| Chapter 135 |
| 2017 -- H 5241 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 07/05/2017 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC TRANSIT-- BUS PASSES |
| Introduced By: Representatives O'Brien, Slater, Ruggiero, Carson, and Morin |
| Date Introduced: January 26, 2017 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 39-18.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-18.1 entitled |
| "Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011" is hereby amended to read as |
| follows: |
| 39-18.1-5. Allocation of funds. |
| (a) The monies in the highway maintenance fund to be directed to the department of |
| transportation pursuant to subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall be allocated through the |
| transportation improvement program process to provide the state match for federal transportation |
| funds, in place of borrowing, as approved by the state planning council. The expenditure of |
| moneys in the highway maintenance fund shall only be authorized for projects that appear in the |
| state's transportation improvement program. |
| (b) Provided, however, that beginning with fiscal year 2015 and annually thereafter, the |
| department of transportation will allocate necessary funding to programs that are designed to |
| eliminate structural deficiencies of the state's bridge, road, and maintenance systems and |
| infrastructure. |
| (c) Provided, further, that beginning July 1, 2015, five percent (5%) of available proceeds |
| in the Rhode Island highway maintenance account shall be allocated annually to the Rhode Island |
| public transit authority for operating expenditures. |
| (d) Provided further that from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2019, in addition to the |
| amount above, the Rhode Island public transit authority shall receive an amount of not less than |
| five million dollars ($5,000,000) each fiscal year. |
| (e) Provided, further, that the Rhode Island public transit authority shall convene a |
| coordinating council consisting of those state agencies responsible for meeting the needs of low- |
| income seniors and persons with disabilities, along with those stakeholders that the authority |
| deems appropriate and are necessary to inform, develop, and implement the federally required |
| Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan. |
| The council shall develop, as part of the state's federally required plan, recommendations |
| for the appropriate and sustainable funding of the free-fare program for low-income seniors and |
| persons with disabilities, while maximizing the use of federal funds available to support the |
| transportation needs of this population. |
| The council shall report these recommendations to the governor, the speaker of the house |
| of representatives, and the president of the senate, no later than November 1, 2018. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2017. |
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| LC001051/SUB A |
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