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92_HB2263ham001 LRB9206710WHcsam 1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2263 2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 2263 by replacing 3 everything after the enacting clause with the following: 4 "ARTICLE 5 5 Section 5-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as 6 the Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Law. 7 Section 5-5. Findings and Purpose. The General Assembly 8 finds that safe, reliable and convenient transportation to 9 and from work and related destinations such as child care and 10 education is an extremely important factor in the ability to 11 find and retain employment, particularly in the lower income 12 sectors of the economy. For many people, these transportation 13 needs are not met by existing mass transit. This creates a 14 need for innovative transportation to work strategies that 15 fit within local circumstances. Many localities around 16 Illinois do not have the resources or the expertise to 17 develop and support innovative transportation options. 18 Localities need access to State and federal funds to help 19 implement these strategies, and they need technical 20 assistance both in designing programs and in accessing 21 various sources of State and federal funds. Illinois also 22 leaves substantial federal transportation funds unclaimed -2- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 because of the failure to put forward projects to use the 2 funds. Illinois would benefit from a unified State process 3 for applying for federal transportation assistance for 4 innovative transportation to work strategies and for 5 supplying the matching funds necessary to access that federal 6 assistance. The purpose of this Article is to establish the 7 Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Program to 8 prompt the creation of innovative transportation to work 9 strategies at the local level, to assist in the 10 implementation of those strategies, to coordinate the local, 11 State and federal funding of those programs, and to access 12 the maximum of federal transportation to work funding. 13 Section 5-7. Definitions. As used in this Article: 14 "Department" means the Department of Transportation. 15 "TRIP Program" means the Transportation Resources for 16 Innovative Projects Program created by this Article. 17 "JARC" means the Job Access and Reverse Commute grant 18 program of the Federal Transit Administration. 19 Section 5-10. Establishment of Program and Funding. 20 There is established within the Department of Transportation 21 the Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Program. 22 The TRIP Program shall be funded by appropriation from the 23 General Assembly or by interagency agreement with the 24 Department of Human Services or other departments under 25 Section 5-25 of this Article, or by a combination of those 26 sources. 27 Section 5-15. Functions of Program. The Program shall be 28 a Statewide interagency effort to prompt and support local 29 transportation innovations. It shall have 3 main functions: 30 (a) Administration of an annual process to apply for 31 federal transportation to work assistance under the Job -3- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 Access and Reverse Commute program, programs administered by 2 the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or 3 similar programs, or a combination of those programs. This 4 shall include publicizing the process, managing the 5 application and selection process, making applications to the 6 federal government, and identifying local projects to be part 7 of the annual State applications to the federal government. 8 To the extent resources permit, the TRIP Program shall 9 provide grants or guarantee funds to the local projects 10 selected for inclusion in the State applications to complete 11 the State funding matches necessary to access the federal 12 funds. 13 (b) Administration of an annual process to grant funds, 14 to the extent resources permit, to localities for innovative 15 transportation to work strategies not eligible for federal 16 funds. 17 (c) Provision of technical assistance to localities in 18 the devising of innovative transportation to work strategies 19 and in complying with the requirements for federal, State and 20 local funding. 21 Section 5-20. Illinois Coordinating Committee on 22 Transportation. The Illinois Coordinating Committee on 23 Transportation created by the Illinois Coordinating Committee 24 on Transportation Law shall serve as an interagency advisory 25 committee to help develop policy and procedures under the 26 TRIP Program. 27 Section 5-25. Interagency Agreement with Department of 28 Human Services and other Departments. In addition to any 29 other interagency agreements the Department may enter into to 30 implement the TRIP Program, there shall be an interagency 31 agreement with the Department of Human Services. Under the 32 agreement, the departments shall have the following -4- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 responsibilities. 2 (a) The Department of Human Services shall: 3 (1) provide an annual allotment of funds for 4 disbursement by the Department under the TRIP Program; 5 (2) notify the Department in a timely manner of all 6 State and federal policies, rules, and regulations that 7 may affect the use and disbursement of the funds and 8 provide appropriate assistance for compliance with those 9 requirements; and 10 (3) provide at least one staff member to represent 11 the Department of Human Services on the Illinois 12 Coordinating Committee on Transportation and in the 13 selection process for local transportation programs for 14 State and federal funds under the TRIP Program. 15 (b) The Department shall: 16 (1) ensure that the use of funds transferred from 17 the Department of Human Services is in accordance with 18 laws governing use of those funds and is coordinated with 19 the Department of Human Services; 20 (2) collaborate with the Department of Human 21 Services in selecting the projects to be funded under the 22 Program; 23 (3) account for the use of funds transferred form 24 the Department of Human Services separately from other 25 funds; 26 (4) provide any necessary reports regarding the 27 TRIP Program to the Department of Human Services and the 28 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 29 (d) The Department may enter into similar interagency 30 agreements with other agencies that transfer funds to the 31 Department for the TRIP Program or coordinate their programs 32 with the TRIP Program. 33 Section 5-30. TRIP Program Provisions. -5- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 (a) The Department annually shall solicit applications 2 from localities for support for local transportation to work 3 strategies. The solicitation and application process shall be 4 timed to allow the Department to submit a package of approved 5 local programs as the Illinois State Consolidated 6 Transportation to Work Plan to the Federal Transit 7 Administration for funding under the Job Access and Reverse 8 Commute program, and to make timely submissions for other 9 sources of federal funds. 10 (b) The annual solicitation and application process 11 shall include 2 types of grants: (i) those fundable under 12 JARC or other federal funding sources, for which the TRIP 13 Program grant shall be adequate, in combination with local or 14 private funds, to complete the "local match" required by JARC 15 or other federal programs, and (ii) those not fundable under 16 JARC or other federal programs but otherwise addressing the 17 purposes of the TRIP Program (for example, car purchase 18 programs). The Department, in conjunction with the Illinois 19 Coordinating Committee on Transportation, shall divide grant 20 funds between these 2 types of proposals each year depending 21 upon the merit of the proposals received and the extent to 22 which they would accomplish the purposes of the TRIP Program, 23 including the maximizing of federal funds. The grants may be 24 spent over a period of up to 24 months. 25 (c) The Department shall annually submit the Illinois 26 State Consolidated Transportation to Work Plan to the Federal 27 Transit Administration for funding under JARC and submit 28 applications for other federal funds as appropriate. 29 (d) The Department shall provide technical assistance to 30 localities in developing transportation strategies, complying 31 with application requirements, including federal 32 requirements, and forming strategic local partnerships to 33 improve the potential success of both the grant application 34 and the local program itself. Local entities eligible for -6- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 funding under the program include counties, municipalities, 2 public agencies, private entities, non-profit organizations 3 such as, but not limited to, community development 4 corporations, transportation management associations, 5 transportation providers, community action agencies, faith 6 based organizations, and workforce investment boards, and 7 other consortiums. Planning partners may, but need not 8 necessarily, include local workforce investment boards, 9 chambers of commerce, elected officials, Metropolitan 10 Planning Organizations, local plan commissions, and State 11 agencies. 12 (e) The Department's rules for applications by local 13 entities under the Program shall include, but not necessarily 14 be limited to, the following provisions: 15 (1) The local programs should be for implementation 16 of innovative community transportation systems that 17 address a local transportation need or gap; they should 18 use innovative approaches that emphasize both 19 coordination between existing services and programs and 20 the elimination of transportation barriers that limit 21 workforce participation. These programs and services 22 could, for example, be the purchase of rolling stock such 23 as vans, new or expanded operation of transportation 24 routes, creation of auto ownership and drivers licensing 25 programs, new or expanded dial a ride services, vanpool 26 or carpool programs, guaranteed ride home programs, or 27 similar strategies that address local needs and 28 circumstances. 29 (2) To qualify for inclusion in the State 30 application for JARC funding or other federal funding, 31 the applicant must have been involved in the 32 transportation planning process for the region in which 33 the project will operate, or exhibit knowledge of that 34 process and its need statement and have relationships -7- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 with the local transportation experts in transit 2 authorities or county government. 3 (3) The application must include evidence of a 4 commitment for the funding of a portion of the proposed 5 project from local or private sources (other than State 6 or federal sources). This portion shall not be less than 7 1% nor more than 10% of the total project costs. The 8 Department shall provide by rule for a sliding scale for 9 these local funding commitments based upon the relative 10 resources in localities, so that the contribution of 11 communities with the least resources is 1% and of 12 communities with the most resources is 10%. The 13 Department shall use an objective measure such as the 14 poverty rate or the tax base in establishing the sliding 15 scale and shall update it annually. 16 ARTICLE 10 17 Section 10-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as 18 the Illinois Coordinating Committee on Transportation Law. 19 Section 10-5. Definitions. As used in this Article: 20 (1) "Agency" means an official, commission, 21 authority, council, department, committee, division, 22 bureau, board, or any other unit or entity of the State, 23 a municipality, a county, or other local governing body 24 or a private not-for-profit transportation service 25 providing agency. 26 (2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating 27 Committee on Transportation. 28 (3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the 29 provision of transportation services to the 30 transportation disadvantaged in a manner that is 31 cost-effective, efficient, and reduces fragmentation and -8- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 duplication of services. 2 (4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those 3 persons who, because of physical or mental disability, 4 income status, age, location of residence, or other 5 reasons are unable to transport themselves or to purchase 6 affordable transportation and are, therefore, dependent 7 upon others to obtain access to health care, employment, 8 education, shopping, social activities, or other 9 life-sustaining activities. 10 Section 10-10. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating 11 Committee on Transportation is created and shall consist of 12 the following members: 13 (1) The Lieutenant Governor or her or his designee. 14 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her 15 designee. 16 (3) The Secretary of Human Services (or his or her 17 designee) and one additional representative of the 18 Department of Human Services designated by the Secretary. 19 (4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee. 20 (5) The Director of Public Aid or his or her 21 designee. 22 (6) The Director of Commerce and Community Affairs 23 or his or her designee. 24 (7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit 25 Assistance Center. 26 (8) A person who is a member of a recognized 27 statewide organization representing older Illinoisans. 28 (9) A representative of centers for independent 29 living. 30 (10) A representative of the Illinois Public 31 Transportation Association. 32 (11) A representative of an existing transportation 33 system that coordinates and provides transit services in -9- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 a multi-county area for the Department of Transportation, 2 Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and 3 Community Affairs, or Department on Aging. 4 (12) A representative of a statewide organization 5 of rehabilitation facilities or other providers of 6 services for persons with one or more disabilities. 7 (13) A representative of the Illinois Planning 8 Council on Developmental Disabilities. 9 (14) A representative of a statewide organization 10 of community action agencies. 11 The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint the members of the 12 Committee other than those named in paragraphs (1) through 13 (6) of this Section. The Lieutenant Governor or his or her 14 designee shall serve as chairperson of the Committee and 15 shall convene the meetings of the Committee. The Secretary of 16 Transportation and the Secretary of Human Services, or their 17 designees, shall serve as vice-chairpersons and shall be 18 responsible for staff support for the committee. 19 Section 10-15. Duties of committee. The Committee shall 20 foster the coordination of public and private transportation 21 services, with special attention paid to services directed 22 toward those populations who are currently not served or who 23 are underserved by existing public transit. The Committee 24 shall aim to reduce duplicative services in order to achieve 25 a transportation system that serves the most citizens 26 possible in the most cost-effective and efficient manner 27 possible. Specifically, the committee shall: 28 (1) Coordinate State efforts within federal 29 guidelines to facilitate coordination of human service 30 transportation programs. 31 (2) Establish statewide priorities and draft a 32 strategic plan. These priorities should include: 33 developing objectives for providing essential -10- LRB9206710WHcsam 1 transportation services to the transportation 2 disadvantaged; developing a unified state request for 3 funds from federal sources such as the Job Access and 4 Reverse Commute (JARC) Grant program that is based on 5 local plans from communities statewide; identifying funds 6 from other available sources for projects that are not an 7 eligible use of JARC funds; and developing a long-range 8 plan to identify and recruit potential stakeholders in 9 future community transportation initiatives. 10 (3) Develop goals and objectives to reduce 11 duplication of services and achieve coverage that is as 12 complete as possible. 13 (4) Address any and all transportation barriers 14 and propose solutions, such as multi-agency involvement, 15 to eliminate these barriers. 16 (5) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about 17 funding sources and innovations in serving the 18 transportation disadvantaged. 19 (6) Oversee administration of the Transportation 20 Resources for Innovative Projects Program. 21 (7) Submit a report, not later than February 1, 22 2002, to the Governor and the General Assembly that 23 outlines the progress made by the Committee in performing 24 its duties set forth in paragraphs (1) through (6) of 25 this Section and makes recommendations for statutory and 26 regulatory changes to promote coordination. 27 ARTICLE 99 28 Section 99-99. Effective date. This Act takes effect 29 upon becoming law.".