Department of Transportation: report: state highway system: safety enhancements.

Senator Seyarto, with Assembly Member Patterson as a coauthor, directs the Department of Transportation to perform a time-limited, informational review of how safety-enhancement projects on the state’s highway system are delivered, with a formal report to the Legislature due in early 2027. The core objective is to evaluate current efforts and identify opportunities to streamline the processes and procedures that govern the delivery of safety-related improvements.

The bill requires the department to examine five areas: first, administrative, regulatory, and procedural factors that affect the timing of safety-enhancement projects; second, the feasibility and use of alternative project delivery methods such as design-build, progressive design-build, job order contracting, construction manager/general contractor, and other innovations determined by the department; third, whether the department has sufficient statutory authority to employ the evaluated delivery methods for safety-specific projects and where additional authority may be needed; fourth, recommendations to improve interagency coordination and procurement strategies while preserving safety and transparency; and fifth, a summary of existing and planned department initiatives to streamline delivery of safety enhancements. The report must be informational and based only on available data, and it may not include project-specific findings, imply causality between timelines and safety outcomes, or create a new duty or standard of care for the department.

Implementation and fiscal details emphasize that the department’s analysis is to rely on existing data and avoid establishing new obligations. No new appropriation is tied to the legislation, though the Fiscal Committee will review potential costs as part of its oversight. The department is to submit the report by the unspecified deadline in early 2027, with the new requirement automatically repealing four years later, absent further legislative action. The measure aligns the reporting obligation with existing government-wide procedures for such studies and signals a temporary, information-gathering purpose rather than an immediate policy shift.

Together, the measure situates a structured, data-informed inquiry into how delivery methods and interagency coordination might influence the efficiency of safety projects, while maintaining safeguards around safety and transparency. It invites the Legislature to consider whether current authorities are sufficient for innovative procurement approaches and how future changes, if warranted, might be pursued through subsequent legislation after the report’s conclusions. The proposal thus acts as a foundational, time-bound study aimed at informing potential policy considerations without altering current procurement rules in the interim.