ENGINEERING AND DESIGN CONTRACTS

(a) The department shall use private sector engineering-related services to assist in accomplishing its activities in providing transportation projects. For the purpose of this section, engineering-related services means engineering, land surveying, environmental, transportation feasibility and financial, architectural, real estate appraisal, and materials laboratory services. These engineering-related services are for highway improvements, right-of-way acquisition, and aviation improvements. (b) The department, in setting a minimum level of expenditures in these engineering-related activities that will be paid to the private sector providers, shall provide that the expenditure level for a state fiscal year in all strategies paid to private sector providers for all department engineering-related services for transportation projects is not less than 35 percent of the total funds appropriated in Strategy A.1.1. Plan/Design/Manage and Strategy A.1.2. of the General Appropriations Act for that state fiscal biennium. The department shall attempt to make expenditures for engineering-related services with private sector providers under this subsection with historically underutilized businesses, as defined by Section 2161.001, Government Code, in an amount consistent with the applicable provisions of the Government Code, any applicable state disparity study, and in accordance with the good-faith-effort procedures outlined in the rules adopted by the comptroller.