093_HB1532ham001

 










                                     LRB093 07878 LCB 11995 a

 1                    AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1532

 2        AMENDMENT NO.     .  Amend House Bill 1532  by  replacing
 3    everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 4        "Section  1.  Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation Act.

 6        Section  5.  Findings;  purpose.  The  General   Assembly
 7    finds  that  safe, reliable, and convenient transportation to
 8    and from (i) work and related destinations such as child care
 9    and  education,  (ii)  medical   appointments   and   related
10    destinations such as a pharmacy, and (iii) ancillary services
11    necessary  to the health, well-being, and independence of the
12    family such as grocery  shopping,  adult  day  services,  and
13    pharmacy  related  services  are  extremely  important in the
14    ability  to  find  and  retain  employment  and  insure   the
15    continued  independence  and  well-being  of  all citizens of
16    Illinois, particularly in the lower  income  sectors  of  the
17    economy.  For many people, these transportation needs are not
18    met by existing mass transit. In a  national  survey  by  the
19    University  of  Illinois  at Chicago of over 500 riders of 23
20    federally funded community transportation projects under  the
21    Job  Access  and  Reverse  Commute  (JARC) program across the
22    nation, 68% of riders indicated that they would not  be  able
 
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 1    to  reach their employment without this service. Furthermore,
 2    the national evaluation of the JARC program  by  the  General
 3    Accounting  Office  illustrates that 65% of all projects have
 4    extended existing fixed routes by  schedule  or  location  as
 5    well  as  created  connections  to  existing  services.  This
 6    creates   a   need  for  innovative  transportation  to  work
 7    strategies that fit within local circumstances  in  Illinois.
 8    Many  localities around Illinois do not have the resources or
 9    the   expertise   to   develop   and    support    innovative
10    transportation  options.  Localities need access to technical
11    assistance  both  in  designing  programs  and  in  accessing
12    various sources of State and  federal  funds.  Illinois  also
13    leaves  substantial  federal  transportation  funds unclaimed
14    because of the failure to put forward  projects  to  use  the
15    funds.  Thus,  Illinois  would  benefit  from  an Interagency
16    Coordinating Committee to set priorities for improving access
17    to transportation for the transportation  disadvantaged.  The
18    General  Accounting  Office  has found in its evaluation that
19    interagency collaboration has informed  transit  agencies  of
20    how  to  better serve low-income communities by knowing where
21    jobs are located and a system of supports are found. Illinois
22    would also benefit from a unified State process to apply  for
23    federal     transportation    assistance    for    innovative
24    transportation  to  work  projects  and  strategies  and  for
25    identifying the  matching  funds  necessary  to  access  that
26    federal  assistance.  The purpose of this Act is to establish
27    the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation.

28        Section 10.  Definitions.  As used in this Act:
29        (1)  "Agency" means an official,  commission,  authority,
30    council,  department,  committee, division, bureau, board, or
31    any other unit or entity of  the  State,  a  municipality,  a
32    county,   or   other   local  governing  body  or  a  private
33    not-for-profit transportation service providing agency.
 
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 1        (2)  "Committee"   means   the   Illinois    Coordinating
 2    Committee on Transportation.
 3        (3)  "Coordination"   means   the   arrangement  for  the
 4    provision of transportation services  to  the  transportation
 5    disadvantaged  in a manner that is cost-effective, efficient,
 6    and reduces fragmentation and duplication of services.
 7        (4)  "Transportation disadvantaged" means  those  persons
 8    who, because of physical or mental disability, income status,
 9    age,  location  of  residence, or other reasons are unable to
10    transport themselves or to purchase affordable transportation
11    and are, therefore, dependent upon others to obtain access to
12    health  care,   employment,   education,   shopping,   social
13    activities, or other life-sustaining activities.

14        Section    15.  Committee.  The   Illinois   Coordinating
15    Committee on Transportation is created and shall  consist  of
16    the following members:
17        (1)  The Governor or his or her designee.
18        (2)  The  Secretary  of  Transportation  or  his  or  her
19    designee.
20        (3)  The  Secretary  of  Human  Services  or  his  or her
21    designee.
22        (4)  The Director of Aging or his or her designee.
23        (5)  The Director of Public Aid or his or her designee.
24        (6)  The Director of Commerce and  Community  Affairs  or
25    his or her designee.
26        (7)  A  representative  of  the  Illinois  Rural  Transit
27    Assistance Center.
28        (8)  A  person  who is a member of a recognized statewide
29    organization representing older residents of Illinois.
30        (9)  A representative of centers for independent living.
31        (10)  A   representative   of   the    Illinois    Public
32    Transportation Association.
33        (11)  A  representative  of  an  existing  transportation
 
                            -4-      LRB093 07878 LCB 11995 a
 1    system  that  coordinates  and provides transit services in a
 2    multi-county  area  for  the  Department  of  Transportation,
 3    Department of Human  Services,  Department  of  Commerce  and
 4    Community Affairs, or Department on Aging.
 5        (12)  A  representative  of  a  statewide organization of
 6    rehabilitation facilities or other providers of services  for
 7    persons with one or more disabilities.
 8        (13)  A representative of a community based organization.
 9        (14)  A   representative  of  the  Department  of  Public
10    Health.
11        (15)  A representative of the Rural Partners.
12        (16)  The Director of Employment Security or his  or  her
13    designee.
14        (17)  A   representative   of   a   state-wide   business
15    association.
16        (18)  A   representative   of  the  Illinois  Council  on
17    Developmental Disabilities.
18        The Governor shall appoint the members of  the  Committee
19    other  than  those  named  in  paragraphs (1) through (6) and
20    paragraph (16) of this Section. The Governor or  his  or  her
21    designee  shall  serve  as  chairperson  of the Committee and
22    shall convene the meetings of the Committee. The Secretary of
23    Transportation and a  representative  of  a  community  based
24    organization  involved  in transportation or their designees,
25    shall serve as co-vice-chairpersons and shall be  responsible
26    for staff support for the committee.

27        Section  20.  Duties  of  Committee.  The Committee shall
28    encourage   the   coordination   of   public   and    private
29    transportation  services,  with  priority  given  to services
30    directed toward  those  populations  who  are  currently  not
31    served or who are underserved by existing public transit.
32        The   Committee   shall  seek  innovative  approaches  to
33    providing and funding local transportation services and offer
 
                            -5-      LRB093 07878 LCB 11995 a
 1    their expertise to communities statewide.  Specifically,  the
 2    Committee shall:
 3        (1)  Coordinate a State process within federal guidelines
 4    to  facilitate coordination of community-based transportation
 5    programs. This process should include: developing  objectives
 6    for   providing  essential  transportation  services  to  the
 7    transportation disadvantaged; providing technical  assistance
 8    to  communities  that are addressing transportation gaps that
 9    affect  low-income  populations;  developing  a  process  for
10    requesting federal funds such as the Job Access  and  Reverse
11    Commute  (JARC)  Grant  program  that  is based on input from
12    communities statewide; assisting communities  in  identifying
13    funds  from other available sources for projects that are not
14    an eligible use of JARC  funds;  and  developing  a  plan  to
15    identify   and   recruit  potential  stakeholders  in  future
16    community transportation initiatives to the committee.
17        (2)  Develop goals and objectives to  reduce  duplication
18    of  services  and  achieve  coverage  that  is as complete as
19    possible.
20        (3)  Serve  as  a  clearinghouse  for  information  about
21    funding sources and innovations in serving the transportation
22    disadvantaged.
23        (4)  Submit a report, not later than February 1, 2006, to
24    the Governor and  the  General  Assembly  that  outlines  the
25    progress  made  by the Committee in performing its duties set
26    forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this Section and makes
27    recommendations  for  statutory  and  regulatory  changes  to
28    promote coordination.

29        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
30    becoming law.".