Amendment #1198 to H4400

RTA Oversight and Funding

Mr. Jones of North Reading moves to amend the bill in Section 2E, in item 1595-6370, by inserting the following :-

"; provided further that each regional transit authority receiving assistance under this item shall deliver not later than October 1, 2018, a copy of its most recent audited financial statement to the chief financial officer of the Massachusetts department of transportation, the secretary of administration and finance, the treasurer of the commonwealth, the comptroller of the commonwealth, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the joint committee on transportation" and by striking out the figure “$80,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the figures:-"$84,000,000";

by inserting after section 13 the following section:-

"SECTION 13A.  Clause (2) of subsection (d) of section 2ZZZ of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in line 52, after the words “fiscal year”, the following words:- ; provided further that any transfer under this clause shall be governed by a memorandum of understanding executed pursuant to subsection (l) of section 8 of chapter 161B.;"

by inserting after section 20 the following section:-

"SECTION 20A.  Section 8 of chapter 161B is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-

(l) For the purposes of the distribution made pursuant to clause (2) of subsection (d) of section 2ZZZ of chapter 29, the authority shall execute a memorandum of understanding with the Massachusetts department of transportation which shall incorporate appropriate ridership, customer service, asset management and financial performance indicators and best practices specific to the authority in order to ensure that the authority makes data-driven decisions with respect to service and asset management.;"

by adding the following 3 sections:-

"SECTION X.  There is hereby established a Task Force on the Future of Regional Transit Authorities to evaluate how regional transit authorities can best provide and improve transit services that meets identified community needs, conduct regular service planning that maximizes ridership using available resources, and ensure that fares, local contributions and other own source revenues cover an appropriate share of service costs.  The Task Force shall consist of 12 members or their designees: 2 members of the house of representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; 2 members of the senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the senate president and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; the rail and transit administrator of the Massachusetts department of transportation who shall chair the task force; the executive director of the Massachusetts association of regional transit authorities; and 6 members who shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a former or current executive of an urban regional transit authority, 1 of whom shall be a former or current executive of a rural regional transit authority, 1 of whom shall be an expert in bus service planning, 2 of whom shall be the chief elected official or city or town manager of a city or town served by a regional transit authority, 1 of whom shall be a representative of an employer or business organization served by a regional transit authority, and 1 of whom shall be a regular regional transit authority rider or representative of an organization that advocates for regional transit authority riders.  The Task Force shall make recommendations on appropriate ridership, customer service, asset management and financial performance indicators and best practices for regional transit authorities by no later than March 1, 2019.  The Task Force shall file the report of its study and recommendations with the clerks for the house of representatives and the senate, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on transportation and the secretary of transportation by no later than March 1, 2019; provided, however, that the task force may make a draft report available to the public for comment before filing the final version.

SECTION X.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, $2,000,000 of the total amount made available in item 1595-6370 of section 2E shall be distributed by the Massachusetts department of transportation only to regional transit authorities with severe budget deficits that have agreed to remedial plans. Said plans shall include specific financial performance indicators and shall be designed to eliminate such unfunded deficits within 3 years and to forestall the reoccurrence of such deficits thereafter.

SECTION X.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the transfer to the regional transit authorities authorized by Clause (2) of subsection (d) of section 2ZZZ of chapter 29 of the General Laws shall, beginning in fiscal year 2020, be increased by an inflation index for the preceding 12 months, as certified by the comptroller on March 1 of each year, which shall be identical to that used to calculate the base revenue amount inflation index for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority pursuant to general laws chapter 10, section 35.  In no year shall the transfer to the regional transit authorities exceed 103 per cent of the transfer amount for the prior fiscal year.  The receipt of funds by any regional transit authority shall be conditioned on its execution of a memorandum of understanding pursuant to subsection (l) of section 8 of chapter 161B of the General Laws.  The Massachusetts department of transportation may require each regional transit authority to provide data on ridership, customer service, asset management and financial performance and shall annually compile that data into an annual report on the performance of regional transit authorities which shall be filed with the clerks for the house of representatives and the senate, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on transportation.".

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #1198 to H4400

RTA Oversight and Funding