CCS SS SCS HS HB 668 -- TRANSPORTATION ACCOUNTABILITY

This bill establishes various accountability measures for the
Department of Transportation.

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT

The bill expands the duties of the Joint Committee on
Transportation Oversight.  The committee will be required to meet
two times a year, in addition to its annual meeting.  In addition
to its current duties, the committee may:

(1)  Require the Inspector General to review, examine, or verify
the contents of the annual report submitted to the committee; and

(2)  Direct the Inspector General to conduct a management
evaluation or program evaluations.

ANNUAL REPORT

The annual report that is required to be submitted before the
General Assembly, Governor, and Lieutenant Governor, prior to
November 10 each year, must also be posted to the department's
Internet web site so that General Assembly members may elect to
access a copy of the report electronically.

INSPECTOR GENERAL

The Office of Transportation Inspector General is created and
assigned to the General Assembly.  The Inspector General will
serve as Executive Director of the Joint Committee on
Transportation Oversight and will be appointed to a five-year
term by a majority vote of the Speaker and the Minority Floor
Leader of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem
and the Minority Floor Leader of the Senate.  The Inspector
General must have training and experience in transportation
policy, management of transportation organizations, accounting,
auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, or public
administration.

The Inspector General is required to:

(1)  Perform specific investigations, reviews, audits, or other
studies of the Department of Transportation as required by the
joint committee;

(2)  Receive and process citizen complaints relating to
transportation issues;

(3)  Investigate complaints from current and former employees of
the department relating to the department; and

(4)  Maintain records and confidentiality with respect to the
various investigations and tasks.

HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

The bill reorganizes the terms of members of the Highways and
Transportation Commission and spells out the initial
appointments.  Appointments will be made by March 1 in
odd-numbered years.  Present members will serve the remainder of
the term for which they were appointed or reappointed as provided
in the bill.  When a vacancy occurs in any term of a commissioner
due to death, resignation, or removal, a successor will be
appointed for only the remainder of the unexpired term.  The
chair and vice chair of the commission will be appointed from the
two commission members who are beginning to serve the last two
years of their term.  One member will serve as the chair; and the
other will serve as vice chair, reversing positions the following
year.

Commissioners appointed or reappointed after March 1, 2004, will
be prohibited from:  (1)  hosting or managing a political
fund-raiser or soliciting funds for any candidate who is seeking
a statewide or nationally elected office; or (2)  serving on the
board or as the chair of any political action committee,
political party committee, or continuing committee.

STATE OF THE STATE ON TRANSPORTATION

The bill requires the Director of the Department of
Transportation to present a state of transportation address to a
joint session of the General Assembly by February 15 each year.

ARBITRATION

The bill requires that any dispute or controversy in excess of
$25,000 but not more than $327,000 against the Department of
Transportation stemming from a contract award be settled, upon
request, by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration
Association in accordance with its Construction Industry
Arbitration Rules.  The dollar amounts will be adjusted on an
annual basis on January 1 in accordance with the Implicit Price
Deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditure.  Any judgment on
the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in the
circuit court of Cole County.

TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS

Under the bill, property separated by easements or rights-of-way
will be considered contiguous for transportation development
district purposes.  Districts formed by property owners need not
contain contiguous properties if:

(1)  The petition provides that the sole funding method is a
sales tax;

(2)  A court finds that all the property within the proposed
district will benefit district projects; and

(3)  Each parcel within the district is within five miles of
every other parcel.

As an alternative method for forming a transportation development
district, the bill allows two or more local transportation
authorities which have adopted a resolution calling for the joint
establishment of a district to form a district.  The proposed
district area must be contiguous and may contain all or any
portion of a county or city.  The bill outlines the requirements
of the petition.

The bill allows the alternatively formed development district to
impose a sales tax contingent upon voter approval.  The district
may impose a funding mechanism other than a sales tax if approved
by the voters within the district.

CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS

The bill requires that 90 days after an award is paid into court
and no agreement has been filed and no party having an interest
in the award has filed a distribution motion, the court will
determine the percentage of the award to which each party having
an interest is entitled.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:12 am