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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB2263eng HB2263 Engrossed LRB9206710WHcs 1 AN ACT concerning transportation. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 ARTICLE 5 5 Section 5-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as 6 the Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Law. 7 Section 5-5. Findings and Purpose. The General Assembly 8 finds that safe, reliable and convenient transportation to 9 and from work and related destinations such as child care and 10 education is an extremely important factor in the ability to 11 find and retain employment, particularly in the lower income 12 sectors of the economy. For many people, these transportation 13 needs are not met by existing mass transit. This creates a 14 need for innovative transportation to work strategies that 15 fit within local circumstances. Many localities around 16 Illinois do not have the resources or the expertise to 17 develop and support innovative transportation options. 18 Localities need access to State and federal funds to help 19 implement these strategies, and they need technical 20 assistance both in designing programs and in accessing 21 various sources of State and federal funds. Illinois also 22 leaves substantial federal transportation funds unclaimed 23 because of the failure to put forward projects to use the 24 funds. Illinois would benefit from a unified State process 25 for applying for federal transportation assistance for 26 innovative transportation to work strategies and for 27 supplying the matching funds necessary to access that federal 28 assistance. The purpose of this Article is to establish the 29 Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Program to 30 prompt the creation of innovative transportation to work HB2263 Engrossed -2- LRB9206710WHcs 1 strategies at the local level, to assist in the 2 implementation of those strategies, to coordinate the local, 3 State and federal funding of those programs, and to access 4 the maximum of federal transportation to work funding. 5 Section 5-7. Definitions. As used in this Article: 6 "Department" means the Department of Transportation. 7 "TRIP Program" means the Transportation Resources for 8 Innovative Projects Program created by this Article. 9 "JARC" means the Job Access and Reverse Commute grant 10 program of the Federal Transit Administration. 11 Section 5-10. Establishment of Program and Funding. 12 There is established within the Department of Transportation 13 the Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Program. 14 The TRIP Program shall be funded by appropriation from the 15 General Assembly or by interagency agreement with the 16 Department of Human Services or other departments under 17 Section 5-25 of this Article, or by a combination of those 18 sources. 19 Section 5-15. Functions of Program. The Program shall be 20 a Statewide interagency effort to prompt and support local 21 transportation innovations. It shall have 3 main functions: 22 (a) Administration of an annual process to apply for 23 federal transportation to work assistance under the Job 24 Access and Reverse Commute program, programs administered by 25 the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or 26 similar programs, or a combination of those programs. This 27 shall include publicizing the process, managing the 28 application and selection process, making applications to the 29 federal government, and identifying local projects to be part 30 of the annual State applications to the federal government. 31 To the extent resources permit, the TRIP Program shall HB2263 Engrossed -3- LRB9206710WHcs 1 provide grants or guarantee funds to the local projects 2 selected for inclusion in the State applications to complete 3 the State funding matches necessary to access the federal 4 funds. 5 (b) Administration of an annual process to grant funds, 6 to the extent resources permit, to localities for innovative 7 transportation to work strategies not eligible for federal 8 funds. 9 (c) Provision of technical assistance to localities in 10 the devising of innovative transportation to work strategies 11 and in complying with the requirements for federal, State and 12 local funding. 13 Section 5-20. Illinois Coordinating Committee on 14 Transportation. The Illinois Coordinating Committee on 15 Transportation created by the Illinois Coordinating Committee 16 on Transportation Law shall serve as an interagency advisory 17 committee to help develop policy and procedures under the 18 TRIP Program. 19 Section 5-25. Interagency Agreement with Department of 20 Human Services and other Departments. In addition to any 21 other interagency agreements the Department may enter into to 22 implement the TRIP Program, there shall be an interagency 23 agreement with the Department of Human Services. Under the 24 agreement, the departments shall have the following 25 responsibilities. 26 (a) The Department of Human Services shall: 27 (1) provide an annual allotment of funds for 28 disbursement by the Department under the TRIP Program; 29 (2) notify the Department in a timely manner of all 30 State and federal policies, rules, and regulations that 31 may affect the use and disbursement of the funds and 32 provide appropriate assistance for compliance with those HB2263 Engrossed -4- LRB9206710WHcs 1 requirements; and 2 (3) provide at least one staff member to represent 3 the Department of Human Services on the Illinois 4 Coordinating Committee on Transportation and in the 5 selection process for local transportation programs for 6 State and federal funds under the TRIP Program. 7 (b) The Department shall: 8 (1) ensure that the use of funds transferred from 9 the Department of Human Services is in accordance with 10 laws governing use of those funds and is coordinated with 11 the Department of Human Services; 12 (2) collaborate with the Department of Human 13 Services in selecting the projects to be funded under the 14 Program; 15 (3) account for the use of funds transferred from 16 the Department of Human Services separately from other 17 funds; 18 (4) provide any necessary reports regarding the 19 TRIP Program to the Department of Human Services and the 20 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 21 (d) The Department may enter into similar interagency 22 agreements with other agencies that transfer funds to the 23 Department for the TRIP Program or coordinate their programs 24 with the TRIP Program. 25 Section 5-30. TRIP Program Provisions. 26 (a) The Department annually shall solicit applications 27 from localities for support for local transportation to work 28 strategies. The solicitation and application process shall be 29 timed to allow the Department to submit a package of approved 30 local programs as the Illinois State Consolidated 31 Transportation to Work Plan to the Federal Transit 32 Administration for funding under the Job Access and Reverse 33 Commute program, and to make timely submissions for other HB2263 Engrossed -5- LRB9206710WHcs 1 sources of federal funds. 2 (b) The annual solicitation and application process 3 shall include 2 types of grants: (i) those fundable under 4 JARC or other federal funding sources, for which the TRIP 5 Program grant shall be adequate, in combination with local or 6 private funds, to complete the "local match" required by JARC 7 or other federal programs, and (ii) those not fundable under 8 JARC or other federal programs but otherwise addressing the 9 purposes of the TRIP Program (for example, car purchase 10 programs). The Department, in conjunction with the Illinois 11 Coordinating Committee on Transportation, shall divide grant 12 funds between these 2 types of proposals each year depending 13 upon the merit of the proposals received and the extent to 14 which they would accomplish the purposes of the TRIP Program, 15 including the maximizing of federal funds. The grants may be 16 spent over a period of up to 24 months. 17 (c) The Department shall annually submit the Illinois 18 State Consolidated Transportation to Work Plan to the Federal 19 Transit Administration for funding under JARC and submit 20 applications for other federal funds as appropriate. 21 (d) The Department shall provide technical assistance to 22 localities in developing transportation strategies, complying 23 with application requirements, including federal 24 requirements, and forming strategic local partnerships to 25 improve the potential success of both the grant application 26 and the local program itself. Local entities eligible for 27 funding under the program include counties, municipalities, 28 public agencies, private entities, non-profit organizations 29 such as, but not limited to, community development 30 corporations, transportation management associations, 31 transportation providers, community action agencies, faith 32 based organizations, and workforce investment boards, and 33 other consortiums. Planning partners may, but need not 34 necessarily, include local workforce investment boards, HB2263 Engrossed -6- LRB9206710WHcs 1 chambers of commerce, elected officials, Metropolitan 2 Planning Organizations, local plan commissions, and State 3 agencies. 4 (e) The Department's rules for applications by local 5 entities under the Program shall include, but not necessarily 6 be limited to, the following provisions: 7 (1) The local programs should be for implementation 8 of innovative community transportation systems that 9 address a local transportation need or gap; they should 10 use innovative approaches that emphasize both 11 coordination between existing services and programs and 12 the elimination of transportation barriers that limit 13 workforce participation. These programs and services 14 could, for example, be the purchase of rolling stock such 15 as vans, new or expanded operation of transportation 16 routes, creation of auto ownership and drivers licensing 17 programs, new or expanded dial a ride services, vanpool 18 or carpool programs, guaranteed ride home programs, or 19 similar strategies that address local needs and 20 circumstances. 21 (2) To qualify for inclusion in the State 22 application for JARC funding or other federal funding, 23 the applicant must have been involved in the 24 transportation planning process for the region in which 25 the project will operate, or exhibit knowledge of that 26 process and its need statement and have relationships 27 with the local transportation experts in transit 28 authorities or county government. 29 (3) The application must include evidence of a 30 commitment for the funding of a portion of the proposed 31 project from local or private sources (other than State 32 or federal sources). This portion shall not be less than 33 1% nor more than 10% of the total project costs. The 34 Department shall provide by rule for a sliding scale for HB2263 Engrossed -7- LRB9206710WHcs 1 these local funding commitments based upon the relative 2 resources in localities, so that the contribution of 3 communities with the least resources is 1% and of 4 communities with the most resources is 10%. The 5 Department shall use an objective measure such as the 6 poverty rate or the tax base in establishing the sliding 7 scale and shall update it annually. 8 ARTICLE 10 9 Section 10-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as 10 the Illinois Coordinating Committee on Transportation Law. 11 Section 10-5. Definitions. As used in this Article: 12 (1) "Agency" means an official, commission, 13 authority, council, department, committee, division, 14 bureau, board, or any other unit or entity of the State, 15 a municipality, a county, or other local governing body 16 or a private not-for-profit transportation service 17 providing agency. 18 (2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating 19 Committee on Transportation. 20 (3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the 21 provision of transportation services to the 22 transportation disadvantaged in a manner that is 23 cost-effective, efficient, and reduces fragmentation and 24 duplication of services. 25 (4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those 26 persons who, because of physical or mental disability, 27 income status, age, location of residence, or other 28 reasons are unable to transport themselves or to purchase 29 affordable transportation and are, therefore, dependent 30 upon others to obtain access to health care, employment, 31 education, shopping, social activities, or other HB2263 Engrossed -8- LRB9206710WHcs 1 life-sustaining activities. 2 Section 10-10. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating 3 Committee on Transportation is created and shall consist of 4 the following members: 5 (1) The Lieutenant Governor or her or his designee. 6 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her 7 designee. 8 (3) The Secretary of Human Services (or his or her 9 designee) and one additional representative of the 10 Department of Human Services designated by the Secretary. 11 (4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee. 12 (5) The Director of Public Aid or his or her 13 designee. 14 (6) The Director of Commerce and Community Affairs 15 or his or her designee. 16 (7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit 17 Assistance Center. 18 (8) A person who is a member of a recognized 19 statewide organization representing older Illinoisans. 20 (9) A representative of centers for independent 21 living. 22 (10) A representative of the Illinois Public 23 Transportation Association. 24 (11) A representative of an existing transportation 25 system that coordinates and provides transit services in 26 a multi-county area for the Department of Transportation, 27 Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and 28 Community Affairs, or Department on Aging. 29 (12) A representative of a statewide organization 30 of rehabilitation facilities or other providers of 31 services for persons with one or more disabilities. 32 (13) A representative of the Illinois Planning 33 Council on Developmental Disabilities. HB2263 Engrossed -9- LRB9206710WHcs 1 (14) A representative of a statewide organization 2 of community action agencies. 3 The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint the members of the 4 Committee other than those named in paragraphs (1) through 5 (6) of this Section. The Lieutenant Governor or his or her 6 designee shall serve as chairperson of the Committee and 7 shall convene the meetings of the Committee. The Secretary of 8 Transportation and the Secretary of Human Services, or their 9 designees, shall serve as vice-chairpersons and shall be 10 responsible for staff support for the committee. 11 Section 10-15. Duties of committee. The Committee shall 12 foster the coordination of public and private transportation 13 services, with special attention paid to services directed 14 toward those populations who are currently not served or who 15 are underserved by existing public transit. The Committee 16 shall aim to reduce duplicative services in order to achieve 17 a transportation system that serves the most citizens 18 possible in the most cost-effective and efficient manner 19 possible. Specifically, the committee shall: 20 (1) Coordinate State efforts within federal 21 guidelines to facilitate coordination of human service 22 transportation programs. 23 (2) Establish statewide priorities and draft a 24 strategic plan. These priorities should include: 25 developing objectives for providing essential 26 transportation services to the transportation 27 disadvantaged; developing a unified state request for 28 funds from federal sources such as the Job Access and 29 Reverse Commute (JARC) Grant program that is based on 30 local plans from communities statewide; identifying funds 31 from other available sources for projects that are not an 32 eligible use of JARC funds; and developing a long-range 33 plan to identify and recruit potential stakeholders in HB2263 Engrossed -10- LRB9206710WHcs 1 future community transportation initiatives. 2 (3) Develop goals and objectives to reduce 3 duplication of services and achieve coverage that is as 4 complete as possible. 5 (4) Address any and all transportation barriers 6 and propose solutions, such as multi-agency involvement, 7 to eliminate these barriers. 8 (5) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about 9 funding sources and innovations in serving the 10 transportation disadvantaged. 11 (6) Oversee administration of the Transportation 12 Resources for Innovative Projects Program. 13 (7) Submit a report, not later than February 1, 14 2002, to the Governor and the General Assembly that 15 outlines the progress made by the Committee in performing 16 its duties set forth in paragraphs (1) through (6) of 17 this Section and makes recommendations for statutory and 18 regulatory changes to promote coordination. 19 ARTICLE 99 20 Section 99-99. Effective date. This Act takes effect 21 upon becoming law.