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2012 SESSION

12104802D
HOUSE BILL NO. 599
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Transportation
on February 7, 2012)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate LeMunyon)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 33.1-13.03:1, relating to evaluation of transportation projects in the Northern Virginia Transportation District; reports.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 33.1-13.03:1 as follows:

§ 33.1-13.03:1. Responsibilities of Commonwealth Transportation Board for long-range transportation planning in the Northern Virginia Transportation District.

A. In establishing the policies and priorities for the Northern Virginia Transportation District, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, shall evaluate all significant transportation projects in and near the Northern Virginia Transportation District, including highway, mass transit, and technology projects, and provide an objective, quantitative rating for each project according to (i) the total amount of reduction in traffic congestion regionally and separately and (ii) the amount of reduction in traffic congestion expected to be achieved per dollar cost of the project. Such evaluation shall rely on transportation modeling that employs computer simulations using methods currently and customarily employed in transportation modeling. The Commonwealth Transportation Board may rely on the results of transportation modeling performed by other entities, including the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Department of Transportation, or private entities contracted for this purpose by the Board or other entities, provided that the modeling is in accordance with this section. The Commonwealth Transportation Board shall publicize the quantitative ratings determined for each project on its website and update such findings at least every four years, with the first report to be made no later than January 1, 2013. Each such report shall also contain two lists with at least five of the best-rated projects on each list that should be completed to:

1. Reduce congestion as quickly as possible during typically congested periods, which shall be known as the Northern Virginia Congestion Reduction List; and

2. Maximize regional mobility and minimize the loss of life in the event of a homeland security emergency in the national capital area in plausible scenarios determined in consultation with the Office of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, which shall be known as the Homeland Security Risk Reduction List.

Such lists need not be mutually exclusive and shall be considered by the Board in making decisions regarding the allocation of transportation infrastructure funds.

B. For purposes of this section, the significant transportation projects to be evaluated shall comprise at least 25 such projects, without regard to funding source, and include but not be limited to:

1. Projects included in the version of the Financially Constrained Long-Range Plan of the Capital Region Transportation Planning Board in effect when the evaluation is made, plus additional projects in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's TransAction 2030 Plan and subsequent updates; and

2. Other highway, rail, bus, and technology projects that could make a significant impact on mobility in the region, to include additional Potomac River crossings west and south of Washington, D.C., extension of the Metro Orange Line, bus rapid transit on Interstate Route 66, and relevant portions of the Statewide Transportation Plan established pursuant to § 33.1-23.03.