SECTION 31.48. Project Oversight

(a) Purpose. This section describes reporting requirements for designated recipients and subrecipients of state or federal public transportation grant funds and monitoring activities to be performed by the department.

(b) Reporting requirements. The subrecipient shall submit reports to the department in a format prescribed by the department within deadlines established by the department.

(1) Incident reports. Subrecipients shall report all incidents that meet criteria established by the department. The subrecipient shall submit the report within five days of the incident or discovery of the incident.

(2) Asset inventory. Each subrecipient shall provide information on state and federally funded equipment as described in §31.50 of this chapter (relating to Recordkeeping and Inventory Requirements).

(3) Charter service. Section 5311 subrecipients shall provide charter service only under the specific circumstances established by the FTA. Operators shall advise the department of any charter service provided and the exemption under which charter service is provided.

(4) Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. Subrecipients shall submit reports in accordance with 49 C.F.R. Part 26, Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Department of Transportation Financial Assistance Programs.

(5) Operations reports. All FTA recipients and subrecipients shall submit quarterly and annual operations reports.

(A) Pursuant to the requirements of 49 U.S.C. §5311 and §5335, subrecipients of assistance under §5311 shall submit to the department data required by the department for reporting to the National Transit Database.

(B) Pursuant to the requirements of 49 U.S.C. §5326, subrecipients of FTA assistance through the department shall provide the data required by the department to report on transit asset management.

(C) Pursuant to the requirements of Transportation Code, §456.008(a) and (b), the department will collect monthly data from transit operators in urbanized areas, including transit authorities, and publish annually data on industry utilized standards that best reflect ridership, mileage, revenue by source and service effectiveness. These standards include:

(i) Service efficiency--Operating expense per vehicle revenue hour and operating expense per vehicle revenue mile.

(ii) Cost effectiveness--Operating expense per unlinked passenger trip.

(iii) Service effectiveness--Unlinked passenger trips per vehicle revenue mile and unlinked passenger trips per vehicle revenue hour.

(iv) Safety--Total incidents per 100,000 miles of service and average number of miles between revenue vehicle mechanical system failures that prevent the vehicle from completing a scheduled revenue trip.

(D) Pursuant to the requirements of Transportation Code, §456.008(a) and (b), and 49 U.S.C. §5311, the department will collect monthly from transit operators in rural areas, and publish annually data on industry utilized standards that best reflect ridership, mileage, revenue by source and service effectiveness. These standards include:

(i) Service efficiency--Operating expense per vehicle mile.

(ii) Cost effectiveness--Operating expense per unlinked passenger trip.

(iii) Service effectiveness--Unlinked passenger trips per vehicle mile.

(iv) Safety--Total incidents per 100,000 miles of service and average number of miles between revenue vehicle mechanical system failures that prevent the vehicle from completing a scheduled revenue trip.

(E) Pursuant to the requirements of Transportation Code, §456.008(a) and (b), the department will collect monthly from public transportation providers, as defined in Transportation Code, §461.002, that receive funding under 49 U.S.C. §5310, or §5316 and §5317 (with regard to the grant of funds appropriated under federal authorization bills prior to MAP-21), and publish annually data on industry utilized standards that best reflect ridership, mileage, revenue by source and service effectiveness. These standards include:

(i) Service efficiency--Operating expense per vehicle mile.

(ii) Cost effectiveness--Operating expense per unlinked passenger trip.

(iii) Service effectiveness--Unlinked passenger trips per vehicle mile.

(iv) Any other measure appropriate to the type of project financed using funds from §5310, or §5316 and §5317 with regard to the grant of funds appropriated under federal authorization bills prior to MAP-21.

(6) Significant events. The recipient shall promptly advise the department in writing of events that have a significant effect on the delivery of public transportation services, including:

(A) problems, delays, and adverse conditions that will materially affect the ability to attain program objectives, prevent the meeting of time schedules and goals, or preclude the attainment of project work units by established time periods, accompanied by a statement of the action taken or contemplated and any departmental assistance needed to resolve the situation; and

(B) favorable developments and events that will enable meeting time schedules and goals sooner than anticipated or producing more work units than originally projected.

(7) Miscellaneous reports. Entities receiving funds from either the department or the FTA shall cooperate with the department in providing other information as requested by state and federal funding agencies.

(c) Department monitoring. The department will rely on subrecipient reports as described in subsection (b) of this section as the primary means of monitoring subrecipient performance. In addition, department personnel and the subrecipient at least quarterly will discuss problems encountered by the subrecipient, the subrecipient's need for technical assistance, and other topics related to the provision of public transportation services. Routine monitoring activity will occur in the following areas according to a schedule that accommodates federal deadlines and department and operator workloads. Most, but not all, monitoring activities will occur on a quarterly basis.

(1) Civil rights. The department will monitor subrecipients for compliance with Title VI Civil Rights requirements.

(2) Drugs and alcohol.

(A) Each §5311 subrecipient and each of its subcontractors with safety-sensitive employees shall have policies and programs in place that comply with drug and alcohol standards established by the FTA. The department will monitor subrecipients for compliance with these regulations. In addition, the FTA requires each subrecipient to file a calendar year report (January 1 - December 31) with the department on drug and alcohol testing and compliance activities.

(B) Each §5310 subrecipient, and each §5316 and §5317 subrecipients with regard to the grant of funds appropriated under federal authorization bills prior to MAP-21, shall comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requirements for drug and alcohol compliance if it owns a vehicle that requires a commercial driver's license to operate. If the subrecipient also receives §5307 or §5311 funding, the subrecipient shall include §§5310, 5316, and 5317 employees in their FTA testing program.

(3) Fiscal responsibility. A department employee quarterly will review agency financial records that support requests for payment.

(4) Insurance. Subrecipients of state or federal funds through the department shall insure all facilities, equipment, and vehicles from loss. Checks for appropriate insurance levels will occur at the time the local agency renews its policies.

(5) Maintenance. Subrecipients are required to have written maintenance plans, schedules, and logs to ensure the proper care and longevity of vehicles and facilities in accordance with §31.53(d) of this chapter (relating to Maintenance Requirements). The plans, schedules, and logs are subject to periodic on-site inspection by the department.

(6) Incidental vehicle use. A vehicle purchased with federal or state funds may be used for incidental uses that do not conflict with the primary purposes for which the vehicle was purchased. An example of permissible incidental use is using the vehicle for other public transportation activities when it is not required for project purposes. The vehicle shall not be altered in any way to accommodate an incidental use.

(7) Procurement. The department will work with subrecipients to ensure that procurement activities meet applicable state and federal requirements and that all required documents are received and actions completed in a timely manner. Check sheets will be maintained by the department to ensure all benchmark activities are accomplished in the proper sequence.

(d) Noncompliance. A subrecipient that fails to comply with federal or state law, standard or special grant or subgrant conditions, or contractual agreements on which the grant or subgrant award is predicated, is subject to actions under Chapter 9, Subchapter H of this title (relating to Grant Sanctions).

Source Note: The provisions of this §31.48 adopted to be effective August 11, 1994, 19 TexReg 5880; amended to be effective February 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 1365; amended to be effective April 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 3080; amended to be effective February 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 1380; amended to be effective June 17, 2010, 35 TexReg 5079; amended to be effective May 19, 2011, 36 TexReg 3111; amended to be effective November 21, 2013, 38 TexReg 8253; amended to be effective December 6, 2017, 42 TexReg 6815