HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1993        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3107

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Sarah K. Peake and William M. Straus

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing a federal transit funding maximization fund.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1993        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3107

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4564 OF 2017-2018.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act establishing a federal transit funding maximization fund.

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. For the purposes of this act, “private transportation provider” shall mean a private entity operating regular, continuing shared-ride surface transportation services that are open to the general public or open to a segment of the general public defined by age, disability, or low income.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority are hereby authorized in fiscal year 2019 and thereafter to enter into contracts with private transportation providers to identify and pursue projects to increase federal transit urbanized area formula program funding that is in addition to the current funding from direct transit authority transportation reporting to the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database. Incentive payments provided to private transportation providers for their reporting efforts and for the enhancement of their transportation services shall be a net neutral expense to the Commonwealth and shall be paid exclusively from the exchange of the additional federal urbanized area formula program funding generated by the private transportation provider reporting to the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database, with State appropriated transportation funding.

There shall be established on the books of the Commonwealth under the MassDOT secretariat, an expendable trust fund known as the Federal Transit Funding Maximization Fund for the purposes of providing funding to the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority for the compensation of private transportation providers for reporting transportation data to the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database, which results in federal transit urbanized area formula program funding that is in addition to formula funding from direct transit authority transportation reporting to the National Transit Database. The transit authority, identified as the designated recipient by the Federal Transit Administration for the urbanized area, is directly allocated the entire federal urbanized area formula funding, of which, the additional federal urbanized area formula funding resulting from the private transportation provider reporting shall be calculated by the transit authority based on the prior federal fiscal year formula funding amounts published by the Federal Transit Administration. The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, in consultation with MassDOT, shall take into consideration direct and indirect state, federal and other in-kind transit authority support provided to the private transportation provider when calculating the percentage and corresponding dollar value for each private transportation provider payment (“earned payment”) under this section, but in no case shall it exceed 25% of the additional federal urbanized area formula funding resulting from the private transportation provider reporting to the National Transit Database. Up to 25% of the additional federal transit urbanized area formula funds generated from the private transportation providers contractual participation in the Transit Funding Maximization Program shall be transferred to the Governor, who shall subsequently reallocate all transferred urbanized area formula funds to transit authorities in large or small urbanized areas within the State for eligible purposes under the urbanized area program. The reallocation of federal transit urbanized area formula funds by the Governor shall include a transfer to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in an amount equal to the calculated private transportation provider earned payment, with a corresponding reduction to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, item 1595-6369 through 9C cuts or other means. Funds reallocated by the Governor to transit authorities in large or small urbanized areas within the State shall be used by the transit authority to establish grants through the Federal Transit Administration system, incur expenses and seek reimbursement in compliance with all Federal Transit Administration regulations and guidelines. The Governor, through the secretary of administration and finance, shall provide the comptroller with a certified accounting of reallocated urbanized area formula funds, State transportation funding reductions, and earned private transportation provider payments. The comptroller shall transfer to the Federal Transit Funding Maximization Fund without further appropriation, sufficient funds to provide for the full earned payment compensation of private transportation providers, after verifying an equal reduction to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, item 1595-6369 has occurred. Within thirty days of deposit, MassDOT shall transfer funds, without further appropriation, from the Federal Transit Funding Maximization Fund to the participating transit authority for the purpose of processing private transportation provider earned payments in compliance with this section. Such incentive payments to participating private transportation providers shall be known as "provider participation payments" and shall be used by the private transportation provider to offset the cost of reporting transportation data to the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database and to enhance transportation services. In order to be eligible for provider participation payments, the private transportation provider must continue reporting transportation data, which is accepted and approved by the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database.

The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority shall report, not later than March 31st of each year for the prior federal fiscal year ending September 30th, to the secretary of administration and finance, the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on transportation on the results and operations of the Federal Transit Funding Maximization Program authorized by this section. Such information shall detail the following: total federal transit urbanized area formula program funding resulting from private transportation provider reporting; additional/new fiscal year federal transit urbanized area formula program funding resulting from private transportation provider reporting; total federal transit urbanized area formula program funding transferred by the transit authority to the Governor and subsequent transfers by the Governor to transit authorities in large or small urbanized areas within the State; funds transferred by the comptroller.