Public Act 93-0185
SB1408 Enrolled LRB093 07879 LCB 08069 b
AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation Act.
Section 5. Findings; purpose. The General Assembly
finds that safe, reliable, and convenient transportation to
and from (i) work and related destinations such as child care
and education, (ii) medical appointments and related
destinations such as a pharmacy, and (iii) ancillary services
necessary to the health, well-being, and independence of the
family such as grocery shopping, adult day services, and
pharmacy related services are extremely important in the
ability to find and retain employment and insure the
continued independence and well-being of all citizens of
Illinois, particularly in the lower income sectors of the
economy. For many people, these transportation needs are not
met by existing mass transit. In a national survey by the
University of Illinois at Chicago of over 500 riders of 23
federally funded community transportation projects under the
Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program across the
nation, 68% of riders indicated that they would not be able
to reach their employment without this service. Furthermore,
the national evaluation of the JARC program by the General
Accounting Office illustrates that 65% of all projects have
extended existing fixed routes by schedule or location as
well as created connections to existing services. This
creates a need for innovative transportation to work
strategies that fit within local circumstances in Illinois.
Many localities around Illinois do not have the resources or
the expertise to develop and support innovative
transportation options. Localities need access to technical
assistance both in designing programs and in accessing
various sources of State and federal funds. Illinois also
leaves substantial federal transportation funds unclaimed
because of the failure to put forward projects to use the
funds. Thus, Illinois would benefit from an Interagency
Coordinating Committee to set priorities for improving access
to transportation for the transportation disadvantaged. The
General Accounting Office has found in its evaluation that
interagency collaboration has informed transit agencies of
how to better serve low-income communities by knowing where
jobs are located and a system of supports are found. Illinois
would also benefit from a unified State process to apply for
federal transportation assistance for innovative
transportation to work projects and strategies and for
identifying the matching funds necessary to access that
federal assistance. The purpose of this Act is to establish
the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(1) "Agency" means an official, commission, authority,
council, department, committee, division, bureau, board, or
any other unit or entity of the State, a municipality, a
county, or other local governing body or a private
not-for-profit transportation service providing agency.
(2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating
Committee on Transportation.
(3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the
provision of transportation services to the transportation
disadvantaged in a manner that is cost-effective, efficient,
and reduces fragmentation and duplication of services.
(4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those persons
who, because of physical or mental disability, income status,
age, location of residence, or other reasons are unable to
transport themselves or to purchase affordable transportation
and are, therefore, dependent upon others to obtain access to
health care, employment, education, shopping, social
activities, or other life-sustaining activities.
Section 15. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating
Committee on Transportation is created and shall consist of
the following members:
(1) The Governor or his or her designee.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her
designee.
(3) The Secretary of Human Services or his or her
designee.
(4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee.
(5) The Director of Public Aid or his or her designee.
(6) The Director of Commerce and Community Affairs or
his or her designee.
(7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit
Assistance Center.
(8) A person who is a member of a recognized statewide
organization representing older residents of Illinois.
(9) A representative of centers for independent living.
(10) A representative of the Illinois Public
Transportation Association.
(11) A representative of an existing transportation
system that coordinates and provides transit services in a
multi-county area for the Department of Transportation,
Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and
Community Affairs, or Department on Aging.
(12) A representative of a statewide organization of
rehabilitation facilities or other providers of services for
persons with one or more disabilities.
(13) A representative of a community-based organization.
(14) A representative of the Department of Public
Health.
(15) A representative of the Rural Partners.
(16) The Director of Employment Security or his or her
designee.
(17) A representative of a statewide business
association.
(18) A representative of the Illinois Council on
Developmental Disabilities.
The Governor shall appoint the members of the Committee
other than those named in paragraphs (1) through (6) and
paragraph (16) of this Section. The Governor or his or her
designee shall serve as chairperson of the Committee and
shall convene the meetings of the Committee. The Secretary of
Transportation and a representative of a community-based
organization involved in transportation or their designees,
shall serve as co-vice-chairpersons and shall be responsible
for staff support for the committee.
Section 20. Duties of Committee. The Committee shall
encourage the coordination of public and private
transportation services, with priority given to services
directed toward those populations who are currently not
served or who are underserved by existing public transit.
The Committee shall seek innovative approaches to
providing and funding local transportation services and offer
their expertise to communities statewide. Specifically, the
Committee shall:
(1) Coordinate a State process within federal guidelines
to facilitate coordination of community-based transportation
programs. This process should include: developing objectives
for providing essential transportation services to the
transportation disadvantaged; providing technical assistance
to communities that are addressing transportation gaps that
affect low-income populations; developing a process for
requesting federal funds such as the Job Access and Reverse
Commute (JARC) Grant program that is based on input from
communities statewide; assisting communities in identifying
funds from other available sources for projects that are not
an eligible use of JARC funds; and developing a plan to
identify and recruit potential stakeholders in future
community transportation initiatives to the Committee.
(2) Develop goals and objectives to reduce duplication
of services and achieve coverage that is as complete as
possible.
(3) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about
funding sources and innovations in serving the transportation
disadvantaged.
(4) Submit a report, not later than February 1, 2006, to
the Governor and the General Assembly that outlines the
progress made by the Committee in performing its duties set
forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this Section and makes
recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes to
promote coordination.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.