Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 093-0185


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<Head><Title> Public Act 93-0185 of the 93rd General Assembly</Title></Head>
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<strong>
Public Act 93-0185
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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.
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<br><div class="content"><b>Effective Date:  </b>7/11/2003</div><p>
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