Chapter
504
2007 -- S 1060
Enacted 10/30/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC
UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Introduced By: Senators Connors, Paiva-Weed, Goodwin, Pichardo, and Miller
Date
Introduced: May 31, 2007
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 39-18-3 and 39-18-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-18
entitled
"Rhode Island Public Transit Authority" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
39-18-3.
Purpose of the authority Purposes of the authority. – (a) It
shall be the
purposes
of the authority to:
(1)
provide public transit services that meet mobility needs of the people of the
state,
including
the elderly and disabled;
(2)
increase access to employment opportunities;
(3)
connect different modes of public transportation, including rail, air and water
services;
(4)
promote community design that features public transit services as defining
elements
of a
community;
(5)
facilitate energy conservation and efficient energy use in the transportation
sector by
providing
public transit services; and
(6)
mitigate traffic congestion and enhance air quality.
(b)
It shall further be the purpose of the authority to own and operate a
mass motor bus,
water,
or rail passenger transportation system and to manage, to coordinate and to
perform
vehicle
maintenance for a state paratransit system. Whenever any operator of a mass motor bus,
water,
or rail passenger transportation system files with the public utilities
administrator a petition
to
discontinue any service, it is the purpose and function of the authority to
determine if it is in
the
public interest to discontinue that service. If it is determined that it is not
in the public interest
to
discontinue that service, the authority is authorized and empowered to acquire
all or any part of
the
transit property, or any interest therein, of the system.
39-18-4.
Powers of the authority Powers and duties of the authority. – (a)
The
authority
is hereby authorized and empowered:
(1) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its
business;
(2) To adopt an official seal and alter the seal at pleasure;
(3) To maintain an office at such place or places within the state as it may
designate;
(4) To sue and be sued in its own name, plead and to be implead; provided,
however,
that any
and all actions against the authority shall be brought only in the county in
which the
principal
office of the authority shall be located;
(5) To acquire, purchase, hold, use, and dispose of any property, real,
personal, or mixed,
tangible
or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out
the purposes
of the
authority, and, to lease as lessee or lessor any property, real, personal or
mixed, or any
interest
therein for such term and at such rental as the authority may deem fair and
reasonable,
and to sell,
transfer, convey, mortgage, or give a security interest in any property, real,
personal,
or
mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein, at any time acquired by
the authority;
(6) To employ, in its discretion, planning, architectural, and engineering
consultants,
attorneys,
accountants, construction, financial, transportation, and traffic experts and
consultants,
superintendents,
managers, and such other officers, employees, and agents as may be necessary in
its
judgment, and to fix their compensation;
(7) (i) To fix from time to time, subject to the provisions of this chapter,
schedules and
such
rates of fare and charges for service furnished or operated as in its judgment
are best adopted
to
insure sufficient income to meet the cost of service; provided, however, the
authority is not
empowered
to operate a passenger vehicle under its control in competition with passenger
vehicles
of a private carrier over routes which the private carrier operates pursuant to
a certificate
of
public convenience and necessity issued to the private carrier by the division
of public utilities
and
carriers; and provided further that the authority shall not require any person
who meets the
means
test criteria as defined by the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs and
who is
either
sixty-five (65) years of age, or over, or who is disabled to pay any fare or
charge for bus
rides
during peak hours; provided, however, that such exclusion for fares or charges
shall not
apply:
(A) to special service routes and (B) during periods and routes of overcrowded
conditions.
Any
person who is either sixty-five (65) years of age, or over, or who is disabled,
and who meets
the
means test criteria as heretofore provided, shall not be required to pay any
fare or charge for
bus
rides during off-peak hours, and any person who is either sixty-five (65) years
of age, or over,
or who
is disabled, and who does not satisfy the means test criteria as heretofore
provided, shall
only be
required to pay one-half (1/2) of the fare or charge for bus rides during
off-peak hours.
For the
purposes of this chapter, "overcrowded conditions," "peak
hours," "off-peak hours" and
"special
service routes" shall be determined annually by the authority. The
authority shall
establish
an advisory committee comprised of seniors/persons with disabilities
constituent users
of the
authority's services to assist in the implementation of this section;
(ii) Any person who accompanies and is assisting a person with a disability
when the
person
with a disability uses a wheelchair shall be eligible for the same price
exemptions
extended
to a person with a disability by subsection (7)(i). The cost to the authority
for providing
the service
to the elderly shall be paid by the state;
(iii) Any person who accompanies and is assisting a passenger who is blind or
visually
impaired
shall be eligible for the same price exemptions extended to the passenger who
is blind or
visually
impaired by subsection (7)(i). The cost to the authority for providing the
service to the
elderly
shall be paid by the state;
(iv) The authority shall be authorized and empowered to charge a fare for any
paratransit
services
required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. section 12101 et
seq., in
accordance
with 49 C.F.R. Part 37.
(8) To borrow money and to issue bonds of the authority for any of its purposes
including,
without limitation, the borrowing of money in anticipation of the issuance of
bonds or
the
receipt of any operating revenues or other funds or property to be received by
the authority,
and the
financing of property to be owned by others and used, in whole or substantial
part, by the
authority
for any of its purposes, all as may from time to time, be authorized by
resolution of the
authority;
the bonds to contain on their face a statement to the effect that neither the
state nor any
municipality
or other political subdivision of the state shall be obligated to pay the same
or the
interest
thereon;
(9) To enter into management contracts for the operation, management, and
supervision
of any
or all transit properties under the jurisdiction of the authority, and to make
and enter into
all
contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its
duties and the
execution
of its powers under this chapter;
(10) Without limitation of the foregoing, to borrow money from, to receive and
accept
grants
for or in aid of the purchase, leasing, improving, equipping, furnishing,
maintaining,
repairing,
constructing, and operating of transit property, and to enter into contracts,
leases, or
other
transactions with any federal agency; and to receive and accept from the state,
from any
municipality,
or other political subdivision thereof, and from any other source, aid or
contributions
of either money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used
and
applied
only for the purposes for which the grants and contributions may be made;
(11) To acquire in the name of the authority, by negotiated purchase or
otherwise, on
such
terms and conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by the
exercise of the
power of
condemnation to the extent only and in the manner as provided in this chapter,
such
public
and private lands, including public parks, playgrounds or reservations, or
parts thereof, or
rights
therein, rights-of-way, property rights, easements, and interests as it may
deem necessary
for
carrying out the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that all public
property
damaged
in carrying out the powers granted by this chapter shall be restored or
repaired and
placed
in its original condition as nearly as practicable;
(12) To contract with any municipality, public or private company or
organization,
whereby
the authority will receive a subsidy to avoid discontinuance of service, and
each
municipality
within the state is hereby authorized to make and enter into such contracts and
to
make,
grant, or give to the authority a subsidy in such amount and for such period of
time as it
may deem
advisable;
(13) To operate service to nearby Massachusetts and nearby Connecticut
terminals for
the purpose
of deboarding Rhode Island passengers at major traffic generating locations for
the
benefit
of passengers and to board Rhode Islanders for the return trip, provided,
however, that the
authority
operate closed door in Massachusetts and nearby Connecticut to and from its
destination;
and
(14) To do all things necessary, convenient, or desirable to carry out the
purpose of this
chapter.
(b)
To effectuate the purposes of this chapter the authority shall have the
following
duties:
(1)
To participate in and contribute to transportation planning initiatives that
are relevant
to
the purposes of the authority;
(2)
To plan, coordinate, develop, operate, maintain and manage a statewide public
transit
system
consistent with the purposes of the authority, including plans to meet demands
for public
transit
where such demand, current or prospective, exceeds supply and/or availability
of public
transit
services;
(3)
To work with departments, agencies, authorities and corporations of federal,
state and
local
government, public and private institutions, businesses, non-profit
organization, users of the
system
and other entities and persons to coordinate public transit services and
provide a seamless
network
of mobility options.
SECTION
2. Chapter 39-18 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Public Transit
Authority"
is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
39-18-1.1.
Findings. – It is hereby found and declared as follows:
(1)
Rhode Island has had a long and rich legacy of providing public transit
services that
contribute
to the fabric of the state;
(2)
Public transit continues to evolve and can play increasingly important roles in
the
future;
(3)
Public transit services provide benefits to the quality of communities by
curtailing
energy
consumption, helping people participate in their communities by offering
mobility
options,
defining spaces and promoting sound urban design, and linking activity centers
to
support
social networks;
(4)
Pedestrian access and safety is crucial to supporting public transit services;
(5)
One of the values of an improved public transit system is the generation of
investment
and
wealth in areas served by the system;
(6)
The state's public transit system should provide a variety of mobility options
for
people
that include services for people with special needs, and services to tourism
destinations,
employment
and retail centers, education institutions and other modes of transportation
including
rail,
air and water transportation services;
(7)
The use of technology is vital for making informed decisions about existing and
future
public transit services and for providing efficient, user responsive public
transit; and
(8)
The state in partnership with local communities should support the legacy of
public
transit
services in Rhode Island and improve, expand and augment that system to meet
the needs
of
the people in the twenty-first (21st) century.
SECTION
3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC03175
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