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92_HB4231
LRB9212628WHcs
1 AN ACT concerning transportation.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
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
23 because of the failure to put forward projects to use the
24 funds. Illinois would benefit from a unified State process
25 for applying for federal transportation assistance for
26 innovative transportation to work strategies and for
27 supplying the matching funds necessary to access that federal
28 assistance. The purpose of this Article is to establish the
29 Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Program to
30 prompt the creation of innovative transportation to work
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1 strategies at the local level, to assist in the
2 implementation of those strategies, to coordinate the local,
3 State and federal funding of those programs, and to access
4 the maximum of federal transportation to work funding.
5 Section 5-7. Definitions. As used in this Article:
6 "Department" means the Department of Transportation.
7 "TRIP Program" means the Transportation Resources for
8 Innovative Projects Program created by this Article.
9 "JARC" means the Job Access and Reverse Commute grant
10 program of the Federal Transit Administration.
11 Section 5-10. Establishment of Program and Funding.
12 There is established within the Department of Transportation
13 the Transportation Resources for Innovative Projects Program.
14 The TRIP Program shall be funded by appropriation from the
15 General Assembly or by interagency agreement with the
16 Department of Human Services or other departments under
17 Section 5-25 of this Article, or by a combination of those
18 sources.
19 Section 5-15. Functions of Program. The Program shall be
20 a Statewide interagency effort to prompt and support local
21 transportation innovations. It shall have 3 main functions:
22 (a) Administration of an annual process to apply for
23 federal transportation to work assistance under the Job
24 Access and Reverse Commute program, programs administered by
25 the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or
26 similar programs, or a combination of those programs. This
27 shall include publicizing the process, managing the
28 application and selection process, making applications to the
29 federal government, and identifying local projects to be part
30 of the annual State applications to the federal government.
31 To the extent resources permit, the TRIP Program shall
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1 provide grants or guarantee funds to the local projects
2 selected for inclusion in the State applications to complete
3 the State funding matches necessary to access the federal
4 funds.
5 (b) Administration of an annual process to grant funds,
6 to the extent resources permit, to localities for innovative
7 transportation to work strategies not eligible for federal
8 funds.
9 (c) Provision of technical assistance to localities in
10 the devising of innovative transportation to work strategies
11 and in complying with the requirements for federal, State and
12 local funding.
13 Section 5-20. Illinois Coordinating Committee on
14 Transportation. The Illinois Coordinating Committee on
15 Transportation created by the Illinois Coordinating Committee
16 on Transportation Law shall serve as an interagency advisory
17 committee to help develop policy and procedures under the
18 TRIP Program.
19 Section 5-25. Interagency Agreement with Department of
20 Human Services and other Departments. In addition to any
21 other interagency agreements the Department may enter into to
22 implement the TRIP Program, there shall be an interagency
23 agreement with the Department of Human Services. Under the
24 agreement, the departments shall have the following
25 responsibilities.
26 (a) The Department of Human Services shall:
27 (1) provide an annual allotment of funds for
28 disbursement by the Department under the TRIP Program;
29 (2) notify the Department in a timely manner of all
30 State and federal policies, rules, and regulations that
31 may affect the use and disbursement of the funds and
32 provide appropriate assistance for compliance with those
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1 requirements; and
2 (3) provide at least one staff member to represent
3 the Department of Human Services on the Illinois
4 Coordinating Committee on Transportation and in the
5 selection process for local transportation programs for
6 State and federal funds under the TRIP Program.
7 (b) The Department shall:
8 (1) ensure that the use of funds transferred from
9 the Department of Human Services is in accordance with
10 laws governing use of those funds and is coordinated with
11 the Department of Human Services;
12 (2) collaborate with the Department of Human
13 Services in selecting the projects to be funded under the
14 Program;
15 (3) account for the use of funds transferred from
16 the Department of Human Services separately from other
17 funds;
18 (4) provide any necessary reports regarding the
19 TRIP Program to the Department of Human Services and the
20 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
21 (d) The Department may enter into similar interagency
22 agreements with other agencies that transfer funds to the
23 Department for the TRIP Program or coordinate their programs
24 with the TRIP Program.
25 Section 5-30. TRIP Program Provisions.
26 (a) The Department annually shall solicit applications
27 from localities for support for local transportation to work
28 strategies. The solicitation and application process shall be
29 timed to allow the Department to submit a package of approved
30 local programs as the Illinois State Consolidated
31 Transportation to Work Plan to the Federal Transit
32 Administration for funding under the Job Access and Reverse
33 Commute program, and to make timely submissions for other
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1 sources of federal funds.
2 (b) The annual solicitation and application process
3 shall include 2 types of grants: (i) those fundable under
4 JARC or other federal funding sources, for which the TRIP
5 Program grant shall be adequate, in combination with local or
6 private funds, to complete the "local match" required by JARC
7 or other federal programs, and (ii) those not fundable under
8 JARC or other federal programs but otherwise addressing the
9 purposes of the TRIP Program (for example, car purchase
10 programs). The Department, in conjunction with the Illinois
11 Coordinating Committee on Transportation, shall divide grant
12 funds between these 2 types of proposals each year depending
13 upon the merit of the proposals received and the extent to
14 which they would accomplish the purposes of the TRIP Program,
15 including the maximizing of federal funds. The grants may be
16 spent over a period of up to 24 months.
17 (c) The Department shall annually submit the Illinois
18 State Consolidated Transportation to Work Plan to the Federal
19 Transit Administration for funding under JARC and submit
20 applications for other federal funds as appropriate.
21 (d) The Department shall provide technical assistance to
22 localities in developing transportation strategies, complying
23 with application requirements, including federal
24 requirements, and forming strategic local partnerships to
25 improve the potential success of both the grant application
26 and the local program itself. Local entities eligible for
27 funding under the program include counties, municipalities,
28 public agencies, private entities, non-profit organizations
29 such as, but not limited to, community development
30 corporations, transportation management associations,
31 transportation providers, community action agencies, faith
32 based organizations, and workforce investment boards, and
33 other consortiums. Planning partners may, but need not
34 necessarily, include local workforce investment boards,
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1 chambers of commerce, elected officials, Metropolitan
2 Planning Organizations, local plan commissions, and State
3 agencies.
4 (e) The Department's rules for applications by local
5 entities under the Program shall include, but not necessarily
6 be limited to, the following provisions:
7 (1) The local programs should be for implementation
8 of innovative community transportation systems that
9 address a local transportation need or gap; they should
10 use innovative approaches that emphasize both
11 coordination between existing services and programs and
12 the elimination of transportation barriers that limit
13 workforce participation. These programs and services
14 could, for example, be the purchase of rolling stock such
15 as vans, new or expanded operation of transportation
16 routes, creation of auto ownership and drivers licensing
17 programs, new or expanded dial a ride services, vanpool
18 or carpool programs, guaranteed ride home programs, or
19 similar strategies that address local needs and
20 circumstances.
21 (2) To qualify for inclusion in the State
22 application for JARC funding or other federal funding,
23 the applicant must have been involved in the
24 transportation planning process for the region in which
25 the project will operate, or exhibit knowledge of that
26 process and its need statement and have relationships
27 with the local transportation experts in transit
28 authorities or county government.
29 (3) The application must include evidence of a
30 commitment for the funding of a portion of the proposed
31 project from local or private sources (other than State
32 or federal sources). This portion shall not be less than
33 1% nor more than 10% of the total project costs. The
34 Department shall provide by rule for a sliding scale for
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1 these local funding commitments based upon the relative
2 resources in localities, so that the contribution of
3 communities with the least resources is 1% and of
4 communities with the most resources is 10%. The
5 Department shall use an objective measure such as the
6 poverty rate or the tax base in establishing the sliding
7 scale and shall update it annually.
8 ARTICLE 10
9 Section 10-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as
10 the Illinois Coordinating Committee on Transportation Law.
11 Section 10-5. Definitions. As used in this Article:
12 (1) "Agency" means an official, commission,
13 authority, council, department, committee, division,
14 bureau, board, or any other unit or entity of the State,
15 a municipality, a county, or other local governing body
16 or a private not-for-profit transportation service
17 providing agency.
18 (2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating
19 Committee on Transportation.
20 (3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the
21 provision of transportation services to the
22 transportation disadvantaged in a manner that is
23 cost-effective, efficient, and reduces fragmentation and
24 duplication of services.
25 (4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those
26 persons who, because of physical or mental disability,
27 income status, age, location of residence, or other
28 reasons are unable to transport themselves or to purchase
29 affordable transportation and are, therefore, dependent
30 upon others to obtain access to health care, employment,
31 education, shopping, social activities, or other
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1 life-sustaining activities.
2 Section 10-10. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating
3 Committee on Transportation is created and shall consist of
4 the following members:
5 (1) The Governor or her or his designee.
6 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her
7 designee.
8 (3) The Secretary of Human Services (or his or her
9 designee) and one additional representative of the
10 Department of Human Services designated by the Secretary.
11 (4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee.
12 (5) The Director of Public Aid or his or her
13 designee.
14 (6) The Director of Commerce and Community Affairs
15 or his or her designee.
16 (7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit
17 Assistance Center.
18 (8) A person who is a member of a recognized
19 statewide organization representing older Illinoisans.
20 (9) A representative of centers for independent
21 living.
22 (10) A representative of the Illinois Public
23 Transportation Association.
24 (11) A representative of an existing transportation
25 system that coordinates and provides transit services in
26 a multi-county area for the Department of Transportation,
27 Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and
28 Community Affairs, or Department on Aging.
29 (12) A representative of a statewide organization
30 of rehabilitation facilities or other providers of
31 services for persons with one or more disabilities.
32 (13) A representative of the Illinois Planning
33 Council on Developmental Disabilities.
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1 (14) A representative of a statewide organization
2 of community action agencies.
3 The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of
4 Human Services, or their designees, shall serve as
5 chairpersons and shall be responsible for staff support for
6 the committee.
7 Section 10-15. Duties of committee. The Committee shall
8 foster the coordination of public and private transportation
9 services, with special attention paid to services directed
10 toward those populations who are currently not served or who
11 are underserved by existing public transit. The Committee
12 shall aim to reduce duplicative services in order to achieve
13 a transportation system that serves the most citizens
14 possible in the most cost-effective and efficient manner
15 possible. Specifically, the committee shall:
16 (1) Coordinate State efforts within federal
17 guidelines to facilitate coordination of human service
18 transportation programs.
19 (2) Establish statewide priorities and draft a
20 strategic plan. These priorities should include:
21 developing objectives for providing essential
22 transportation services to the transportation
23 disadvantaged; developing a unified state request for
24 funds from federal sources such as the Job Access and
25 Reverse Commute (JARC) Grant program that is based on
26 local plans from communities statewide; identifying funds
27 from other available sources for projects that are not an
28 eligible use of JARC funds; and developing a long-range
29 plan to identify and recruit potential stakeholders in
30 future community transportation initiatives.
31 (3) Develop goals and objectives to reduce
32 duplication of services and achieve coverage that is as
33 complete as possible.
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1 (4) Address any and all transportation barriers
2 and propose solutions, such as multi-agency involvement,
3 to eliminate these barriers.
4 (5) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about
5 funding sources and innovations in serving the
6 transportation disadvantaged.
7 (6) Oversee administration of the Transportation
8 Resources for Innovative Projects Program.
9 (7) Submit a report, not later than February 1,
10 2004, to the Governor and the General Assembly that
11 outlines the progress made by the Committee in performing
12 its duties set forth in paragraphs (1) through (6) of
13 this Section and makes recommendations for statutory and
14 regulatory changes to promote coordination.
15 ARTICLE 99
16 Section 99-99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
17 upon becoming law.