UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.

(a) The department shall develop a unified transportation program covering a period of 10 years to guide the development of and authorize construction of transportation projects. The program must:

(1) annually identify target funding levels; and

(2) list all projects that the department intends to develop or begin construction of during the program period.

(b) The commission shall adopt rules that:

(1) specify the criteria for selecting projects to be included in the program;

(2) define program funding categories, including categories for safety, maintenance, and mobility; and

(3) define each phase of a major transportation project, including the planning, programming, implementation, and construction phases.

(b-1) The commission by rule shall:

(1) adopt a policy comprehensively explaining the department's approach to public involvement and transparency related to the unified transportation program; and

(2) require the department to, at a minimum, make a report on any change to the unified transportation program available on the department's Internet website and provide the report to the commission in a public meeting, regardless of any rules adopted for public hearings and approvals.

(c) The department shall publish the entire unified transportation program and summary documents highlighting project benchmarks, priorities, and forecasts in appropriate media and on the department's Internet website in a format that is easily understandable by the public.

(d) In developing the rules required by Subsection (b), the commission shall collaborate with local transportation entities.

(e) In developing the policy required by Subsection (b-1)(1), the commission shall collaborate with stakeholders.