Authority: Title 33.2, Code of Virginia.

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the highway share of the Transportation Trust Fund shall be used for highway maintenance and operation purposes prior to its availability for new development, acquisition, and construction.

B. Administrative and Support Services shall include funding for management, direction, and administration to support the department's activities that cannot be directly attributable to individual programs and/or projects.

C. Out of the amounts for General Management and Direction, allocations shall be provided to the Commonwealth Transportation Board to support its operations, the payment of financial advisory and legal services, and the management of the Transportation Trust Fund.

D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may assess and collect the costs of providing services to other entities, public and private. The department shall take all actions necessary to ensure that all such costs are reasonable and appropriate, recovered, and understood as a condition to providing such service.

E. Each year, as part of the six-year financial planning process, the commissioner shall implement a long-term business strategy that considers appropriate staffing levels for the department. In addition, the commissioner shall identify services, programs, or projects that will be evaluated for devolution or outsourcing in the upcoming year. In undertaking such evaluations, the commissioner is authorized to use the appropriate resources, both public and private, to competitively procure those identified services, programs, or projects and shall identify total costs for such activities. 

F. Notwithstanding § 4-2.03 of this act, the Virginia Department of Transportation shall be exempt from recovering statewide and agency indirect costs from the Federal Highway Administration until an indirect cost plan can be evaluated and developed by the agency and approved by the Federal Highway Administration.

G. The Director, Department of Planning and Budget, is authorized to adjust appropriations and allotments for the Virginia Department of Transportation to reflect changes in the official revenue estimates for commonwealth transportation funds.

H. Out of the amounts for General Management and Direction, allocations shall be provided to support the capital lease agreement with Fairfax County for the Northern Virginia District building.  An amount estimated at $7,800,000 the first year and $7,800,000 the second year from Commonwealth Transportation Funds shall be provided.

I. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner may enter into a contract with homeowner associations for grounds-keeping, mowing, and litter removal services.

J. The prioritization process developed under subsection B of Chapter 726 of the 2014 Virginia Acts of Assembly shall not apply to use of funds provided in this item from federal apportionments out of the Surface Transportation Program utilized for Employee Training and Development.

K. Notwithstanding the provisions § 2.2-2402 of the Code of Virginia, no construction, erection, repair, upgrade, removal or demolition of any building, fixture or structure located or to be located on property of the Commonwealth of Virginia under the control of the Virginia Department of Transportation  (VDOT) and within the secured area of a residency, area headquarters or district complex shall be subject to review or approval by the Art and Architectural Review Board as contemplated by that section. However, for changes to any building or fixture located on property owned or controlled by VDOT that has been designated or is under consideration for designation as a historic property, then VDOT shall submit such changes to the Art and Architectural Review Board for review and approval by the Board.