(a) The department may contract with one or more individuals or businesses for professional services to market, administer, recruit, or secure sponsors for the acknowledgment program.
(b) The department will require a vendor to enter into an agreement prescribed by the department with each participating sponsor.
(c) The agreement must:
  (1) require that the participating sponsor comply with state law, including laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, religion, color, age, sex, or national origin;
  (2) include a termination clause based on safety concerns, interference with the free and safe flow of traffic, or a determination that the sponsorship agreement is not in the public interest;
  (3) provide the specific amount of the donation;
  (4) state the fee or fees charged by the vendor to administer the program (directly or indirectly paid by the participating sponsor);
  (5) state the specific service being sponsored;
  (6) describe the method and location of each acknowledgment;
  (7) provide the location of each acknowledgment sign, to include roadway, exit number or crossroad, and county; and
  (8) state the date of expiration of agreement.
(d) The vendor shall notify the department within three calendar days of receipt of a donation from a participating sponsor. The notification must include:
  (1) the name of the participating sponsor;
  (2) the transportation service for which the donation was made;
  (3) a description of the method and location of each acknowledgment;
  (4) the general location for each acknowledgment sign;
  (5) the name, logo, or emblem requested by the participating sponsor to be placed on the sign; and
  (6) the date on which the sponsorship agreement expires.
(e) The department will determine the location of each acknowledgment sign and promptly will provide the determination to the vendor. The vendor shall maintain the location information in the participating sponsor's file.
(f) The vendor shall furnish an annual report to the department. The annual report must include a listing of all participating sponsors for which the vendor has accepted a donation under an existing agreement, administrative fees collected, and the annual revenue submitted to the department for each program category. The department, in its discretion, may require one or more other reports from a vendor.
(g) The vendor shall furnish, in a format prescribed by the department, a monthly electronic inventory to the department. The inventory shall include:
  (1) a list of all participating sponsors in the program for which the vendor is responsible;
  (2) contact information on each participating sponsor including address and key contact name and telephone numbers;
  (3) a description of the method and location of each acknowledgment;
  (4) the location information for each acknowledgment sign, as provided at the time of installation; and
  (5) the date of expiration of the agreement for each participating sponsor.
(h) If the department determines that a regulatory, warning, or guide sign is needed at a location, an acknowledgment sign at or planned for that location will be removed or relocated. The vendor, as directed by the department, will notify the participating sponsor of the change. If an acknowledgment sign is removed and not relocated within 24 hours of the time of removal, the vendor may extend the participation agreement for a period equal to the number of days in which the acknowledgment sign was not posted.
(i) The department may award one or more contracts for professional services to market, administer, recruit, and secure sponsors for the acknowledgment program.

Source Note: The provisions of this §12.354 adopted to be effective February 21, 2013, 38 TexReg 1001; amended to be effective February 20, 2014, 39 TexReg 999