Section 651.105  Nonurbanized Area Regional Apportionments

a)         Article III, Section 4 of the Act requires that apportionments be made among the established regions on the basis of three regional transportation indicators-nonurbanized area population, square miles of land, and percentage of transportation disadvantaged.  The regional transportation indicators are based upon the following:

1)         The indicator for population is the population of each region exclusive of the population in the urbanized areas of that region.

2)         The indicator for square miles of land is the square miles of each region exclusive of the square miles of the urbanized areas of that region.

3)         The indicator for transportation disadvantaged is the number of transportation disadvantaged in each region exclusive of those transportation disadvantaged in the urbanized areas of that region and is based on three separate factors:

A)        The number of families below the poverty level in each region exclusive of the urbanized areas of that region.

B)        The number of people 65 and over in each county exclusive of the urbanized areas of that region.

C)        The estimated number of disabled in each region exclusive of the urbanized areas of that region.

b)         The sum of the three regional transportation indicators (population, square miles, and transportation disadvantaged) for each region is divided by the total sum of the three indicators for all regions to yield a regional apportionment percentage for each region.  Each regional percentage is applied to the total amount of Section 18 funds appropriated by the General Assembly in the current fiscal year for operating assistance grants for new programs in order to determine the apportionment of funds for each region.  In order to allow for a fair and equitable distribution of available funds to all nonurbanized areas of the State, the Department determined the boundaries of each region so as to insure that the regional apportionment percentages are approximately equal (i.e. approximately 20%).