway safety.

(e) Maintenance.

(f) Modernization, including but not limited to expenditures for reduction of accidents in areas that are known to have a high incidence of accidents.

(g) Operations.

(h) Payments to local governments.

(i) Preservation.

(j) Special programs, including but not limited to bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

(3) The budget shall be accompanied by the Highway Construction Plan described in section 5 of this 1999 Act.

SECTION 5. (1) The Highway Construction Plan shall be developed by the Department of Transportation on a biennial basis to accompany the Governor's proposed budget for the department. The plan shall include a list of projects from the STIP that the department intends to work on in the biennium for which the budget is submitted. The plan shall also include a list of projects that the department intends to pursue in the biennium that are not yet in the STIP because they are in planning stages. Each project included in the plan shall be shown in one of the sections listed in subsection (3) of this section.

(2) For the categories of bridges, highway safety, modernization, operations and preservation, the plan shall include a description of specific projects to be funded, how much money will be spent on each and the anticipated year of completion. For the categories of emergency relief, highway planning, maintenance, payments to local governments and special programs, the plan shall include a description of programs to be funded and projected expenditures.

(3) The department shall divide the plan into four sections, and each project shall be shown in the appropriate section. The sections shall be:

(a) Projects under construction;

(b) Projects for which funding is committed for construction or implementation, with the expected date on which the contract will be awarded;

(c) Projects being developed for construction for which funding is committed; and

(d) Projects in preliminary or planning phases.

(4) Projects shall be included in the plan only after a public process that includes consultation with cities, counties and metropolitan planning organizations.

(5) Projects included in the plan shall be listed for each region designated by the department.

(6) In accordance with the criteria and procedures described in this section, the plan shall be written by the department, approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission and reviewed by the Governor.

(7) Nothing in this section prevents the plan and the STIP from being the same document, as long as the document meets the requirements of this section.

(8) The Governor shall submit to the Legislative Assembly, with the plan, a document that provides a means to evaluate revenue proposals. The document shall show how the department would recommend spending additional revenue that might become available to the department, by showing the department's program priorities and a list of modernization needs. The document shall be based on increments in revenue equal to a one-cent increase in the motor vehicle fuel tax and equivalent increases in the weight-mile and related taxes. This subsection does not require the Governor or department to propose tax increases.

SECTION 6. (1) Unless otherwise recommended by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, a budget bill enacted by the Legislative Assembly for the Department of Transportation shall show appropriations or expenditure limitations for highways in the following categories:

(a) Bridges.

(b) Emergency relief.

(c) Highway planning.

(d) Highway safety.

(e) Maintenance.

(f) Modernization.

(g) Operations.

(h) Payments to local governments.

(i) Preservation.

(j) Special programs, including but not limited to bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

(2) The Legislative Assembly may not commit moneys to a project not listed in the Highway Construction Plan nor adjust individual project funds or project priorities.

SECTION 7. (1) The Department of Transportation may only expend moneys for a highway project if the project is included in the Highway Construction Plan or if the department has provided notice to the Legislative Assembly of the project. When the Legislative Assembly is in session, notice shall be provided to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. When the Legislative Assembly is not in session, notice shall be provided to the Emergency Board.

(2) In an emergency, the department may transfer funds among expenditure limitation categories within the highway budget described in section 6 (1) of this 1999 Act without approval of the Legislative Assembly or the Emergency Board. The department shall notify the Legislative Assembly or the Emergency Board of the emergency and if the Legislative Assembly is not in session, shall report to the next meeting of the Emergency Board with a budget balancing proposal to fund the emergency activity.

(3) In situations other than those described in subsection (2) of this section, the department may transfer funds among expenditure limitation categories within the highway budget described in section 6 (1) of this 1999 Act without approval of the Legislative Assembly or the Emergency Board as long as the expenditure limitation for any one category is neither increased nor decreased by more than five percent in a biennium.

SECTION 8. (1) The Department of Transportation shall create a concise status report for the Legislative Assembly of projects listed in the Highway Construction Plan and in the previous status report. The department shall include all of the following in the status report:

(a) An identification of each project, with enough specificity to enable readers of the report to know where the project is located and what the project will accomplish.

(b) An indication of the total amount of moneys the department anticipates will be spent to complete the project and the amount spent on the project as of the date of the status report.

(c) An indication that the project is on schedule, or an explanation if it is not on schedule.

(d) The expected year of completion for the project.

(e) An explanation of any change in priority of a project within the plan or the STIP since the previous status report was issued.

(f) An explanation of any amendments to the STIP that have been made since the previous status report was issued.

(g) An explanation of any changes to the adopted budget made by the Emergency Board since the previous status report was issued.

(2) When a project has been completed or abandoned, that fact shall be shown in the first status report presented after the completion or abandonment, but need not appear in status reports thereafter.

(3) The status report shall be submitted quarterly to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President of the Senate. The Speaker and the President shall forward the reports for review to the committees or task forces the Speaker and the President deem appropriate.

(4) When the department submits the report to the Speaker and the President, the department shall notify each member of the Legislative Assembly that the report is available.

SECTION 9. The Department of Transportation shall develop a summary that shows, to the extent it can be determined, how the department's costs for maintenance, preservation and modernization are affected by state and federal mandates, environmental regulations or other factors that have a significant impact on cost. The summary shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate at the beginning of each regular session of the Legislative Assembly and need include only mandates, regulations and other factors issued or occurring on or after the effective date of this 1999 Act. When the department submits the summary to the Speaker and the President, the department shall notify each member of the Legislative Assembly that the summary is available.

SECTION 10. The Department of Transportation shall develop a proposal for a system to provide projected expenditures for the biennium for each project covered by the Highway Construction Plan described in section 5 of this 1999 Act. The proposal shall be presented to the Emergency Board no later than November 1, 2000.

Approved by the Governor August 16, 1999

Filed in the office of Secretary of State August 16, 1999

Effective date October 23, 1999

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