DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Transportation Commission
RULES GOVERNING THE STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING REGIONS
2 CCR 601-22
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STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The purpose of the Rules is to prescribe the statewide transportation planning process through which a, long-range multimodal, comprehensive statewide transportation plan will be developed, integrated, updated, and amended by the Colorado Department of Transportation (Department), in cooperation with local governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Regional Planning Commissions, Indian tribal governments, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service, other federal and state agencies, the private sector, transit and freight operators, and the general public. This cooperative process is designed to coordinate regional transportation planning, guided by the statewide transportation policy set by the Department and the Colorado Transportation Commission (Commission), as a fundamental basis for developing the statewide transportation plan.  The result of the statewide transportation planning process shall be a long-range, financially feasible, environmentally sound, multimodal transportation system plan for Colorado.
Further, the purpose of the Rules is to define the state's Transportation Planning Regions for which long-range Regional Transportation Plans are developed, prescribe the process for conducting and initiating transportation planning in  the non-MPO Transportation Planning Regions  and coordinating with the Metropolitan Planning Organizations for planning in the metropolitan areas. Memorandums of Agreement (“MOA”) between the Department and each MPO further prescribe the transportation planning process in the MPO transportation planning regions.  In addition, the purpose of the Rules is to describe the organization and function of the Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC) as established by § 43-1-1104, Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.).
The Rules are being promulgated to meet the intent of both the U.S. Congress and the Colorado General Assembly for developing a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive statewide performance-based multimodal transportation planning process to address the transportation problems of the state by producing a statewide transportation plan.  This plan will be implemented by systematic project prioritization and selection and budgeting of resources, utilizing a comprehensive input process. 
The Rules are intended to be consistent with and not be a replacement for the federal transportation planning requirements contained in 23 United States Code (U.S.C.) 134, 135 and 450 , PL 112-141 (“Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” or “MAP-21”) and  its implementing regulations, where applicable, contained in 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 450, including Subparts A, B and C and 25 CFR Part 170.421 in effect as of October 1, 2012, which are hereby incorporated into the Rules by this reference, and do not include any later amendments.  All referenced laws and regulations shall be available for copying or public inspection during regular business hours from the Office of Policy and Government Relations, Colorado Department of Transportation, 4201 E. Arkansas Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80222. 
The Statewide Planning Rules, as a component of the statewide plan, emphasize Colorado’s continually greater integration of multimodal, cost-effective and environmentally sound means of transportation.  The Rules reflect the Department’s focus on multimodal transportation projects including highways, aviation, transit, rail, bicycles and pedestrians. 

The Rules are promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the specific statutory authority 
found in § 43-1-1103 (5), C.R.S., and § 43-1-106 (8)(k), C.R.S.