093_HB1106
LRB093 02683 LCB 02693 b
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.
-2- LRB093 02683 LCB 02693 b
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
-3- LRB093 02683 LCB 02693 b
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
-4- LRB093 02683 LCB 02693 b
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.
-5- LRB093 02683 LCB 02693 b
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 2005, 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.