A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to adjust the weighting attributed under the transportation investment strategy formula to the department of transportation's division engineers, the metropolitan planning organizations, and the rural transportation planning organizations, when selecting regional impact and division need projects, as recommended by the House Select Committee on Strategic Transportation Planning and Long Term Funding Solutions.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑189.11(d)(2)a. reads as rewritten:
"(2)	Regional Impact Projects. – Thirty percent (30%) of the funds subject to this section shall be used for Regional Impact Projects and allocated by population of Distribution Regions based on the most recent estimates certified by the Office of State Budget and Management:
a.	Criteria. – A combination of transportation‑related quantitative criteria, qualitative criteria, and local input shall be used to rank Regional Impact Projects involving highways that address cost‑effective needs from a region‑wide perspective and promote economic growth. Local input is defined as the rankings identified by the Department's Division Engineers, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and Rural Transportation Planning Organizations. Division Engineer local input scoring shall take into account public comments. The Department shall ensure that the public has a full opportunity to submit public comments, by widely available notice to the public, an adequate time period for input, and public hearings. Board of Transportation input shall be in accordance with G.S. 136‑189.11(g)(1) and G.S. 143B‑350(g). The criteria utilized for selection of Regional Impact Projects shall be based ten percent (10%) on the rankings identified by the Division Engineers, twenty percent (20%) on the rankings identified by the Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the Rural Transportation Planning Organizations, and seventy percent (70%) on consideration of a numeric scale of 100 points based on the following quantitative criteria:
...."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 136‑189.11(d)(3)a. reads as rewritten:
"(3)	Division Need Projects. – Thirty percent (30%) of the funds subject to this section shall be allocated in equal share to each of the Department divisions, as defined in G.S. 136‑14.1, and used for Division Need Projects.
a.	Criteria. – A combination of transportation‑related quantitative criteria, qualitative criteria, and local input shall be used to rank Division Need Projects involving highways that address cost‑effective needs from a Division‑wide perspective, provide access, and address safety‑related needs of local communities. Local input is defined as the rankings identified by the Department's Division Engineers, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and Rural Transportation Planning Organizations. Division Engineer local input scoring shall take into account public comments. The Department shall ensure that the public has a full opportunity to submit public comments, by widely available notice to the public, an adequate time period for input, and public hearings. Board of Transportation input shall be in accordance with G.S. 136‑189.11(g)(1) and G.S. 143B‑350(g). The criteria utilized for selection of Division Need Projects shall be based fifteen percent (15%) on the rankings identified by the Department's Division Engineers, thirty‑five percent (35%) on the rankings identified by the Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the Rural Transportation Planning Organizations, and fifty percent (50%) on consideration of a numeric scale of 100 points based on the following quantitative criteria, except as provided in sub‑subdivision b. of this subdivision:
...."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 136‑189.11(d)(4)b. reads as rewritten:
"(4)	Criteria for nonhighway projects. – Nonhighway projects subject to this subsection shall be evaluated through a separate prioritization process established by the Department that complies with all of the following:
...
b.	Local input shall include rankings of projects identified by the Department's Division Engineers, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and Rural Transportation Planning Organizations. Division Engineer local input scoring shall take into account public comments. The Department shall ensure that the public has a full opportunity to submit public comments, by widely available notice to the public, an adequate time period for input, and public hearings. Board of Transportation input shall be in accordance with G.S. 136‑189.11(g)(1) and G.S. 143B‑350(g)."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.