1. (a) Changes in funding. Changes in the allocation of funds under §16.153 or §16.154 of this subchapter (relating to Funding Categories and Transportation Allocation Funding Formulas, respectively) may result from significant changes in the department's funding.

2. (b) Allocation revisions. If a significant change in funding is identified by the department's chief financial officer in an updated cash flow forecast, the commission may revise the allocation of funds to each program funding category or from the program funding categories to the districts and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) and may approve:

   1. (1) a specific percentage increase or decrease in the allocation of funds and, subject to the mandates of state and federal law, apply the percentage change equally to each program funding category; or

   2. (2) an increase or decrease in the allocation of funds to one or more program funding categories, after considering the:

      1. (A) total amount of the change;
      2. (B) priority of the funding category based on the category's relationship to the stated commission goals as provided in the statewide long-range transportation plan under §16.54 of this chapter (relating to Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan (SLRTP));
      3. (C) mandates of state and federal law; and
      4. (D) best interests of the state.
3. (c) Adjustment of programs. After the commission approves a change in the allocation of funds to a program funding category under subsection (b) of this section, the funds allocated to individual districts and MPOs will be adjusted and the unified transportation program, statewide transportation improvement program, and metropolitan transportation improvement programs will be revised in accordance with the applicable change in funding. Specific projects will be advanced or delayed in the order of the planning organization's and department's listed priorities in the applicable programs.
4. (d) Preference for allocation of funding increases. If the allocation of funds to a district or MPO is reduced under subsection (c) of this section, any subsequent increase in the allocation of funds to the applicable program funding category will be allocated first to the accounts of the districts and MPOs that were previously reduced.
5. (e) Public involvement. The department will hold at least one statewide public hearing regarding a proposed change in the allocation of funds to a program funding category under this section with an available comment period of at least 30 days after the date the hearing notice appears in the Texas Register in accordance with the procedures set forth in §16.105(h) of this chapter (relating to Unified Transportation Program (UTP)).
6. (f) Publication. Documents describing each change in the allocation of funds to a program funding category will be available for viewing by the public on the department's website and at each of the district offices and at the department's Finance Division offices in Austin.

Source Note:The provisions of this §16.160 adopted to be effective January 1, 2011, 35 TexReg 8388; amended to be effective November 15, 2012, 37 TexReg 8981.