(a) Executive director.
  (1) The commission will elect an executive director for the department who shall be skilled in transportation planning and development and in organizational management. The executive director, as the chief executive officer of the department, is authorized to administer the day-to-day operations of the department. The executive director may hold that position until removed by the commission.
  (2) To assist in discharging the duties and responsibilities of the executive director, the executive director may organize, appoint, and retain such administrative staff as he or she deems appropriate, including the chief financial officer of the department.
  (3) The executive director shall:
    (A) serve the commission in an advisory capacity, without vote;
    (B) submit quarterly, annually, and biennially to the commission detailed reports of the progress of public road construction, public and mass transportation development, and detailed statement of expenditures;
    (C) hire, promote, assign, re-assign, transfer, and, consistent with applicable law and policy, terminate staff necessary to accomplish the roles and missions of the department;
    (D) notify the chair of grounds for removal of a commissioner if the executive director knows that a potential ground for removal exists, or, if the potential ground for removal relates to the chair, notify another commissioner;
    (E) under the direction and with the approval of the commission, prepare a comprehensive plan providing a system of state highways; and
    (F) perform other responsibilities as required by law or assigned by the commission.
  (4) The executive director may, consistent with applicable law, delegate one or more of the functions listed under paragraph (3)(B) - (F) of this subsection to the staff of the department.
(b) Department staff. The staff of the Texas Department of Transportation, under the direction of the executive director, is responsible for:
  (1) implementing the policies and programs of the commission by:
    (A) formulating and applying operating procedures; and
    (B) prescribing such other operating policies and procedures as may be consistent with and in furtherance of the roles and missions of the department;
  (2) providing the chair and commissioners administrative support necessary to perform their respective duties and responsibilities, including:
    (A) assigning staff to assist commissioners;
    (B) providing necessary office space and equipment;
    (C) furnishing in-house legal counsel;
    (D) providing all information and documents necessary for the commission to effectively perform its responsibilities; and
    (E) preparing an agenda under the direction of the chair, providing notice, and transcribing commission meetings and hearings as required by the Texas Open Meetings Act, Government Code, Chapter 551; and
  (3) performing all other duties as prescribed by law or as assigned by the commission.
(c) Divisions. Consistent with commission direction provided under §1.1(b)(1)(Q) of this subchapter, the executive director shall organize the department into headquarters operating divisions reflecting the various functions and duties assigned to the department, and shall designate a division director who shall administer each division .
(d) Districts.
  (1) District office. The department is divided into geographical districts, each containing one district office. Each district is administered by a district engineer who is a registered professional engineer and is appointed by the executive director.
  (2) Area office. A district contains one or more area offices, each of which is responsible for carrying out the department's primary functions at the local level for a designated geographical area. Each area office is normally administered by an area engineer who shall be a registered professional engineer.
  (3) Project office. A district may contain one or more project offices, which is normally responsible for a specific project within an area.
  (4) District Classification. Each district of the department is classified as metropolitan, urban, or rural, according to the population within the district's boundaries. A district's population is determined using the most recent population information provided to the department by the Texas Demographic Center and after the publication of the data from each federal decennial census, the department will review the population levels and recommend to the commission any adjustments to the classification criteria that it considers necessary. A district is classified as:
    (A) metropolitan if it has a population of more than 1 million;
    (B) urban if it has a population of not less than 400,000 and not more than 1 million; or
    (C) rural if it has a population of less than 400,000.

Source Note: The provisions of this §1.2 adopted to be effective February 23, 1993, 18 TexReg 890; amended to be effective August 23, 1996, 21 TexReg 7664; amended to be effective July 19, 1998, 23 TexReg 7241; amended to be effective March 19, 2000, 25 TexReg 2161; amended to be effective January 8, 2004, 29 TexReg 226; amended to be effective December 8, 2005, 30 TexReg 8178; amended to be effective January 7, 2009, 34 TexReg 65; amended to be effective December 10, 2009, 34 TexReg 8793; amended to be effective May 20, 2010, 35 TexReg 3850; amended to be effective September 15, 2011, 36 TexReg 5945; amended to be effective February 20, 2014, 39 TexReg 997;amended to be effective July 17, 2024, 49 TexReg 5160