SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1833 FILED ON: 1/14/2009
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1957
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand Nine
_______________
An Act relative to regional transit authorities..
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 35BB the following two sections:-
Section 35CC. Regional Transit Authority Service Fund
Section 35CC. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Regional Transit Authority Service Fund for the purpose of supplementing existing amounts available to the regional transit authorities, established chapter 161B, to restore and expand the service needs in the cities and towns constituting the authorities, subject to the approval of the secretary of transportation. There shall be credited to said fund amounts transferred by the state treasurer as provided in section 63 of chapter 10 and any other amounts transferred or appropriated to said fund and any interest earned thereon.
Section 35DD. Regional Transit Authority Mobility Service Enhancement and Training Fund
Section 35DD. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Regional Transit Authority Mobility Service Enhancement and Training Fund for the purpose of enhancing public transit for the mobility impaired within the cities and towns constituting the authorities and for training of persons employed by the authorities on service needs of the mobility impaired. Amounts shall be made available from said fund to develop and implement projects and programs, subject to the approval of the secretary of transportation, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) quality sensitivity training for fixed-route drivers, demand-response drivers and customer service personnel of the authorities;
(2) driver training relative to the use of specialized equipment to provide mobility access to buses and other passenger vehicles of the authorities;
(3) customer service training for administrative personnel of the authorities using mobility tools;
(4) the development of travel training and mobility manager programs;
(5) the feasibility of providing escorts to assist the mobility impaired and elders with their transportation needs;
(6) the development of training resources for the transportation service providers contracting with the authorities;
(7) the procurement of capital equipment and technologies for mobility enhancement;
(8) the enhancement of paratransit service parameters; and
(9) the coordination of paratransit services throughout the cities and towns constituting the authorities.
There shall be credited to said fund amounts transferred by the state treasurer as provided in section 63 of chapter 10 and any other amounts transferred or appropriated to said fund and any interest earned thereon.
SECTION 2. Section 63 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph, in lines 1 to 11 inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following:-
There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Central Artery and Statewide Road and Bridge Infrastructure Fund for the purposes of meeting (i) the estimated additional costs associated with the Central Artery/Ted Williams Tunnel Project; and (ii) for the period covering July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2011, an amount equal to 50 percent of excess registry fees not required for the purpose of clause (i) shall be for the costs associated with the statewide road and bridge program and the remaining 50 percent of said excess registry fees shall be transferred in an amount not to exceed $90 million in the aggregate to the Regional Transit Authority Service Fund and in an amount not to exceed $15 million in the aggregate to the Regional Transit Authority Mobility Service Enhancement and Training Fund.
SECTION 3. Said section 63 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the fifth paragraph, in lines 60 to 69 inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following:-
The state treasurer shall, with the approval of the executive office for administration and finance, transfer excess registry fees to the Regional Transit Authority Service Fund and to the Regional Transit Authority Mobility Service Enhancement and Training Fund on or before June 30 of each fiscal for the period July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2011; provided however, the treasurer shall not transfer excess registry fees to the Regional Transit Authority Service Fund if the balance of said fund exceeds $90 million and the state treasurer shall not transfer excess registry fees to the Regional Transit Authority Mobility Service Enhancement and Training Fund if the balance of said fund exceeds $15 million. The state treasurer shall report excess registry fees identified and the actual balance transferred to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on transportation, the executive office for administration and finance and the executive office of transportation by August 15 of each year
SECTION 4. Said section 63 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 73, the words “June 30, 2009” and inserting in place thereof the following:- June 30, 2012.
SECTION 5. Section 102 of said chapter 291 of the acts of 2004 is hereby repealed.