2017 -- H 6109 | |
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LC002430 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, | |
RECONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE FUND--TOLLS | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Morgan, Roberts, Price, Quattrocchi, and Filippi | |
Date Introduced: April 12, 2017 | |
Referred To: House Finance | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 24-12-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 24-12 entitled "Rhode |
2 | Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 24-12-9. Powers of authority. |
4 | (a) The authority is hereby authorized and empowered: |
5 | (1) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business; |
6 | (2) To adopt an official seal and alter it at pleasure; |
7 | (3) To maintain an office at such place or places within the state as it may designate; |
8 | (4) To sue and be sued in its own name, plead, and be impleaded; provided, however, that |
9 | any and all actions at law or in equity against the authority shall be brought only in the county in |
10 | which the principal office of the authority shall be located; |
11 | (5) To determine, subject to the approval of the director of transportation, the location |
12 | and the design standards of the Newport Bridge, the turnpike, and any additional new facility to |
13 | be constructed; |
14 | (6) To issue bonds of the authority for any of its purposes and to refund its bonds, all as |
15 | provided in this chapter; |
16 | (7) To combine for financing purposes the Newport Bridge, the Mount Hope Bridge, the |
17 | Sakonnet River Bridge, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, the turnpike, and any additional |
18 | facility or facilities, or any two (2) or more of such projects; |
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1 | (8) To borrow money in anticipation of the issuance of bonds for any of its purposes and |
2 | to issue notes, certificates, or other evidences of borrowing in form as may be authorized by |
3 | resolution of the authority, the notes, certificates, or other evidence of borrowing to be payable in |
4 | the first instance from the proceeds of any bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter and |
5 | to contain on their face a statement to the effect that neither the state, the authority, nor any |
6 | municipality or other political subdivision of the state shall be obligated to pay the same or the |
7 | interest thereon except from the proceeds of bonds in anticipation of the issuance of which the |
8 | notes, certificates, or other evidences of borrowing shall have been issued, or from revenues; |
9 | (9) To fix and revise, from time to time, subject to the provisions of this chapter, and to |
10 | charge and collect tolls for transit over the turnpike and the several parts or sections thereof, and |
11 | for the use of the Newport Bridge, the Mount Hope Bridge, the Sakonnet River Bridge, the |
12 | Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, and any additional facility acquired, financed, or leased under the |
13 | provisions of this chapter; |
14 | (10) To acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in the exercise of its |
15 | powers and the performance of its duties; |
16 | (11) To acquire in the name of the authority, by purchase or otherwise, on such terms and |
17 | conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by the exercise of the rights of |
18 | condemnation in the manner as provided by this chapter, public or private lands, including public |
19 | parks, playgrounds, or reservations, or parts thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way, property, |
20 | rights, easements, and interests as it may deem necessary for carrying out the provisions of this |
21 | chapter; provided, however, that all public property damaged in carrying out the powers granted |
22 | by this chapter shall be restored or repaired and placed in its original condition as nearly as |
23 | practicable; |
24 | (12) To designate the locations, with the approval of the director of transportation, and |
25 | establish, limit, and control the points of ingress to and egress from the turnpike and any |
26 | additional facility as may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the authority to ensure the |
27 | proper operation and maintenance thereof, and to prohibit entrance to and exit from any point or |
28 | points not so designated; |
29 | (13) To employ, in its discretion, consulting engineers, attorneys, accountants, |
30 | construction and financial experts, superintendents, managers, and such other employees and |
31 | agents as may be necessary in its judgment, and to fix their compensation; |
32 | (14) To apply for, receive, and accept from any federal agency aid and/or grants for or in |
33 | aid of the repair, maintenance, and/or construction of the turnpike, the Newport Bridge, the |
34 | Sakonnet River Bridge, the Mount Hope Bridge, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, or any |
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1 | additional facility, and to receive and accept from the state, from any municipality, or other |
2 | political subdivision thereof and from any other source aid or contributions of either money, |
3 | property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for |
4 | which the grants and contributions may be made; |
5 | (15) To construct grade separations at intersections of the turnpike, the approaches, and |
6 | highway connections of the Newport Bridge, the Sakonnet River Bridge, the Mount Hope Bridge, |
7 | the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, and any additional facility with public highways, streets, or |
8 | other public ways or places, and to change and adjust the lines and grades thereof so as to |
9 | accommodate the same to the design of the grade separation; the cost of the grade separations and |
10 | any damage incurred in changing and adjusting the lines and grades of the highways, streets, |
11 | ways, and places shall be ascertained and paid by the authority as a part of the cost of the project; |
12 | (16) To vacate or change the location of any portion of any public highway, street, or |
13 | other public way or place, sewer, pipe, main, conduit, cable, wire, tower, pole, and other |
14 | equipment and appliance of the state or of any municipality or other political subdivision of the |
15 | state and to reconstruct the same at such new location as the authority shall deem most favorable |
16 | for the project and of substantially the same type and in as good condition as the original |
17 | highway, street, way, place, sewer, pipe, main, conduit, cable, wire, tower, pole, equipment, or |
18 | appliance, and the cost of the reconstruction and any damage incurred in vacating or changing the |
19 | location thereof shall be ascertained and paid by the authority as a part of the cost of the project; |
20 | any public highway, street, or other public way or place vacated or relocated by the authority |
21 | shall be vacated or relocated in the manner provided by law for the vacation or relocation of |
22 | public roads, and any damages awarded on account thereof shall be paid by the authority as a part |
23 | of the cost of the project; |
24 | (17) The authority shall also have the power to make reasonable regulations, subject to |
25 | the approval of the public utility administrator, for the installation, construction, maintenance, |
26 | repair, renewal, relocation and removal of tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, |
27 | poles, and other equipment and appliances (herein called "public utility facilities") of any public |
28 | utility as defined in § 39-1-2, in, on, along, over, or under any project. Whenever the authority |
29 | shall determine that it is necessary that any public facilities that now are, or hereafter may be, |
30 | located in, on, along, over, or under any project should be relocated in the project, or should be |
31 | removed from the project, the public utility owning or operating the facilities shall relocate or |
32 | remove the facilities in accordance with the order of the authority; provided, however, that the |
33 | cost and expenses of the relocation or removal, including the cost of installing the facilities in a |
34 | new location, or new locations, and the cost of any lands, or any rights or interests in lands, and |
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1 | any other rights acquired to accomplish the relocation or removal, less the cost of any lands or |
2 | any rights or interests in lands or any other rights of the public utility paid to the public utility in |
3 | connection with the relocation or removal of the property, shall be ascertained and paid by the |
4 | authority as a part of the cost of the project. In case of any relocation or removal of facilities, the |
5 | public utility owning or operating the facilities, its successors or assigns, may maintain and |
6 | operate the facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location or new locations, for |
7 | as long a period, and upon the same terms and conditions, as it had the right to maintain and |
8 | operate the facilities in their former location or locations; |
9 | (18) To make reasonable regulations and to grant easements for the installation, |
10 | construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation, and removal of pipelines, other equipment, |
11 | and appliances of any corporation or person owning or operating pipelines in, on, along, over, or |
12 | under the turnpike, whenever the authority shall determine that it is necessary that any facilities |
13 | which now are, or hereafter may be located in, on, along, over or under the turnpike should be |
14 | relocated in the turnpike, or should be removed from the turnpike, the corporation or person |
15 | owning or operating the facilities shall relocate or remove the facilities in accordance with the |
16 | order of the authority; provided, however, that the cost and expense of the relocation or removal, |
17 | including the cost of installing the facilities in a new location, or new locations, and the cost of |
18 | any lands, or any rights or interests in lands, and any other rights acquired to accomplish the |
19 | relocation or removal, less the cost of any lands or any rights or interests in lands or any other |
20 | rights of any corporation or person paid to any corporation or person in connection with the |
21 | relocation or removal of the property, shall be ascertained and paid by the authority as a part of |
22 | the cost of the project. In case of any relocation or removal of facilities, the corporation or person |
23 | owning or operating the facilities, its successors or assigns, may maintain and operate the |
24 | facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location or new locations, for as long a |
25 | period, and upon the same terms and conditions, as it had the right to maintain and operate the |
26 | facilities in their former location or locations; |
27 | (19) To enter upon any lands, waters, and premises for the purpose of making such |
28 | surveys, soundings, borings, and examinations as the authority may deem necessary or |
29 | convenient for its purposes, and the entry shall not be deemed a trespass, nor shall an entry for |
30 | such purposes be deemed an entry under any condemnation proceedings; provided, however, the |
31 | authority shall pay any actual damage resulting to the lands, water, and premises as a result of the |
32 | entry and activities as a part of the cost of the project; |
33 | (20) To enter into contracts or agreements with any board, commission, public |
34 | instrumentality of another state or the federal government or with any political subdivision of |
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1 | another state relating to the connection or connections to be established between the turnpike or |
2 | any additional facility with any public highway or turnpike now in existence or hereafter to be |
3 | constructed in another state, and with respect to the construction, maintenance, and operation of |
4 | interstate turnpikes or expressways; |
5 | (21) To enter into contracts with the department of transportation with respect to the |
6 | construction, reconstruction, renovation, acquisition, maintenance, repair, operation, or |
7 | management of any project and with the Rhode Island state police with respect to the policing of |
8 | any project; |
9 | (22) To make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the |
10 | performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter; and |
11 | (23) To do all other acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers |
12 | expressly granted in this chapter. |
13 | (24) To grant and/or contract, through the transfer of funds of the authority to the |
14 | department of transportation, for the construction, reconstruction, acquisition, maintenance, |
15 | repair, operation, or management by the department of transportation of any project or projects |
16 | authorized by this chapter, and the department of transportation is authorized to accept any such |
17 | grant or transfer of funds. |
18 | (b) Provided, the authority, in carrying out the provisions of this section, shall hold public |
19 | hearings prior to the finalization of any specifications or the awarding of any contracts for any |
20 | project. Provided, further, that any revenue generated by facilities under the control of the |
21 | authority shall only be used for the purposes of the authority. |
22 | (c) The authority is authorized to enter into contracts with the state, or any department of |
23 | the state, to operate and/or manage toll facilities on state roads or bridges not owned, leased by, or |
24 | under the control of the authority, and to collect tolls from such facilities on behalf of the |
25 | department of transportation, provided such tolls shall be set by the state acting through the |
26 | department of transportation pursuant to chapter 13.1 of title 42. |
27 | SECTION 2. Chapter 42-13.1 of the General Laws entitled "The Rhode Island Bridge |
28 | Replacement, Reconstruction, and Maintenance Fund" is hereby repealed in its entirety. |
29 | CHAPTER 42-13.1 |
30 | The Rhode Island Bridge Replacement, Reconstruction, and Maintenance Fund |
31 | 42-13.1-1. Short title. |
32 | This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Rhode Island Bridge Replacement, |
33 | Reconstruction, and Maintenance Fund Act of 2016". |
34 | 42-13.1-2. Legislative findings. |
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1 | The general assembly finds that: |
2 | (1) The state of Rhode Island, through the Rhode Island department of transportation |
3 | ("the department"), funds the reconstruction, replacement, and maintenance of all bridges in |
4 | Rhode Island, except the Newport Bridge, the Mount Hope Bridge, the Jamestown-Verrazano |
5 | Bridge, and the Sakonnet River Bridge. |
6 | (2) According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 2015 National Bridge |
7 | Inventory (NBI) data, there are seven hundred sixty-four (764) bridges in Rhode Island greater |
8 | than twenty feet (20') in length. Of these NBI bridges, one hundred seventy-seven (177) bridges, |
9 | or twenty-three percent (23%), are classified as structurally deficient. |
10 | (3) For the past several decades, Rhode Island has depended on three (3) primary sources |
11 | for funding all transportation infrastructure construction, maintenance, and operations: federal |
12 | funds, state bond funds, and motor fuel tax revenue. Of these sources, two (2), federal funds and |
13 | motor fuel tax revenue, are mutable. |
14 | (4) The 2008 governor's blue ribbon panel on transportation funding, the 2011 senate |
15 | special commission on sustainable transportation funding, and the 2013 special legislative |
16 | commission to study the funding for East Bay bridges determined that there is insufficient |
17 | revenue available from all existing sources to fund the maintenance and improvement of Rhode |
18 | Island transportation infrastructure. |
19 | (5) In 2011, the general assembly adopted a component of the recommended systemic |
20 | change to transportation funding by dedicating increased resources from the Rhode Island capital |
21 | plan fund and creating the Rhode Island highway maintenance account, to be funded by an |
22 | increase in license and registration fees, beginning in FY2014. |
23 | (6) In 2014, the general assembly adopted changes to the Rhode Island highway |
24 | maintenance account to provide additional state revenue for transportation infrastructure in future |
25 | years. |
26 | (7) Although the state is shifting from long-term borrowing to reliance upon annual |
27 | revenues to fund transportation infrastructure on a pay-as-you go basis, and although a recurring |
28 | state source of capital funds has been established, there is still a funding gap between the revenue |
29 | needed to maintain all bridges in structurally sound and good condition and the annual amounts |
30 | generated by current dedicated revenue sources. |
31 | (8) According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, just one, fully-loaded five-axle (5) |
32 | tractor trailer has the same impact on the interstate as nine thousand six hundred (9,600) |
33 | automobiles. The department estimates that tractor trailers cause in excess of seventy percent |
34 | (70%) of the damage to the state's transportation infrastructure, including Rhode Island bridges, |
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1 | on an annual basis. However, revenue contributions attributable to tractor trailers account for less |
2 | than twenty percent (20%) of the state's total annual revenues to fund transportation |
3 | infrastructure. |
4 | (9) The United States Congress, consistent with its power to regulate interstate commerce |
5 | and pursuant to 23 U.S.C. § 129, has authorized states to implement reconstruction or |
6 | replacement of a toll-free bridge and conversion of the bridge to a toll facility, provided that the |
7 | state: |
8 | (i) Has in effect a law that permits tolling on a bridge prior to commencing any such |
9 | activity; and |
10 | (ii) Otherwise complies with the requirements of 23 U.S.C. § 129. |
11 | 42-13.1-3. Definitions. |
12 | As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following |
13 | meanings, unless the context shall indicate another or different meaning: |
14 | (1) "Availability payment" means a payment by the department under a contract for a toll |
15 | facility or any other facility that is based on the availability of the facility at a specified |
16 | performance level and may include, without limitation, compensation for operations, |
17 | maintenance, and financing of the facility. |
18 | (2) "Department" means the department of transportation, or, if the department shall be |
19 | abolished, the board, body, or commission succeeding to the principal functions thereof or upon |
20 | whom the powers given by chapter 5 of title 37 to the department shall be given by law. |
21 | (3) "Large commercial truck" shall be defined pursuant to the Federal Highway |
22 | Administration (FHWA) vehicle classification schedule as any vehicle within Class 8 - single |
23 | trailer, three (3) or four (4) axles, up to and including Class 13 - seven (7) or more axle multi- |
24 | trailer trucks, as such classifications may be revised from time to time by the FHWA. |
25 | (4) "Other vehicle" means any vehicle that has not been defined pursuant to this chapter |
26 | as a large commercial truck. |
27 | (5) "Passenger vehicle" shall be defined pursuant to the Federal Highway Administration |
28 | (FHWA) vehicle classification schedule as any vehicle within Class 1, 2, and 3 as such |
29 | classifications may be revised from time to time by the FHWA. |
30 | (6) "Radio frequency identification transponder" or "RFID" means a toll collection |
31 | system approved by the department that may consist of a toll tag placed inside the vehicle and an |
32 | overhead antenna that reads the toll tag and collects the toll. |
33 | (7) "Toll evader" means, for the purposes of this chapter, any registered owner of any |
34 | large commercial truck that passes through any electronic tolling location as authorized pursuant |
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1 | to § 42-13.1-4 and who does not pay the required toll and/or fees, fines, or penalties within the |
2 | maximum allowable period specified under § 42-13.1-11. |
3 | (8) "Toll facility" means equipment or capital improvements funded in whole or in part |
4 | by toll revenue, or required to effectuate toll collection. |
5 | (9) "Turnpike and bridge authority" means the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge |
6 | authority (RITBA), a public instrumentality of the state of Rhode Island, created by the general |
7 | assembly pursuant to chapter 12 of title 24. |
8 | 42-13.1-4. Authority to collect tolls on large commercial trucks only. |
9 | (a) The department is hereby authorized to fix, revise, charge, and collect tolls for the |
10 | privilege of traveling on Rhode Island bridges to provide for replacement, reconstruction, |
11 | maintenance, and operation of Rhode Island bridges. The tolls shall be fixed after conducting a |
12 | cost-benefit analysis and providing an opportunity for public comment. The tolls shall be |
13 | collected on large commercial trucks only and shall not be collected on any other vehicle; |
14 | provided, however, no vehicle shall be tolled other than a tractor or truck tractor as defined in 23 |
15 | C.F.R. 658.5, pulling a trailer or trailers. No act authorizing tolls on passenger vehicles pursuant |
16 | to this chapter shall take effect until it has been approved by the majority of those electors voting |
17 | in a statewide referendum. The secretary of state shall certify the results of the statewide |
18 | referendum. Tolls on large commercial trucks may be implemented utilizing all-electric toll |
19 | collection methodologies on a cash-less basis, or utilizing any other methodologies determined by |
20 | the department. |
21 | (b) Subject to § 42-13.1-14, the department will establish a program to limit the |
22 | assessment of the tolls upon the same individual large commercial truck using a RFID to once per |
23 | toll facility, per day in each direction, or an equivalent frequency use program based upon |
24 | individual large commercial truck use. |
25 | (c) Subject to § 42-13.1-14, the total amount of tolls imposed upon the same individual |
26 | large commercial truck using a RFID for making a border-to-border through trip on Route 95 |
27 | Connecticut to Route 95 Massachusetts, or the reverse, shall not exceed twenty dollars ($20.00). |
28 | (d) Subject to § 42-13.1-14, the daily maximum amount of the tolls collected upon the |
29 | same individual large commercial truck using a RFID shall not exceed forty dollars ($40.00). |
30 | (e) Tolls shall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any commission, board, |
31 | bureau, agency, or official of the state or any municipality or other political subdivision of the |
32 | state except the department. |
33 | 42-13.1-5. Collection of tolls on passenger cars and other vehicles expressly |
34 | prohibited. |
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1 | Notwithstanding any other provisions of this statute, the department is expressly |
2 | prohibited from collecting tolls hereunder on other vehicles, herein defined to include |
3 | motorcycles, passenger cars, and all other vehicles classed one through seven (7) pursuant to the |
4 | Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) vehicle classification schedule. |
5 | 42-13.1-6. Rhode Island bridge replacement, reconstruction and maintenance fund |
6 | established. |
7 | (a) There is hereby created a special account in the intermodal surface transportation |
8 | fund, as established in § 31-36-20, to be known as the Rhode Island bridge replacement, |
9 | reconstruction, and maintenance fund ("the fund"). |
10 | (b) The fund shall consist of all those monies received by the department under this |
11 | chapter, including: |
12 | (1) The monies received through the collection of tolls on bridges in Rhode Island; |
13 | (2) Any fees, fines, or penalties collected pursuant to this chapter; and |
14 | (3) Investment earnings on amounts credited to the fund. |
15 | (c) Unexpended balances and any earnings thereon shall not revert to the general fund but |
16 | shall remain in the Rhode Island bridge replacement, reconstruction, and maintenance fund. |
17 | There shall be no requirement that monies received into the fund during any given calendar year |
18 | or fiscal year be expended during the same calendar year or fiscal year. |
19 | 42-13.1-7. Designation of toll bridges. |
20 | The director of the department may designate any Rhode Island bridge on the National |
21 | Highway System as a toll bridge in order to facilitate the financing of replacement, |
22 | reconstruction, and maintenance of Rhode Island's system of bridges. |
23 | 42-13.1-8. Amount of tolls. |
24 | The department's authority to fix and adjust the amount of tolls shall be determined by |
25 | the costs of replacement, reconstruction, maintenance, and operation of Rhode Island's system of |
26 | bridges and/or any portion or portions thereof, including costs associated with the acquisition, |
27 | construction, operation, and maintenance of the toll facilities and administrative costs in |
28 | connection therewith. |
29 | 42-13.1-9. Limitations on use of revenue. |
30 | All revenue collected pursuant to this chapter and deposited to the Rhode Island bridge |
31 | replacement, reconstruction, and maintenance fund shall be used to pay the costs associated with |
32 | the operation and maintenance of the toll facility, and the replacement, reconstruction, |
33 | maintenance, and operation of Rhode Island bridges on the National Highway System or any |
34 | other use permitted under 23 U.S.C. § 129. |
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1 | 42-13.1-10. Procurement of toll facilities. |
2 | Without limiting any right of the department to award contracts under any other law, the |
3 | department shall have the right to procure toll facilities through contracts aggregating the services |
4 | of design, engineering, construction, finance, operations, maintenance, or any combination of the |
5 | foregoing. Notwithstanding any requirement of law to the contrary, the department may award |
6 | such contracts on the basis of competitive negotiation in accordance with § 37-2-19. Such |
7 | contracts may include availability payments or any other compensation structure determined |
8 | appropriate by the department to further the objectives of this chapter. |
9 | 42-13.1-11. Penalty for nonpayment of toll. |
10 | (a) The department shall have the authority to establish and collect fees, fines, and |
11 | penalties from registered owners of large commercial trucks who use, or attempt to use, any toll |
12 | facility established under § 42-13.1-4, without paying the toll at the rate then in force for such |
13 | use. |
14 | (b) Any fee, fine, or penalty shall be in addition to the toll or tolls initially incurred and |
15 | shall be no less than an amount sufficient to cover the cost of administration and collection of |
16 | said fines, fees, and penalties. |
17 | (c) The registered owner of the large commercial truck subject to toll shall be primarily |
18 | responsible for all tolls, fees, fines, and penalties assessed pursuant to the provisions of this |
19 | chapter. |
20 | (d) Prior to the collection of any toll on large commercial trucks, the department shall |
21 | establish a maximum allowable period for the payment of tolls and any subsequent fees, fines, |
22 | and penalties assessed. |
23 | 42-13.1-12. Additional penalties -- Toll evasion. |
24 | Any toll evader who fails or refuses to pay or prepay the required toll and such fees, |
25 | fines, and penalties as assessed under § 42-13.1-11 and within the maximum allowable period |
26 | specified therein, shall be required to pay a fine not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) and |
27 | shall pay the toll amount due and any administrative costs, or shall have their registration |
28 | suspended until payment is made in full for the violation. A toll evader under this section shall |
29 | receive a traffic violation summons which shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the traffic |
30 | tribunal. All amounts due under this section shall be remitted to the Rhode Island bridge |
31 | replacement, reconstruction, and maintenance fund. |
32 | 42-13.1-13. Conformance to statute, rules, and regulations. |
33 | All programs and funding proposals shall conform to applicable federal law, rules, and |
34 | regulations. The department shall promulgate state rules and regulations to carry out the purposes |
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1 | of this chapter. Included within said rules and regulations shall be a provision requiring any |
2 | public comment period to continue for at least thirty (30) days and a provision requiring advance |
3 | notification to be provided to the governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and president |
4 | of the senate prior to any announcement of public hearing or public comment period establishing |
5 | or modifying the amount of tolls to be collected. In promulgating these rules and regulations, the |
6 | department shall establish policies and procedures that promote procedural transparency. |
7 | 42-13.1-14. Severability. |
8 | If a part of this chapter is held unconstitutional or invalid, all valid parts that are |
9 | severable from the invalid or unconstitutional part remain in effect. If a part of this chapter is held |
10 | unconstitutional or invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all |
11 | constitutional and valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications. This |
12 | severability clause shall be applicable to each provision of this chapter, regardless of whether or |
13 | not any particular provision references this section. |
14 | 42-13.1-15. Bridge preservation and salt mitigation. |
15 | (a) In any fiscal year when the department fails to complete appropriate bridge |
16 | maintenance, no new construction and design contracts subject to reporting under § 42-13.1-16 |
17 | shall be awarded for the subsequent year or until proof of appropriate bridge maintenance is |
18 | provided. |
19 | (b) The director must submit detailed information regarding bridge maintenance activities |
20 | undertaken during the fiscal year to the governor, office of management and budget, the speaker |
21 | of the house, and the president of the senate no later than thirty (30) days after the fiscal year |
22 | ends, beginning with fiscal year 2017. The information shall also be posted on the department's |
23 | website. |
24 | (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 42-13.1-16, bridge maintenance requirements |
25 | may be waived if the director certifies that: |
26 | (1) Certain bridges are in a state of disrepair such that maintenance activities will not |
27 | forestall further deterioration; or |
28 | (2) Certain bridges have a maintenance plan that does not require any activities during |
29 | any given calendar year; or |
30 | (3) Certain bridges have been modified such that maintenance to prevent salt erosion and |
31 | deterioration is no longer required; or |
32 | (4) The department has not used salt on certain bridges or has stopped using salt for |
33 | winter maintenance as a long-term change in practice; or |
34 | (5) Other specific circumstances exist to eliminate the need for maintenance activities in |
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1 | any given calendar year. |
2 | (d) Failure to comply is subject to the penalties contained in § 35-3-24. |
3 | 42-13.1-16. Reporting. |
4 | The department shall submit to the office of management and budget, the house fiscal |
5 | advisor, and the senate fiscal advisor, a report on the progress of implementation of this chapter |
6 | within thirty (30) days of the close of each of the fiscal quarters of each year. The reports shall |
7 | also be posted on the department's website. The reports shall include, at a minimum: |
8 | (1) Construction and design contracts of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or |
9 | greater planned to be advertised in the upcoming federal fiscal year, their value, and expected |
10 | award date; |
11 | (2) Construction and design contracts of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or |
12 | greater awarded in the prior federal fiscal year, date of award, value, and expected substantial |
13 | completion date; |
14 | (3) Expected final cost of: |
15 | (i) Any construction contracts of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or greater that |
16 | reached substantial completion in the prior federal fiscal year; and |
17 | (ii) Any design contracts of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or greater |
18 | completed in the prior federal fiscal year; and |
19 | (4) Total number of workers employed through the contract and the number of the |
20 | workers in that total with a Rhode Island address. |
21 | 42-13.1-17. Equality of opportunity. |
22 | No bid under this chapter shall be deemed complete nor awarded if the bid fails to |
23 | include a specific written plan for the bidder to be in conformity with § 37-14.1-6, ensuring that |
24 | minority business enterprises reach a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the dollar value of the |
25 | bid. Pursuant to §§ 37-14.1-1 and 37-14.1-3, for the purposes of chapter 13.1 of title 42, women |
26 | shall be included in the definition of "minority business enterprise." The aforementioned written |
27 | plan should be submitted on forms created and distributed by the director of administration. |
28 | SECTION 3. Section 42-13-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-13 entitled "Department |
29 | of Transportation" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
30 | 42-13-2. Organization and functions of the department. |
31 | (a) The department shall be organized in accordance with a project management-based |
32 | program and shall utilize an asset management system. |
33 | (1) A project management-based program manages the delivery of the department's |
34 | portfolio of transportation improvement projects from project conception to the project |
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1 | completion. Project management activities include: |
2 | (i) Managing and reporting on the delivery status of portfolio projects; |
3 | (ii) Developing overall workload and budget for the portfolio; |
4 | (iii) Developing and implementing the tools to estimate the resources necessary to deliver |
5 | the projects; and |
6 | (iv) Developing and implementing processes and tools to improve the management of the |
7 | projects. |
8 | (2) Asset management is the process used for managing transportation infrastructure by |
9 | improving decision making for resource allocation. Asset management activities include a |
10 | systemic process based on economic, engineering, and business principles which includes the |
11 | following functions: |
12 | (i) Completing a comprehensive inventory of system assets; |
13 | (ii) Monitoring system performance; and |
14 | (iii) Performing analysis utilizing accurate data for managing various assets within the |
15 | transportation network. |
16 | (b) The director of transportation shall appoint a chief operating officer to oversee the |
17 | day-to-day operations of the department. |
18 | (c) The department shall be organized into such divisions as are described in this section |
19 | and such other divisions, subdivisions, and agencies as the director shall find are necessary to |
20 | carry out the responsibilities of the department, including: division of finance; division of |
21 | planning; division of project management; division of operations and maintenance; office of civil |
22 | rights; office of safety; office of external affairs; office of legal; office of personnel; office of |
23 | information services. |
24 | (d) The director may assign such other responsibilities as he or she shall find appropriate |
25 | and may reassign functions other than as set out in this section if he or she finds the reassignment |
26 | necessary to the proper and efficient functioning of the department or of the state's transportation |
27 | system. |
28 | (e) The department shall submit a report annually no later than March 31 to the speaker |
29 | of the house, the president of the senate, and the house and senate fiscal advisors concerning the |
30 | status of the ten-year (10) transportation plan. |
31 | (f) Any functions, duties, and staff relating to the Rhode Island department of |
32 | transportation's external audit section shall be transferred to the Rhode Island department of |
33 | administration's office of internal audit, or its successor, upon passage [Feb. 11, 2016]. |
34 | (1) The chief of the office of internal audit, or its successor, who shall be the |
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1 | administrative head of the office of internal audit, or its successor, shall supervise, coordinate, |
2 | and/or conduct audits, civil and administrative investigations, and inspections or oversight |
3 | reviews, when necessary, relating to programs and operations listed in § 42-13-2. |
4 | (2) The office of internal audit's (or its successor's) authorization shall include, but not be |
5 | limited to, evaluating the efficiency of operations and internal controls, preventing and detecting |
6 | fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement in the expenditure of public funds, whether state, federal |
7 | or those revenues collected by the use of tolls and related to any and all transportation-related |
8 | programs and operations as well as the procurement of any supplies, services, or construction, by |
9 | the department of transportation or related institutions of the department of transportation. |
10 | Investigations may include the expenditures by nongovernmental agencies of federal, state, and |
11 | local public funds. As deemed necessary or expedient by the office of internal audit, or its |
12 | successor, audits may be made relative to the financial affairs or the economy and efficiency of |
13 | management of the department of transportation or related institutions. |
14 | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, | |
RECONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE FUND--TOLLS | |
*** | |
1 | This act would repeal the provisions of the general laws which created the "Rhode Island |
2 | Bridge Replacement, Reconstruction, and Maintenance Fund Act of 2016" ("Rhode Works"), |
3 | which would have imposed tolls on large commercial trucks, and would revoke the authority of |
4 | the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority to impose and collect any tolls other than those |
5 | presently imposed and collected by the authority. |
6 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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