Program purposes; annual report.

(a) The net tax proceeds allocated to ALDOT in subsection (c) of Section 40-17-371 shall be used for the following program purposes, and ALDOT shall annually report the results of the programs and itemize the specific projects to the Permanent Joint Transportation Committee of the Alabama Legislature in compliance with such procedures established by or for the committee:

(1) Congestion Relief Program - The purpose of this program is to add capacity to state, U.S., and Interstate routes in highly congested areas of the state. ALDOT shall develop an assessment and prioritization plan to allocate funds for congestion relief projects on the state's transportation infrastructure.

(2) Economic Development Roads Program - The purpose of this program is to develop and improve transportation infrastructure to enhance economic development efforts in the State of Alabama. ALDOT shall develop an assessment and prioritization plan to allocate funds for economic development road projects with priority given to projects in economically underserved areas of the state.

(3) System Preservation - The purpose of this program is to address the ongoing and growing preservation and maintenance needs of the state's transportation infrastructure.

(b) ALDOT shall create an annual grant program of no less than ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for use on any classified system of roads and bridges for which any municipal government or county government may apply. All projects granted under this program are to be bid and let by the respective county or municipality following procedures approved by ALDOT. ALDOT shall develop and publish rules to establish funding criteria and create an application process to receive and select projects for funding by September 30, 2019. The first round of grant applications shall be due by November 30, 2019 and award of the grants shall be made by ALDOT on or before January 15, 2020.

(c) There is hereby created an Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-II (ATRIP-II) to fund projects of local interest on the state maintained highway system, which may also include local roads and bridges essential to such projects. All ATRIP-II Projects shall be developed and let to contract by ALDOT. The ATRIP-II program shall be an annual program beginning in fiscal year 2020 and shall be funded at an amount of not less than thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) and not more than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) which amount shall be at the discretion of the Director of ALDOT.

(d) All ALDOT projects funded pursuant to this section shall be let to contract by ALDOT and subject to the following requirements:

(1) ALDOT shall establish and apply Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals in the same manner and consistent with the requirements respecting DBEs of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for road and bridge and other similar contracts funded with federal funds. The DBE goal for ALDOT projects funded pursuant to this section, to the extent reasonably possible, shall be the same as the goal established annually by ALDOT for contracts funded with federal funds and approved by FHWA. ALDOT, to the greatest extent possible, shall ensure that DBE firms are included in the procurement process as early as possible with the objective of ensuring participation levels can be met. ALDOT shall identify qualified DBE vendors during the design process and communicate that list to the prospective prime contractors prior to the bidding process. ALDOT shall provide, on October 1 of every fiscal year of the state, beginning December 1, 2021, for the year commencing October 1, 2020, a report of ALDOT projects let to contract pursuant to this section, including information on the established DBE goals for ALDOT projects, to the Chair of the Joint Transportation Committee, the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, the Alabama Senate Minority Leader, and the Alabama House of Representatives Minority Leader.

(2) In the event ALDOT was not successful in meeting their DBE goals in a particular fiscal year, ALDOT shall provide to the Joint Transportation Committee a written strategy along with the annual project report that will outline how the goals will be addressed in the coming fiscal year, including an analysis of the primary reasons that DBEs were unsuccessful bidders and the impediments to successful DBE bids.

(3) ALDOT shall utilize its GFO dated August 14, 2018, for the next four years to design equivalent pavement sections. At that time the department shall evaluate what procedures to adopt going forward in consultation with, or otherwise informing as soon as practicable, the Permanent Joint Transportation Committee. Any exception to the GFO shall be presented to the Joint Transportation Committee.

(4) For the next four years, where feasible and practical, ALDOT shall provide alternative pavement designs utilizing asphalt or concrete materials and shall seek bids.

(Act 2019-2, 1st Sp. Sess., §8.)