1. (a) Private entities may submit unsolicited proposals to the department requesting participation in a turnpike project to be constructed pursuant to the Turnpike Act. Unsolicited proposals that comply with the requirements of this section shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of this section.

2. (b) A proposal requesting department participation in a proposed turnpike project shall be filed with the department and must include the following information:

   1. (1) the limits, scope, and location of the proposed project, including all proposed interconnections with other transportation facilities;
   2. (2) the results expected from project implementation and the critical factors for the project's success;
   3. (3) all studies previously completed concerning the project;
   4. (4) complete information concerning the experience, expertise, technical competence, and qualifications of the proposer and of each member of the proposer's management team and of other key employees or consultants, including the name, address, and professional designation of each member of the proposer's management team and of other key employees or consultants, the capability of the proposer to develop the proposed project, and information responsive to the evaluation criteria listed in §27.4(e) of this subchapter;
   5. (5) a proposed financial plan for the proposed project that includes, at a minimum, projected project costs and proposed sources of funds;
   6. (6) a specific description of the level and nature of participation sought from the department;
   7. (7) information necessary for the department to carry out its environmental review responsibilities under §27.3(h) and (i) of this subchapter;
   8. (8) a listing of anticipated opponents and a description of potential social, economic, and environmental impacts, and potentially competing facilities and proposers;
   9. (9) other information of probable interest to the department; and
   10. (10) the proposal review fee of $20,000 in the form prescribed by §27.3(d) of this subchapter.

3. (c) Any proposal properly filed with the department in accordance with subsection (b) of this section and accompanied by the proper proposal review fee will be reviewed by the department. The department may meet with the proposer as necessary to clarify the proposal, or may issue requests for clarification. Based on that review and any clarification, an initial recommendation will be made to the commission as to whether the department should further evaluate its requested participation in the applicable turnpike project. That recommendation shall be based on whether the proposed project:

   1. (1) is compatible with existing and planned transportation facilities; and
   2. (2) furthers state, regional, and local transportation plans, programs, policies, and goals, as well as the proposal's responsiveness to such other evaluation criteria as the department deems relevant.
4. (d) If the initial recommendation is that the department further evaluate its requested participation in the applicable turnpike project and the commission approves that recommendation, the department will publish notice of that decision and provide an opportunity for the submission of competing proposals and qualifications as provided in this section. The department will publish a notice in the Texas Register and in one or more newspapers of general circulation in this state. The notice will state that the department has received an unsolicited proposal under these rules and the Turnpike Act, that it intends to evaluate the proposal, that it may negotiate a comprehensive development agreement with the proposer based on the proposal, and that it will accept for simultaneous consideration any competing proposals and qualifications that the department receives in accordance with these rules within 45 days of the initial publication of the notice in the Texas Register, or such additional time as authorized by commission order. In determining whether to authorize additional time for submission of competing proposals and qualifications, the commission will consider the complexity of the proposed project. The notice will summarize the proposed turnpike project, identify its proposed location and interconnections with other transportation facilities, and provide a conceptual design. The department also may provide traffic counts, forecasts, and other available data either in the notice or upon request of any party responding to the notice. The notice will also specify the criteria that will be used to evaluate the unsolicited proposal and any competing proposals, and the relative weight given to the criteria. A proposal submitted in response to a notice must contain the information required by subsection (b) of this section.
5. (e) Failure by a prospective proposer to submit a competing proposal, together with the proper proposal review fee in the form prescribed by §27.3(d) of this subchapter, within the 45-day period or such additional time as authorized by the commission, shall preclude the proposal from consideration by the department unless and until the department terminates consideration of, or negotiations on, the original unsolicited proposal and any and all competing proposals received within that time period. The department will not grant requests to extend the time period to submit competing proposals; and the receipt of one or more competing proposals during that period will not trigger the posting or publication of a new notice or the commencement of any new time period.
6. (f) The department recognizes that it may receive proposals that have certain characteristics in common with the original unsolicited proposal, yet differ in other material respects. In those cases, the department reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to treat such a proposal as either a competing proposal or a noncompeting proposal. Because of the consequences to a proposer of failing to submit a proposal that the department could later deem a competing proposal within the 45-day period, or such additional time as authorized by the commission, prospective proposers are strongly urged to monitor the department's notices of unsolicited proposals received, and be prepared to submit within that time period if they perceive that a proposal they are considering or are preparing bears certain similarities to, or has characteristics in common with, an unsolicited proposal which is the subject of a notice.
7. (g) Upon the expiration of the 45-day period, or such additional time as authorized by the commission, the department will subject the original unsolicited proposal, together with any and all properly submitted competing proposals, to the following evaluation process. If one or more properly submitted competing proposals are received, the department shall review the proposals, together with the original unsolicited proposal, utilizing the evaluation criteria set forth in §27.4(e) of this subchapter and the request for competing proposals and qualifications, and the information specified in subsection (b) of this section. The department will identify those proposers that will be considered qualified to submit detailed proposals for the proposed project, and the process will proceed in the manner described in §27.4(e)-(n) of this subchapter.
8. (h) If no properly submitted competing proposal is received, the department will request a detailed proposal containing the information described in §27.4(f) of this subchapter from the proposer submitting the original unsolicited proposal, and will proceed, to the extent applicable, in the manner described in §27.4(g)-(n) of this subchapter.

Source Note:The provisions of this §27.5 adopted to be effective July 18, 2002, 27 TexReg 6377; amended to be effective September 18, 2003, 28 TexReg 8005.