(a) If the commission determines that funds available for use in the pass-through toll program are limited, or other circumstances exist that may impair the ability of entities to equally participate in the program, the commission may periodically limit the periods of time during which the department will accept proposals for projects to be developed and, for each specific period, prescribe conditions for submission and the costs that may be reimbursed under a pass-through agreement.     
      (b) Upon the commission's designation of a specific period for acceptance of proposals and determination of the applicable conditions, the department will publish a notice in the             Texas Register            soliciting proposals for projects to be developed under a pass-through agreement under this subchapter. The notice will specify:      
        (1) the deadline for submitting proposals under the notice;       
        (2) the estimated amount of funds available in the pass-through toll program that can be allocated to proposals submitted under the notice;       
        (3) whether submissions will be accepted from only public entities or from both public and private entities;       
        (4) whether submissions will be accepted for only highway projects, only railway projects, or for both highway and railway projects;       
        (5) the categories of project costs, as described by §5.53(a)(11) of this subchapter, that will be considered as eligible for reimbursement; and       
        (6) any other condition deemed appropriate by the commission.       
      (c) A proposal submitted in response to a notice must contain the information required by §5.53 of this subchapter.     
      (d) The department will evaluate the submitted proposals using the items of consideration set forth in §5.55 of this subchapter and present its analyses to the commission.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §5.54 adopted to be effective February 19, 2009, 34 TexReg 1100