(a) Eligibility.
  (1) A public or private entity that is authorized by state law to acquire, design, construct, finance, operate, or maintain a toll facility is eligible to submit a request for financial assistance under this subchapter.
  (2) A private entity is not eligible to submit a request for a grant.
  (3) For requests submitted after January 1, 2010, to be eligible to receive funds under this subchapter, an entity must have adopted an internal ethics and compliance program that satisfies the requirements of §10.51 of this title (relating to Internal Ethics and Compliance Program) and must enforce compliance with that program.
(b) Basic request. Except as otherwise noted below with respect to a request for funding of development costs only, a request must be accompanied by:
  (1) an overview of the project, which shall include a description of the project, the estimated total cost of the project or the preliminary cost estimate of development costs if the request is to fund only development costs, and the proposed use of the requested financial assistance;
  (2) a list of all proposed funding sources, including, but not limited to, bond revenue, any equity contribution from the requestor, and the financial assistance requested under this subchapter, and the proposed use of the funding;
  (3) the requested terms of the financial assistance;
  (4) a description of the need, or potential need in the case of a request to fund development costs, for the project and potential impact on traffic congestion and mobility;
  (5) a statement of the amount of unencumbered (or unreserved) cash on hand or the requestor's latest audited financial statement;
  (6) the latest bond rating obtained by the requestor when using similar sources of revenue to be pledged, if applicable;
  (7) a preliminary design study which includes:
    (A) an initial route and potential alignments;
    (B) the project's logical termini and independent utility, if applicable; and
    (C) potential revisions or changes to state highway system facilities necessitated by the project;
  (8) a description of the extent to which the requestor's toll collection system or plan for a toll collection system provides interoperability;
  (9) unless the request is to fund development costs only, official written approval of the project by the governing body of each entity that may become liable for repayment of any financial assistance;
  (10) a binding commitment that the environmental consequences of the proposed project will be fully considered in accordance with, and that the proposed project will comply with, all applicable local, state, and federal environmental laws, regulations, and requirements;
  (11) a binding commitment to implement all EPIC; and
  (12) documentary evidence, to the extent then available, of community involvement in development of the proposed project and public opinion about it.
(c) Supplemental information and data. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the requestor shall submit the following supplemental information and data.
  (1) Financial feasibility study. Unless the request is to fund development costs only, the requestor shall submit a financial feasibility study that includes:
    (A) a project construction or asset acquisition schedule identifying the timing, amount, and source of all funds required;
    (B) an analysis of the expected financing period of the project;
    (C) a pro forma annual cash flow analysis for the expected financing period of the project showing:
      (i) if applicable, anticipated revenues to be used in repayment by source;
      (ii) anticipated disbursements for preliminary studies and engineering, construction, EPIC, right of way acquisition, utility adjustments, operations, and maintenance;
      (iii) anticipated debt service coverage ratios for each debt obligation; and
      (iv) funds expected to be used to meet the requirements of any sinking funds, reserve funds, and amortization payments;
    (D) a description of the methods used in preparing the financial feasibility study, the assumptions contained in the study, and persons and entities responsible for the preparation of the study;
    (E) if the financial assistance is required to be repaid, the length of time the financial assistance will be outstanding or obligated;
    (F) the anticipated interest rates for any and all debt outstanding during the term of the financial assistance;
    (G) the anticipated benefits to the state and to the requestor resulting from the assistance; and
    (H) based upon then available information and analyses, a description of how the requested assistance will, to the extent applicable, accomplish the following (it being understood that failure to accomplish all of these items will not necessarily cause a request to be ineligible for financial assistance):
      (i) expand the availability of funding for transportation projects;
      (ii) reduce direct state costs;
      (iii) maximize private and local participation in the cost of projects; and
      (iv) improve the efficiency of the state's transportation systems.
  (2) Project impacts. The requestor shall provide the following information concerning the impact of the project:
    (A) how the project will be consistent with the Statewide Transportation Plan and, if appropriate, with the metropolitan transportation plan developed by an MPO;
    (B) if the project is in a nonattainment area, how the project will be consistent with the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, with the conforming plan and Transportation Improvement Program for the MPO in which the project is located (if necessary), and with the State Implementation Plan; and
    (C) a preliminary description of any known environmental, social, economic, or cultural resource issues, such as hazardous material sites, impacts on wetlands and other water resources, endangered species, parks, neighborhoods, businesses, historic buildings or bridges, and archeological sites.
(d) Waiver of required information or data. The executive director may waive submission of individual items of information or data required by subsection (c) of this section if:
  (1) the information or data required by this section is not relevant to the project or the financial assistance requested;
  (2) the department already possesses information or data in a format that may be substituted for the required information or data; or
  (3) the past performance of the requestor on previous projects developed in collaboration with the department indicates that the requestor will adequately and prudently address the issues and impacts described in the requested information or data.

Source Note: The provisions of this §27.53 adopted to be effective August 15, 2002, 27 TexReg 7178; amended to be effective March 18, 2004, 29 TexReg 2745; amended to be effective February 19, 2009, 34 TexReg 1114; amended to be effective January 6, 2011, 35 TexReg 11964; amended to be effective May 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 3122