SECTION 29.3. Local Government Assistance

(a) Purpose.

(1) Transportation Code, §201.706, requires the department to assist counties with materials to repair and maintain county roads. Section 201.706 also requires the department to develop rules and procedures to implement the section and to provide for the distribution of the assistance with preference given to counties with an above average number of overweight trucks receiving weight tolerance permits based on the previous year's permit totals.

(2) Rider 43 to the department's appropriations for fiscal years 1998-1999 requires the department to assist cities and counties with the maintenance of city streets and county roads by providing engineering/maintenance expertise on roadway maintenance and to provide available surplus materials to any local government.

(3) This section prescribes the policies and procedures for implementation of these two legal requirements.

(b) Definitions.

(1) City--Any municipality incorporated under the laws of the state.

(2) City street--A public street under the jurisdiction of a city.

(3) Cost of materials--Statewide average cost, actual cost, or fair market value of roadway maintenance material available to counties, such cost to include indirect costs in an amount prescribed by the department's Indirect Cost Recovery Program and the department's cost to administer the program.

(4) County--One of the 254 geographical political subdivisions of the state.

(5) County road--A public road under the jurisdiction of a county.

(6) Department--The Texas Department of Transportation.

(7) District--A subdivision of the department responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department in a specific geographically defined area.

(8) District engineer--The chief administrative officer of a district of the department.

(9) Engineering/maintenance expertise--Assistance consisting of providing existing department standards, specifications, or oral advice to cities or counties for use in roadway maintenance.

(10) Materials on hand--Roadway maintenance materials previously acquired by the department which are currently in department stock accounts.

(11) Surplus materials--Material on hand that the district engineer deems to be in excess of the district's need.

(12) Weight tolerance permits--A permit issued by the department under Transportation Code, §623.011, authorizing a vehicle to exceed maximum legal weight limitations.

(c) Distribution of assistance.

(1) Distribution of materials under Transportation Code, §201.706. Distributed materials may include surplus materials on hand or new materials. New materials will be made available when surplus materials on hand are not sufficient to meet the required annual value. The value of assistance to counties as required by Transportation Code, §201.706, will be allotted to districts as follows.

(A) 20% of the assistance will be based on the daily vehicle miles on county roads in a county divided by the total vehicle miles on county roads in the state.

(B) 15% of the assistance will be based on the number of lane miles of county roads in a county divided by the total lane miles of county roads in the state.

(C) 65% of the assistance will be based on the number of weight tolerance permits issued for a county divided by the total number of weight tolerance permits issued in the state.

(2) Distribution of assistance and material under Rider 43.

(A) Engineering/maintenance expertise will be provided to cities and counties upon written request from the local government.

(B) Material determined by the district engineer as surplus will be given to a local government upon request after the department has complied with the requirements of Transportation Code, §201.706.

(d) Application for assistance.

(1) Materials allocated under Transportation Code, §201.706.

(A) At the beginning of the fiscal year, or as soon as practical thereafter, each district engineer of the department shall notify each county in the district engineer's district of the assistance available to the county and provide a list of materials on hand, such list to include the cost of materials.

(B) Each county shall be requested to make a written request, within 45 days of the notification, to the local district engineer for assistance with materials in accordance with the requirements. Such requests shall be prioritized by the county.

(C) After the requested assistance to each county is determined for a fiscal year, any remaining unused fiscal year district allotment will be distributed based on need as determined by an engineering analysis.

(D) A county that receives assistance shall be responsible for the hauling of the department's material on hand from the site of storage unless otherwise approved by the department. If material is hauled by the department, the material price shall be increased by the cost of the haul.

(2) Assistance under Rider 43. Engineering/maintenance expertise shall be available to any city or county requesting such assistance. Materials shall be made available upon request, consistent with subsection (c)(2)(B) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §29.3 adopted to be effective February 19, 1998, 23 TexReg 1332.