(a) The Legislature finds that taxpayers should be able to easily access the details of how the state is spending their tax dollars to build and repair state and public roads. The taxpayers should also be able to easily access and compare the budgeted moneys and the performance results that are achieved for those expenditures. It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, to direct the Auditor to create and maintain a searchable website detailing where, how much, and from what source the taxpayer moneys in state government are expended for payment to third-party vendors for state roads.

(b) No later than July 1, 2020, the Auditor shall develop and make publicly available a searchable website containing, at a minimum, the following information for a given fiscal year, and the three immediately preceding fiscal years, to the extent that the commissioner has the ability to provide the information to the Auditor:

(1) The project number or name for each state road in which moneys have been expended to pay vendors to build, repair or maintain a state road;

(2) The county location for each such project;

(3) The funding source for a given funding action or expenditure to pay vendors;

(4) The budget program or activity related to a given funding action or expenditure;

(5) The name and the address, principal location, or residence of the vendors receiving payment from a given funding action or expenditure; and

(6) Additional information as to the funding action or expenditure the Auditor considers valuable for the public.

“Auditor” means the State Auditor of West Virginia, or his or her designee appointed to perform the service.

“Funding action or expenditure” includes details on the type of spending to venders, including, but not limited to, grants, contracts, and any expenditure from the State Road Fund, federal funds, special revenue funds, including any civil contingency or similar fund. Where possible, a hyperlink to the actual grants or contracts shall be provided.

“Funding source” means the state account from which the funding action or expenditure is appropriated.

“Searchable website” means a website that allows the public at no cost to search and aggregate information regarding the state’s budget and spending for state roads.

“Vendor” means any person or entity that is authorized by the State of West Virginia to supply the Division of Highways with commodities or services.

(d) The searchable website shall be updated periodically as new data becomes available and is submitted by the commissioner to the Auditor. The commissioner shall provide to the Auditor, in a format specified by the Auditor, all the data that is required to be included in the searchable website no later than 30 days after the data becomes available to the agency. The Auditor shall provide guidance and specifications to the commissioner to promote compliance with this section. The commissioner and the Auditor shall communicate and cooperate to develop methodologies for the efficient transfer of the data, including, but not limited to, methodologies to convert noncompatible electronic formats of data into data formats that can be reasonably converted and transferred to the website.

(e) The Auditor and the commissioner shall each report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Department of Transportation Accountability as to the status of the website and shall advise the committee and the commission of any issues related to the transfer and receipt of the information from the commissioner to the Auditor in a timely manner as required in this section. The reports shall be submitted at the end of each quarter for the 2020-2021 fiscal year; and annually thereafter, beginning December 1, 2021, and on December 1 of each year thereafter, until the Joint Committee finds that the annual reports are no longer required.

(a) The Enhanced Road Maintenance Program is created within the Division of Highways, to be administered by the division in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(b) To accomplish the goals of the program, the Division of Highway county supervisor in each county in consultation with the county commission of each county and any currently elected member of the Legislature whose district overlaps any portion of the county may submit to the Division of Highways a list of road repair and maintenance projects in need of repair in their county. These projects should be limited to roads that are classified as nonfederal aid eligible county roads. The projects should be listed in priority order according to Division of Highways average daily traffic counts and the county commission’s determination of the roads’ level of disrepair, and should be based upon the funds available to the county from the funding formula set forth in §17-30-3 of this code. This request is to be made to the Division of Highways by July 1, 2020, and again by July 1, 2021. The Division of Highways is authorized to award funding for these projects based upon the funding allocation formula set forth in §17-30-3 of this code. This funding would be the total available to all the counties in the district regardless of whether the county submitted a request for road repair or maintenance. Work on all projects is subject to the funding limitations set forth in §17-30-3 of this code.

(c) Following receipt of a priority list from all counties in a district, the Division of Highways shall determine the available funding from the funding formula and ascertain the funding available to address the submitted projects in the district. If funding is insufficient to address all submitted projects, the Division of Highways shall notify all the county commissions in the district of the projects which funding is not sufficient to complete. The funding may only be used for the purposes set forth in this article and for the projects submitted to the Division of Highways.

(d) The Division of Highways shall contract with a private contractor or private contractors to perform nonfederal aid road repairs and maintenance activities if 70 percent of the core maintenance projects proposed for completion in the previous year have not been completed and based upon the award allocation and for the projects as submitted to the Division of Highways as set forth in subsection (b) of this section. These repairs shall include, but are not limited to, pothole repair, paving, ditching and mowing on and along each district’s roadways. For purposes of this article, “district” means one of the management areas of the state, which include one or more counties, established by the Division of Highways, with each district headed by a separate district engineer or manager.

(e) The division shall contract with vendor contractors to complete repair and maintenance activities for any district if 70 percent of the core maintenance projects proposed in that district for completion in the previous year have not been completed. Completion of the project by the vendor is subject, however, to the availability of funds and the availability of acceptable bids from contract vendors. These repairs shall include, but are not limited to, pothole repair, paving, ditching and mowing on and along each district’s roadways.

(f) The Division of Highways and applicable district shall ensure that, alongside roads being paved, all drainage work, including any necessary ditching and installation of culverts, if necessary, has been performed in the state’s rights-of-way prior to such paving work.

§17-30-4. Funding for payment of vendor contracts; bidding, contracting and vendor requirements.

(a) Funds shall be allocated by the West Virginia Commissioner of Highways for the payment of vendor contracts among the districts for repair and maintenance of nonfederal aid roads.

(b) The Division of Highways shall process bids and award contracts in accordance with the current bid and contract review processing requirements of the division.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the bidding and vendor contracting process provided for in this article shall be conducted in accordance with the most efficient procedures available to the Division of Highways. The division may only require that the vendor provide the applicable insurance coverage and necessary bond and surety.

(d) Vendor contractors performing work pursuant to a contract as provided in this article shall follow all work, operating, and safety procedures and requirements prescribed by the Division of Highways.

§17-30-5. Reporting requirements by Division of Highways and Legislative Auditor.

(a) It is unlawful for any owner, lessee, or borrower of a vehicle or combination of vehicles to operate on any highway other than the national system of interstate and defense highways that vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross weight in excess of the gross weight for which ~~such~~ the vehicle or combination of vehicles is registered or in excess of any weight limitation set forth in this chapter, whether ~~such~~ the limitation be is specifically stated in this chapter or set by express authority granted this chapter: Provided, That if ~~any~~ a vehicle is operated within the tolerances established in this section for the gross weight of that vehicle, then that vehicle ~~shall be deemed~~ is for all purposes ~~to be~~ operating at the gross weight for which it is registered and the registered weight is deemed to include the 10 percent tolerance associated with it under this section.

(b) Subject to the limit ~~upon the weight imposed upon the highway through any one axle as~~ set forth in §17C-17-8 of this code, the total gross weight on vehicles or combination of vehicles operated on any highway other than the national system of interstate and defense highways ~~shall be~~ is as follows:

(1) A single unit truck having one steering axle and two axles in tandem ~~shall be~~ is limited to a maximum gross weight of ~~60,000~~ 70,000 pounds with a tolerance of 10 percent.

(2) A single unit truck having one steering axle and three axles in tridem arrangement ~~shall be~~ is limited to a maximum gross weight of ~~70,000~~ 80,000 pounds with a tolerance of 10 percent.

(3) A single unit truck having one steering axle and four axles in quadem arrangement, ~~shall be~~ a tractor-semitrailer combination with five axles, a tractor-semitrailer combination with six or more axles, a single unit truck having one steering axle and two axles in tandem in combination with a trailer with two axles, and a single unit truck having one steering axle and three axles in tridem in combination with a trailer with two axles, are each limited to a maximum gross weight of ~~73,000~~ 90,000 pounds with a tolerance of 10 percent.

(4) A tractor-semitrailer combination with five axles, a tractor-semitrailer combination with six or more axles, a single unit truck having one steering axle and two axles in tandem in combination with a trailer with two axles and a single unit truck having one steering axle and three axles in tridem in combination with a trailer with two axles, shall be limited to a maximum gross weight of 80,000 pounds with a tolerance of ten percent

§17C-17-11a. Authority of Commissioner of the ~~department~~ Division of Highways to increase but not decrease weight limitations upon highways designated by him or her.

If, in the opinion of the Commissioner of the ~~department~~ Division of Highways, the design, construction, and safety of any highway in this state including the national system of interstate and defense highways and highways other than the national system of interstate and defense highways, or portion thereof, are such that the gross weight limitations prescribed in §17C-17-9 or §17C-17-9a of this code can be increased without undue damage to any such highway, the commissioner may, by order, increase but not decrease the gross weight limitations of vehicles which may be operated upon any such highway, or portion thereof, designated by him or her in such order and may establish therein the gross weight limitations which shall thereafter be applicable to ~~the~~ any such highway, or portion thereof, so designated by him or her: Provided, That the maximum gross weight, including the load, established by the commissioner for any such ~~designated~~ highway, or portion thereof, ~~shall~~ may not exceed ~~80,000 pounds, except as otherwise~~ the gross weight limits provided in this article: Provided, however, That no such order of the commissioner shall establish any weight limitation in excess of or in conflict with any weight limitation prescribed by or pursuant to acts of Congress with respect to the national system of interstate and defense highways.

§17C-17-11d. Establishing maximum ~~road~~ highway weights for highways other than the national system of interstate and defense highways.

~~Effective July 1, 2004,~~ The maximum gross vehicle weight on ~~existing state-maintained roads and public highways~~ any highway other than the national system of interstate and defense highways designated for ~~gross weight vehicle load of sixty-five thousand pounds, seventy-three thousand five hundred pounds and eighty-thousand pounds~~ vehicles with a gross weight not exceeding 90,000 pounds shall have a tolerance of 10 percent. All requirements for vehicle design and axle weights otherwise established under this code remain applicable. In no case may the commissioner authorize weight limits on any ~~state-maintained road or public~~ highway other than the national system of interstate and defense highways that would jeopardize or otherwise limit federal highway fund appropriations to this state. The commissioner of highways shall, by December 31, 2004, review and revise, as the commissioner deems appropriate, weight limits for all state-maintained roads and public highways and provide to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance a report denoting all weight limits as they have been designated on state-maintained roads and public highways