CCS/HCS/SB 173 - This act modifies provisions relating to transportation and infrastructure. JOINT COMMITTEE ON MISSOURI'S PROMISE - This act creates an additional area of study for the Joint Committee on Missouri's Promise. The Committee shall develop long-term strategies and plans for investing in, and maintaining, a modern infrastructure and transportation system and identifying potential sources of revenue to sustain such efforts. MISSOURI STATE TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM - The Missouri State Transit Assistance Program is established and shall be administered by the Department of Transportation to provide financial assistance to defray the operating and capital costs incurred by public mass transportation service providers. The distribution of any appropriated funds must be determined by evaluating certain factors of each service provider including population, ridership, cost and efficiency of the program, availability of alternative transportation in the area, and local effort or tax support. This provision is identical to HB 484 (2011). HIGHWAY DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTS - This act authorizes the state Highways and Transportation Commission to enter into an additional design-build contract for the improvement of the bridge on US40/I-64 located in St. Louis County and St. Charles County (Daniel Boone Bridge). The act also extends the sunset date for the commission to enter into design-build project contracts. Under current law, the commission's authority to enter into design-build projects expires on July 1, 2012. This act extends the date to July 1, 2018. This provision is similar to SCS/SB 133 (2011). SEWER DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTS - This act authorizes the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District to enter into a design-build contract for a construction project exceeding $1 million. Under the terms of the act, the sewer district must establish written procedures for prequalifying design-build contractors. The sewer district is authorized to issue a request for proposals to a maximum of 5 prequalified design-build contractors. The act establishes advertising requirements and procedures for submitting and opening proposals and for readvertising when necessary. The act also specifies that payment bonds shall apply to the sewer design-build projects. The act further provides that performance bonds for design-build contractors do not need to cover design services if the contractors or subcontractors providing design services carry professional liability insurance in the amount established by the district in the request for proposal. The act requires architects, engineers, and land surveyors to be licensed or authorized in this state to provide such services as required by law. The act prohibits architects or engineers retained by the sewer district from acting as design-build contractors, subcontractors, joint venturers, or partners for the project. The sewer design-build contract provisions are similar to the ones found in HB 659 (2011) and HCS/SCS/SB 133 (2011). EXCAVATION NOTIFICATION CENTERS - This act extends, from December 31, 2011, to December 31, 2014, the requirement that the State Highways and Transportation Commission be a notification center participant regarding excavation involving underground facilities. The act removes a provision which requires the notification center to ask excavators, as part of the process to request the locating and marking of underground facilities, to identify whether or not the proposed excavation will be on a public right-of-way or easement dedicated to public use for vehicular traffic. These provisions are identical to HB 678 (2011). HIGHWAY NAMING PROVISIONS - This act designates the portion of State Highway 30 from State Route NN north three miles to 1/10 of a mile southwest of Old State Highway 30 in Jefferson County as the "SFC Wm. Brian Woods, Jr. Memorial Highway" (section 227.430). This portion of the act is identical to HB 912 (2011) and HCS/SB 77 (2011). This act repeals the Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Memorial Highway designation for a specified portion of Highway 160 in Greene County. In lieu of this designation, the act designates a different portion of U.S. Highway 160 in Greene County as the "Rabbi Ernest I. Jacob Memorial Highway" (section 227.410). This provision is contained in HCS/SB 77 (2011). This act designates the portion of Interstate 40/64 in St. Louis County from the Boone's Crossing overpass at mile marker 17.0 west to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport overpass at mile marker 13.8 as the "Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Joseph G. Schuengel Memorial Highway" (section 227.424). This provision is also contained in HCS/SB 77 (2011). MISSOURI TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS - This act modifies the "Missouri Transportation Development District Act" to include public mass transportation projects(section 238.202). The act also allows transportation development districts located within Kansas City to include the operation of street cars or other rail-based or fixed guideway public mass transportation systems. The act further provides that districts formed for public mass transportation system projects shall not have to submit the proposed project to the state highways and transportation commission for its prior approval (section 238.225). In addition, the act provides that the sales taxes imposed by a district whose project is a public mass transportation system shall not be considered economic activity taxes as used in the TIF statutes and that the tax revenues are not subject to allocation by the TIF statutes (section 238.235). These provisions may also be found in HCS/SS/SCS/SB 58 (2011). JIM ERTLE