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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB4941eng HB4941 Engrossed LRB9214264LBpr 1 AN ACT concerning transportation. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 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 finds 7 that safe, reliable, and convenient transportation to and 8 from work and related destinations such as child care and 9 education is an extremely important factor in the ability to 10 find and retain employment, particularly in the lower income 11 sectors of the economy. For many people, these transportation 12 needs are not met by existing mass transit. This creates a 13 need for innovative transportation to work strategies that 14 fit within local circumstances. Many localities around 15 Illinois do not have the resources or the expertise to 16 develop and support innovative transportation options. 17 Localities need access to technical assistance both in 18 designing programs and in accessing various sources of State 19 and federal funds. Illinois also leaves substantial federal 20 transportation funds unclaimed because of the failure to put 21 forward projects to use the funds. Thus, Illinois would 22 benefit from an Interagency Coordinating Committee to set 23 priorities and define a vision for improving access to 24 transportation for the transportation disadvantaged. 25 Illinois would also benefit from a unified State process to 26 apply for federal transportation assistance for innovative 27 transportation to work projects and strategies and for 28 supplying the matching funds necessary to access that federal 29 assistance. The purpose of this Act is to establish the 30 Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation. HB4941 Engrossed -2- LRB9214264LBpr 1 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: 2 (1) "Agency" means an official, commission, 3 authority, council, department, committee, division, 4 bureau, board, or any other unit or entity of the State, 5 a municipality, a county, or other local governing body 6 or a private not-for-profit transportation service 7 providing agency. 8 (2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating 9 Committee on Transportation. 10 (3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the 11 provision of transportation services to the 12 transportation disadvantaged in a manner that is 13 cost-effective, efficient, and reduces fragmentation and 14 duplication of services. 15 (4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those 16 persons who, because of physical or mental disability, 17 income status, age, location of residence, or other 18 reasons are unable to transport themselves or to purchase 19 affordable transportation and are, therefore, dependent 20 upon others to obtain access to health care, employment, 21 education, shopping, social activities, or other 22 life-sustaining activities. 23 Section 15. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating 24 Committee on Transportation is created and shall consist of 25 the following members: 26 (1) The Governor or his or her designee. 27 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her 28 designee. 29 (3) The Secretary of Human Services (or his or her 30 designee) and one additional representative of the 31 Department of Human Services designated by the Secretary. 32 (4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee. 33 (5) The Director of Public Aid or his or her HB4941 Engrossed -3- LRB9214264LBpr 1 designee. 2 (6) The Director of Commerce and Community Affairs 3 or his or her designee. 4 (7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit 5 Assistance Center. 6 (8) A person who is a member of a recognized 7 statewide organization representing older residents of 8 Illinois. 9 (9) A representative of centers for independent 10 living. 11 (10) A representative of the Illinois Public 12 Transportation Association. 13 (11) A representative of an existing transportation 14 system that coordinates and provides transit services in 15 a multi-county area for the Department of Transportation, 16 Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and 17 Community Affairs, or Department on Aging. 18 (12) A representative of a statewide organization 19 of rehabilitation facilities or other providers of 20 services for persons with one or more disabilities. 21 (13) A representative of the Illinois Council on 22 Developmental Disabilities. 23 (14) A representative of a community based 24 organization. 25 (15) A representative of the Department of Public 26 Health. 27 (16) A representative of the Rural Partners. 28 The Governor shall appoint the members of the Committee 29 other than those named in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this 30 Section. The Governor or his or her designee shall serve as 31 chairperson of the Committee and shall convene the meetings 32 of the Committee. The Secretary of Transportation and a 33 representative of a community based organization involved in 34 transportation or their designees, shall serve as HB4941 Engrossed -4- LRB9214264LBpr 1 co-vice-chairpersons and shall be responsible for staff 2 support for the committee. 3 Section 20. Duties of Committee. The Committee shall 4 encourage the coordination of public and private 5 transportation services, with priority given to services 6 directed toward those populations who are currently not 7 served or who are underserved by existing public transit. 8 The Committee shall aim to reduce duplicative services in 9 order to achieve a transportation system that serves the most 10 citizens possible in the most cost-effective and efficient 11 manner possible. The Committee shall seek innovative 12 approaches to providing and funding local transportation 13 services and offer their expertise to communities statewide. 14 Specifically, the Committee shall: 15 (1) Coordinate State efforts within federal 16 guidelines to facilitate coordination of human service 17 transportation programs. 18 (2) Establish statewide priorities and draft a 19 strategic plan. These priorities should include: 20 developing objectives for providing essential 21 transportation services to the transportation 22 disadvantaged; developing a process for requesting 23 federal funds such as the Job Access and Reverse Commute 24 (JARC) Grant program that is based on input from 25 communities statewide; assisting communities in 26 identifying funds from other available sources for 27 projects that are not an eligible use of JARC funds; and 28 developing a long-range plan to identify and recruit 29 potential stakeholders in future community transportation 30 initiatives. 31 (3) Develop goals and objectives to reduce 32 duplication of services and achieve coverage that is as 33 complete as possible. HB4941 Engrossed -5- LRB9214264LBpr 1 (4) Address any and all transportation barriers 2 and propose solutions to eliminate these barriers. 3 (5) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about 4 funding sources and innovations in serving the 5 transportation disadvantaged. 6 (6) Submit a report, not later than February 1, 7 2004, to the Governor and the General Assembly that 8 outlines the progress made by the Committee in performing 9 its duties set forth in paragraphs (1) through (6) of 10 this Section and makes recommendations for statutory and 11 regulatory changes to promote coordination. 12 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 13 becoming law.