SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2181 FILED ON: 3/24/2009
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2023
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand Nine
_______________
An Act modernizing the transportation systems of Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a) of section 8C of chapter 6A of the General Laws, inserted by section 6 of chapter 233 of the acts of 2008, is hereby amended by striking out the words “commissioner of highways” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- administrator of roads and bridges of the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority.
SECTION 1A. Section 8C of chapter 6A of the General Laws, inserted by section 6 of chapter 233 of the acts of 2008, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
(a) There shall be established a structurally deficient bridge improvement program coordination and oversight council. The council shall consist of a chair appointed by the governor, the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of transportation, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, the administrator of the division of roads and bridges of the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority, and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, or their designees.
SECTION 2. Said Chapter 6A of the General Laws is hereby further amended by striking out sections 19 and 19A, as mostly recently amended by section 1 of chapter 298 of the acts of 2008, and inserting in place thereof the following 3 sections:-
Section 19. (a) The executive office of transportation shall serve as the principal agency of the executive department for the following purposes: (1) developing, coordinating, administering and managing transportation policies, planning and programs related to design, construction and maintenance; (2) supervising and managing the organization and conduct of the business affairs of the departments, agencies, commissions, offices, boards and divisions, and other agencies within the executive office to improve administrative efficiency and program effectiveness and to preserve fiscal resources; (3) developing and implementing effective policies and programs to assure the coordination and quality of roadway, transit, airport and port infrastructure and security provided by the secretary and all of the departments, agencies, commissions, offices, boards, divisions, authorities and other entities within the executive office.
(b) The following state agencies shall be within the executive office of transportation: the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission; the government center commission established by section 1 of chapter 635 of the acts of 1960; and the registry of motor vehicles. The Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and any duly established regional transportation authority shall also be within the executive office of transportation.
(c) The governor shall appoint a secretary of transportation, who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor and shall act as the executive officer in all matters pertaining to the administration, management, operation, regulation, planning, fiscal and policy development functions and affairs of the departments, agencies, commissions, offices, boards, divisions, and other agencies within the executive office.
(d) The secretary may: (1) operate and administer the programs of roadway design, capital improvement, development and planning through the other agencies within the executive office, as appropriate; (2) coordinate and supervise the administration of the executive office and its agencies to promote economy and efficiency and to leverage federal funding; (3) develop and administer a long-term state-wide transportation plan for the commonwealth, as provided for in subsection (f); (4) develop, based on a public hearing process, procedures to be used for transportation project selection; (5) establish criteria for project selection to be used in the procedures developed pursuant to clause (4); (6) enter into agreements with departments, agencies, commissions, offices, boards, divisions, authorities and other entities within the executive office to improve administrative efficiency and program effectiveness and to preserve fiscal resources; (7) pursuant to chapter 30A, make, amend and repeal rules and regulations for the management and administration of the executive office and agencies within the executive office; (8) execute all instruments necessary for carrying out the business of the executive office and its agencies; (9) acquire, own, hold, dispose of, lease and encumber property in the name of the executive office and its agencies; (10) enter into agreements and transactions with federal, state and municipal agencies and other public institutions and private individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations, associations and other entities on behalf of the executive office or its agencies; (11) apply for and accept funds, including grants, on behalf of the commonwealth in accordance with applicable law; (12) conduct research, surveys, experimentation, evaluation, design and development, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority, and other governmental agencies and private organizations when appropriate, with regard to mass transportation facilities, equipment and services. The secretary may delegate any of the foregoing powers to an officer having charge of a department, office, division or other administrative unit within the executive office. (e) In exercising its powers under this section, the executive office shall have, as a primary goal, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, particulates and other pollutants. The secretary shall collaborate with the executive office of environmental affairs, the bureau for environmental health within the department of public health and other state or federal agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the limits established in chapter 21N.
(f) (1) Every 5 calendar years, beginning not later than April 30, 2010, the secretary of transportation shall, after conducting public hearings, prepare and publish in the Massachusetts Register a comprehensive state transportation plan for the 5 succeeding fiscal years, beginning with the period of fiscal year 2011 to 2015, inclusive. The plan shall be consistent with such priorities as may be established by legislation. Said plan shall be designed to ensure construction and maintenance of a safe, sound and efficient public highway, road and bridge system, to relieve congestion, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particulates and other pollutants, and to improve the quality of life in the commonwealth by promoting economic development and employment in the commonwealth by meeting, cost effectively, the diverse transportation needs of all residents of the commonwealth, including urban, suburban and rural populations. Said plan shall also include an engineering assessment to anticipate highway, road and bridge needs throughout the commonwealth as determined by objective engineering measurements of condition, safety and service. The secretary shall consult with the executive offices of environmental affairs and of economic affairs in the development of said plan.Said plan shall provide for meeting not less than 5 per cent annually of the estimated construction, reconstruction and repair needs of the public highways and bridges of the commonwealth, its counties, cities and towns, estimated as follows. Before the secretary publishes or updates said plan, the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority shall determine and certify to the secretary its estimate of the total value of all construction, reconstruction and repair needs of the commonwealth’s highway and bridge infrastructure. The total value estimate shall be based on satisfying current safety and maintenance standards of the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The estimate shall be substantiated by documented objective engineering estimates which shall be made available for public review.
The executive office and the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority shall report annually, not later than February 1, to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on transportation on their compliance with the plan and their efforts to satisfy the 5 per cent requirement of the preceding paragraph.
(g). There is hereby established within the executive office of transportation a healthy transportation compact. The secretary of transportation and the secretary of health and human services shall cooperate and adopt best practices in order to increase efficiency to achieve positive health outcomes through the coordination of land use, transportation and public health policy. The healthy transportation compact shall consist of the secretary of transportation, the secretary of health and human services, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, the administrator of the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority’s division of roads and bridges, the administrator of the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority’s division of public transit, and the commissioner of public health, or their designees.
The secretary of transportation and the secretary of health and human services or their designees, shall serve as co-chairpersons of the compact. The chairpersons shall convene and preside at meetings of the compact, determine the agenda of the compact, direct its work and as appropriate to particular subject matters, establish and direct subgroups of the compact, which shall consist exclusively of the compact’s members. The compact on healthy transportation shall:
(i) promote inter-secretariat cooperation and the establishment of a healthy transportation policy for the commonwealth including appropriate mechanisms to minimize duplication and overlap of state and federal programs and services;
(ii) develop a healthy transportation framework that increases access to healthy transportation alternatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improves access to services for persons with mobility limitations and increases opportunities for physical activities;
(iii) develop methods to increase bicycle and pedestrian travel, incorporate the principles, findings and recommendations of the Massachusetts bicycle transportation plan and establish a framework for implementation of the Bay State Greenway Network;
(iv) develop and implement, in consultation with the bicycle and pedestrian advisory board established in section 11A of chapter 21A, administrative and procedural mechanisms, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, consistent with the most current edition of the MassHighway Project Development and Design Guide, or its successor, to encourage the construction of complete streets, so-called, designed and operated to enable safe access for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages to safely move along and across roadways in urban and suburban areas;
(v) establish methods to implement the use of health impact assessments to determine the effect of transit projects on public health and vulnerable populations;
(vi) facilitate access to the most appropriate, cost-effective transportation services within existing resources for persons with mobility challenges;
(vii) expand service offerings for the Safe Routes to Schools program;
(viii) in the implementation of this section, explore opportunities and encourage the use of public-private partnerships with private and non-profit institutions;
(ix) seek to establish an advisory council with private and non-profit advocacy groups as the compact sees fit;
(x) institute a health impact assessment for use by planners, transportation administrators, public health administrators and developers; and
(xi) develop and implement a method for monitoring progress on achieving the goals of this section and provide any other recommendations that would, in the judgment of the compact, advance the principles set forth in this section.
(2) The executive office shall establish a program for mass transportation consistent with this chapter. The program for mass transportation and any revisions thereto shall be submitted for comment and recommendation to the mass transit advisory board not less than 60 days prior to the adoption thereof. The executive office shall prepare a written response to reports submitted to it by the advisory board which response shall state the basis for any substantial divergence between the actions of the executive office and the recommendations contained in such reports of the advisory board. Said program shall be reviewed not less than every 5 years to evaluate the achievement of its aims and to re-evaluate its conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
Said program for mass transportation and any plans specified therein shall be implemented by the mass transportation capital investment program, including a rolling 5-year plan. The capital investment program and plans of the executive office shall be based on an evaluation of the impact of each proposed capital investment on the effectiveness of the commonwealth’s transportation system, service quality standards, the environment, health and safety, operating costs, the prevention or avoidance of deferred maintenance and debt service costs. Capital investments that result in the greatest benefits with the least cost, transit commitments made in connection with the central artery project, capital improvements required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and capital expenditures for an ongoing schedule of maintaining the equipment and mass transportation facilities of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or any successor agency, shall receive the highest priority under the capital investment program and plans.
The ongoing schedule of maintenance shall be designed to prevent the deferral of routine and scheduled maintenance, and shall be undertaken prior to investing in new facilities or service expansion, unless such investment is required by law or can be demonstrated to be cost-effective, environmentally beneficial or produce quantifiable savings.
The capital investment program shall be prepared on an annual basis, under the direction, control and supervision of the executive office. The program, including plans for each project funded therein, shall be available for public inspection and submitted to the authority, the joint committee on transportation and the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than 60 days prior to the start of the fiscal year.
The program for mass transportation, the capital investment program and the plans for each such project funded therein shall be developed in conjunction with other transportation programs and plans proposed by the executive office, including any plans of regional transit authorities established pursuant to chapter 161B. These programs shall be further developed in consultation and cooperation with the division of public transit, and in consultation with the department of housing and community development, the metropolitan area planning council, the executive office of environmental affairs and such other agencies of the commonwealth or of the federal government as may be concerned with said program and plans.
The plans for each project included in the capital investment program shall identify the purpose and intended benefits of each project, the total budget and timeline necessary to complete each project, the amount of the total which is budgeted for each project in the next fiscal year, the operating costs and savings, if any, anticipated to be incorporated into the operating budget of the authority upon completion of each project, the proposed operating costs and costs of routine and scheduled maintenance associated with each project upon its completion, and the expected useful life of each project.
The capital investment program shall be based on a rolling 5-year plan, updated annually, that establishes the priorities and cashflow needs of the capital borrowing program of the authority. The 5 year plan shall be accompanied by a timeline for the implementation of the projects and priorities established therein and comprehensive financial estimates of the capital and operating costs and revenues associated with each project established by the plan.
The executive office shall conduct a series of public meetings within 30 days of issuance of an initial draft of the capital investment program and shall submit a final capital investment program to the mass transit advisory board, for its review, not later than January 15 of each year.
The authority shall be responsible for the architectural, engineering design, and the construction of mass transportation facilities and for the operation thereof.
(3) The secretary, in consultation with the authority, shall adopt such rules, regulations and procedures, including public hearings, as are necessary and appropriate to provide the following parties the timely opportunity to participate in the development of major transportation projects, as defined by the secretary, and to review and comment thereon: (i) state, regional and local agencies and authorities affected by said projects; (ii) elected officials and riders or potential riders from cities and towns affected by said projects; (iii) other public and private organizations, groups and persons who are affected by said projects, and who have provided the secretary with reasonable notice of their desire to participate in the development of the design of said projects. In this paragraph, the words “timely opportunity” shall mean sufficiently early in the design process so as to permit comments to be considered prior to the final development, of or commitment to, any specific design for such project. Each project shall include plans for utility relocation or construction as a component of the initial design phase.
(4) Prior to the final approval of any transportation infrastructure project, including mass transit expansion or the construction of new roadways with a projected capital cost of more than $25,000,000, and prior to expending any funds for the planning, design and construction of such a project, the secretary of transportation shall request that the administrator of the appropriate division of the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority, in consultation with the chief executive officer of the authority, prepare a fiscal analysis, including life cycle costs, demonstrating that sufficient revenues exist or will be generated to operate and maintain in a state of good repair such a new transportation asset. This analysis shall be also be submitted to the advisory boards of the respective divisions of the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority.
If any such project for the expansion of mass transit has a projected total cost in excess of $200,000,000, the secretary of transportation shall submit the analysis to the secretary of administration and finance for a determination as to which costs, if any, will become part of the commonwealth’s plan of capital expenditures.
(g) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to confer any powers or impose any duties upon the secretary with respect to the foregoing agencies and authorities except as expressly provided by law.
Section 19A. (a) The executive office shall take such steps as may be necessary to provide for the development, promotion, preservation and improvement of an adequate, safe, efficient and convenient rail system for the movement of passengers and freight in the commonwealth. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the executive office shall seek to encourage and develop rail services which promote and maintain the economic well-being of citizens and which preserve the environment and the commonwealth’s natural resources.
(b) The executive office, or the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority acting pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (d), shall expend such funds as may be appropriated or otherwise made available for the acquisition, construction, preservation, rehabilitation, reconstruction or other improvement, whether directly, jointly or under contract with other public or private parties, of land and rail rights-of-way and related facilities or equipment, including but not limited to spurs, sidings and bridges, and for such other purposes including, without limitation, planning, engineering and administrative purposes, as are incidental thereto; provided, however, that any preservation, rehabilitation, reconstruction or other improvement of land or of a rail right-of-way and related facilities or equipment shall not be authorized prior to the acquisition of such land, right-of-way or related facilities or equipment.
Subject to any other applicable laws regarding the disposition and use of state property, the executive office may, in the course of exercising its responsibilities of property management of state-owned railroad rights-of-way pursuant to this chapter: (a) set fees for the processing of applications to lease, license or otherwise use such property; and (b) charge rent for same. Such fees shall be based on the administrative costs necessary to process such applications. Rent shall be calculated as required under other applicable laws. Receipts from applications and rents shall be paid into the treasury of the commonwealth and may be expended, subject to appropriation, for the purpose of property management and maintenance on railroad properties owned by the executive office on behalf of the commonwealth.
(c) The executive office or the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority, acting pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (d), may enter into contracts or agreements to provide financial assistance, from such funds as may be provided for such purpose, for all or part of the costs of maintaining rail rights-of-way or related facilities or equipment, or operating rail services in the commonwealth.
Such contracts or agreements shall be subject to the following limitations: (i) in determining whether such assistance is necessary or appropriate under this chapter with respect to an operating agreement with a private transportation company, and in determining the terms and conditions under which such assistance shall be given, the secretary shall review the transportation operations of such company and its affiliates and shall make a finding that such assistance will not permit the applicant company to make more than a reasonable return overall; and