093_SB1408sam001
LRB093 07879 LCB 12682 a
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1408
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 1408 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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
7 finds that safe, reliable, and convenient transportation to
8 and from (i) work and related destinations such as child care
9 and education, (ii) medical appointments and related
10 destinations such as a pharmacy, and (iii) ancillary services
11 necessary to the health, well-being, and independence of the
12 family such as grocery shopping, adult day services, and
13 pharmacy related services are extremely important in the
14 ability to find and retain employment and insure the
15 continued independence and well-being of all citizens of
16 Illinois, particularly in the lower income sectors of the
17 economy. For many people, these transportation needs are not
18 met by existing mass transit. In a national survey by the
19 University of Illinois at Chicago of over 500 riders of 23
20 federally funded community transportation projects under the
21 Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program across the
22 nation, 68% of riders indicated that they would not be able
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1 to reach their employment without this service. Furthermore,
2 the national evaluation of the JARC program by the General
3 Accounting Office illustrates that 65% of all projects have
4 extended existing fixed routes by schedule or location as
5 well as created connections to existing services. This
6 creates a need for innovative transportation to work
7 strategies that fit within local circumstances in Illinois.
8 Many localities around Illinois do not have the resources or
9 the expertise to develop and support innovative
10 transportation options. Localities need access to technical
11 assistance both in designing programs and in accessing
12 various sources of State and federal funds. Illinois also
13 leaves substantial federal transportation funds unclaimed
14 because of the failure to put forward projects to use the
15 funds. Thus, Illinois would benefit from an Interagency
16 Coordinating Committee to set priorities for improving access
17 to transportation for the transportation disadvantaged. The
18 General Accounting Office has found in its evaluation that
19 interagency collaboration has informed transit agencies of
20 how to better serve low-income communities by knowing where
21 jobs are located and a system of supports are found. Illinois
22 would also benefit from a unified State process to apply for
23 federal transportation assistance for innovative
24 transportation to work projects and strategies and for
25 identifying the matching funds necessary to access that
26 federal assistance. The purpose of this Act is to establish
27 the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation.
28 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
29 (1) "Agency" means an official, commission, authority,
30 council, department, committee, division, bureau, board, or
31 any other unit or entity of the State, a municipality, a
32 county, or other local governing body or a private
33 not-for-profit transportation service providing agency.
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1 (2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating
2 Committee on Transportation.
3 (3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the
4 provision of transportation services to the transportation
5 disadvantaged in a manner that is cost-effective, efficient,
6 and reduces fragmentation and duplication of services.
7 (4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those persons
8 who, because of physical or mental disability, income status,
9 age, location of residence, or other reasons are unable to
10 transport themselves or to purchase affordable transportation
11 and are, therefore, dependent upon others to obtain access to
12 health care, employment, education, shopping, social
13 activities, or other life-sustaining activities.
14 Section 15. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating
15 Committee on Transportation is created and shall consist of
16 the following members:
17 (1) The Governor or his or her designee.
18 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her
19 designee.
20 (3) The Secretary of Human Services or his or her
21 designee.
22 (4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee.
23 (5) The Director of Public Aid or his or her designee.
24 (6) The Director of Commerce and Community Affairs or
25 his or her designee.
26 (7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit
27 Assistance Center.
28 (8) A person who is a member of a recognized statewide
29 organization representing older residents of Illinois.
30 (9) A representative of centers for independent living.
31 (10) A representative of the Illinois Public
32 Transportation Association.
33 (11) A representative of an existing transportation
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1 system that coordinates and provides transit services in a
2 multi-county area for the Department of Transportation,
3 Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and
4 Community Affairs, or Department on Aging.
5 (12) A representative of a statewide organization of
6 rehabilitation facilities or other providers of services for
7 persons with one or more disabilities.
8 (13) A representative of a community based organization.
9 (14) A representative of the Department of Public
10 Health.
11 (15) A representative of the Rural Partners.
12 (16) The Director of Employment Security or his or her
13 designee.
14 (17) A representative of a state-wide business
15 association.
16 (18) A representative of the Illinois Council on
17 Developmental Disabilities.
18 The Governor shall appoint the members of the Committee
19 other than those named in paragraphs (1) through (6) and
20 paragraph (16) of this Section. The Governor or his or her
21 designee shall serve as chairperson of the Committee and
22 shall convene the meetings of the Committee. The Secretary of
23 Transportation and a representative of a community based
24 organization involved in transportation or their designees,
25 shall serve as co-vice-chairpersons and shall be responsible
26 for staff support for the committee.
27 Section 20. Duties of Committee. The Committee shall
28 encourage the coordination of public and private
29 transportation services, with priority given to services
30 directed toward those populations who are currently not
31 served or who are underserved by existing public transit.
32 The Committee shall seek innovative approaches to
33 providing and funding local transportation services and offer
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1 their expertise to communities statewide. Specifically, the
2 Committee shall:
3 (1) Coordinate a State process within federal guidelines
4 to facilitate coordination of community-based transportation
5 programs. This process should include: developing objectives
6 for providing essential transportation services to the
7 transportation disadvantaged; providing technical assistance
8 to communities that are addressing transportation gaps that
9 affect low-income populations; developing a process for
10 requesting federal funds such as the Job Access and Reverse
11 Commute (JARC) Grant program that is based on input from
12 communities statewide; assisting communities in identifying
13 funds from other available sources for projects that are not
14 an eligible use of JARC funds; and developing a plan to
15 identify and recruit potential stakeholders in future
16 community transportation initiatives to the committee.
17 (2) Develop goals and objectives to reduce duplication
18 of services and achieve coverage that is as complete as
19 possible.
20 (3) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about
21 funding sources and innovations in serving the transportation
22 disadvantaged.
23 (4) Submit a report, not later than February 1, 2006, to
24 the Governor and the General Assembly that outlines the
25 progress made by the Committee in performing its duties set
26 forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this Section and makes
27 recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes to
28 promote coordination.
29 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
30 becoming law.".