2022 -- S 2337 | |
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LC004425 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - TRANSPORTATION | |
INVESTMENT AND DEBT PROTECTION ACT OF 2011 | |
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Introduced By: Senators DiMario, DiPalma, F Lombardi, Miller, Euer, Murray, Lawson, | |
Date Introduced: February 15, 2022 | |
Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 39-18.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-18.1 entitled |
2 | "Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 39-18.1-5. Allocation of funds. |
4 | (a) The monies in the highway maintenance fund to be directed to the department of |
5 | transportation pursuant to ยง 39-18.1-4(b)(1) -- (b)(3) shall be allocated through the transportation |
6 | improvement program process to provide the state match for federal transportation funds, in place |
7 | of borrowing, as approved by the state planning council. The expenditure of moneys in the highway |
8 | maintenance fund shall only be authorized for projects that appear in the state's transportation |
9 | improvement program. |
10 | (b) Provided, however, that beginning with fiscal year 2015 and annually thereafter, the |
11 | department of transportation will allocate necessary funding to programs that are designed to |
12 | eliminate structural deficiencies of the state's bridge, road, and maintenance systems and |
13 | infrastructure. |
14 | (c) Provided, further, that beginning July 1, 2015, five percent (5%) of available proceeds |
15 | in the Rhode Island highway maintenance account shall be allocated annually to the Rhode Island |
16 | public transit authority for operating expenditures. |
17 | (d) Provided, further, that from July 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, in addition to the |
18 | amount above, the Rhode Island public transit authority shall receive an amount of not less than |
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1 | five million dollars ($5,000,000) each fiscal year, except for the period July 1, 2019, through June |
2 | 30, 2022, during which such amount or a portion thereof may come from federal coronavirus relief |
3 | funds. |
4 | (e) Provided, further, that the Rhode Island public transit authority shall convene a |
5 | coordinating council consisting of those state agencies responsible for meeting the needs of low- |
6 | income seniors and persons with disabilities, along with those stakeholders that the authority deems |
7 | appropriate and are necessary to inform, develop, and implement the federally required coordinated |
8 | public transit human services transportation plan. |
9 | (1) The council shall develop, as part of the state's federally required plan, |
10 | recommendations for the appropriate and sustainable funding of the free-fare program for low- |
11 | income seniors and persons with disabilities, while maximizing the use of federal funds available |
12 | to support the transportation needs of this population. The council shall report these |
13 | recommendations to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of |
14 | the senate no later than November 1, 2018. |
15 | (2) The council shall develop a pilot program designed to address the needs of individuals |
16 | whose disability prevents independent use of the fixed route system and who do not fall within the |
17 | three quarter (3/4) of mile of a fixed route as required for ADA paratransit services. The council |
18 | shall implement the pilot program no later than January 1, 2023. |
19 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004425 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - TRANSPORTATION | |
INVESTMENT AND DEBT PROTECTION ACT OF 2011 | |
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1 | This act would authorize the Rhode Island public transit authority's coordinating council |
2 | to develop a pilot program to address the needs of disabled individuals whose disability prevents |
3 | independent use of a fixed route system. |
4 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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