20 ILCS 3968/ Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation Act.

(20 ILCS 3968/1)

Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)

(20 ILCS 3968/5)

Sec. 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.

(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)

(20 ILCS 3968/10)

Sec. 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.

(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)

(20 ILCS 3968/15)

Sec. 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 Healthcare and Family Services or his or her designee.

(6) The Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity 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 Economic Opportunity, 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.

(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

(20 ILCS 3968/20)

Sec. 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.

(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)

(20 ILCS 3968/99)

Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.

(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)