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Senate File 363

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.  It is the intent of the
  1  2 general assembly to create a flexible, accessible, affordable,
  1  3 and equitable transportation system which will allow Iowans
  1  4 who have disabilities or are elderly to have a choice in
  1  5 accessing transportation regardless of geographic location.
  1  6    Sec. 2.  DEFINITIONS.
  1  7    As used in this Act:
  1  8    1.  "Department" means the state department of
  1  9 transportation.
  1 10    2.  "Disability" means, with respect to an individual, a
  1 11 physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or
  1 12 more of the major life activities of the individual, a record
  1 13 of physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one
  1 14 or more of the major life activities of the individual, or
  1 15 being regarded as an individual with a physical or mental
  1 16 impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major
  1 17 life activities of the individual.  "Disability" does not
  1 18 include any of the following:
  1 19    a.  Homosexuality or bisexuality.
  1 20    b.  Transvestitism, transsexualism, pedophilia,
  1 21 exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not
  1 22 resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior
  1 23 disorders.
  1 24    c.  Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania.
  1 25    d.  Psychoactive substance abuse disorders resulting from
  1 26 current illegal use of drugs.
  1 27    3.  "Hours of operation" means the actual hours that a
  1 28 service provider is open to provide transportation services.
  1 29    4.  "Major life activity" includes functions such as caring
  1 30 for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing,
  1 31 hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working.
  1 32    5.  "Senior citizen" means an individual who is sixty years
  1 33 of age or older.
  1 34    6.  "Transit system" means a public transit system defined
  1 35 in section 324A.1.
  2  1    Sec. 3.  SENIOR CITIZEN AND DISABLED PERSONS TRANSPORTATION
  2  2 PILOT PROGRAM.
  2  3    1.  The department shall establish a pilot program to
  2  4 provide transportation for senior citizens and persons with
  2  5 disabilities.  The pilot program shall involve four one-year
  2  6 pilot projects commencing on July 1, 1998.  The pilot program
  2  7 shall be implemented by the department in cooperation with an
  2  8 oversight committee established by the department as follows:
  2  9    a.  The committee shall be comprised of eleven members,
  2 10 appointed by the director of the department in accordance with
  2 11 sections 69.16 and 69.16A.
  2 12    b.  Eight members of the committee shall be senior citizens
  2 13 and persons with disabilities who are currently transit system
  2 14 users.
  2 15    c.  Three members of the committee shall be employees of
  2 16 the department.
  2 17    d.  Membership on the committee shall, to the extent
  2 18 possible, be geographically balanced.
  2 19    2.  The committee shall have the following duties:
  2 20    a.  To develop a request for proposals to be issued by the
  2 21 department, not later than October 1, 1997, to all transit
  2 22 systems in the state regarding participation in the pilot
  2 23 program and develop requirements for submission of proposals.
  2 24    b.  To select, not later than April 1, 1998, four transit
  2 25 systems to participate in the pilot program.
  2 26    c.  To oversee operation of the pilot program and report to
  2 27 the department and the general assembly not later than
  2 28 December 31, 1999, regarding the pilot program.  The report
  2 29 shall contain information regarding the utilization of
  2 30 transportation services by senior citizens and persons with
  2 31 disabilities which were provided by each participating transit
  2 32 system, the costs of providing the services which are incurred
  2 33 by each participating transit system, and recommendations
  2 34 regarding whether the pilot program should be expanded,
  2 35 modified, or eliminated.
  3  1    d.  To develop minimum required hours of operation and
  3  2 service user fees for the four transit systems selected to
  3  3 participate in the pilot program.
  3  4    3.  Public members of the committee shall receive their
  3  5 actual and necessary expenses associated with their official
  3  6 duties in serving on the committee.
  3  7    Sec. 4.  SELECTION OF TRANSIT SYSTEMS.  The four transit
  3  8 systems selected by the committee to participate in the pilot
  3  9 program shall meet the following criteria:
  3 10    1.  Provide transportation services to all persons with
  3 11 disabilities or senior citizens within the service area of the
  3 12 transit system regardless of age or disability.
  3 13    2.  Provide transportation services seven days a week,
  3 14 including holidays, with hours of operation that meet the
  3 15 minimum requirements established by the committee and that are
  3 16 sufficient to meet the needs of persons with disabilities and
  3 17 senior citizens, including operation during evenings and on
  3 18 weekends.
  3 19    3.  Have the capability to respond to individual requests
  3 20 for transportation services, including door-to-door service.
  3 21    4.  Coordinate with neighboring transit systems to allow
  3 22 persons with disabilities and senior citizens to travel
  3 23 outside the service area of the pilot project transit system.
  3 24    5.  Be able to commence operations on July 1, 1998.
  3 25    6.  Establish a local advisory board to oversee the pilot
  3 26 project consisting of five persons with disabilities, five
  3 27 senior citizens, and one representative of the transit system.
  3 28 The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly to address
  3 29 service user and transit system concerns and shall develop a
  3 30 service user survey and forward the results to the department.
  3 31    Sec. 5.  APPROPRIATION.  There is appropriated from the
  3 32 general fund of the state to the state department of
  3 33 transportation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997, and
  3 34 ending June 30, 1998, the following amount, or so much thereof
  3 35 as is necessary, to be used for the purposes designated:
  4  1    For the senior citizen and disabled persons transportation
  4  2 pilot program, including official expenses of members of the
  4  3 pilot program oversight committee, support, miscellaneous
  4  4 purposes, and for providing $225,000 to each of the four
  4  5 transit systems chosen for the pilot program:  
  4  6 .................................................. $  1,000,000
  4  7    The department may utilize up to $100,000 of the funds for
  4  8 administrative costs and expenses of the oversight committee,
  4  9 which may include the costs of a program administrator.  Each
  4 10 transit system selected for the pilot program may use up to
  4 11 $50,000 of the funds allocated to the transit system for
  4 12 administrative costs.
  4 13    Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated in this
  4 14 section which remain unexpended or unobligated at the close of
  4 15 the fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the
  4 16 state but shall remain available for expenditure in the
  4 17 succeeding fiscal year.  Funds remaining unobligated on June
  4 18 30, 1999, shall revert to the general fund of the state.
  4 19    Sec. 6.  EFFECTIVE DATES.  Section 3, subsection 1, of this
  4 20 Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon
  4 21 enactment.  The remainder of the Act takes effect on July 1,
  4 22 1997.  
  4 23                           EXPLANATION
  4 24    This bill establishes a senior citizen and disabled persons
  4 25 transportation pilot program in the state department of
  4 26 transportation.  The bill requires the department to establish
  4 27 an oversight committee to implement the pilot program
  4 28 consisting of eight members who are persons with disabilities
  4 29 and senior citizens and three members who are department
  4 30 employees.  The committee is to develop a request for
  4 31 proposals to be distributed to transit systems in the state,
  4 32 select four transit systems to participate in the pilot
  4 33 program, and prepare a report to the department and the
  4 34 general assembly on the pilot program.  The committee is to be
  4 35 politically and gender balanced and as geographically balanced
  5  1 as possible.
  5  2    The committee is to select four transit systems to
  5  3 participate in the pilot program based on their ability to
  5  4 provide transportation services to senior citizens and persons
  5  5 with disabilities in a flexible manner on a seven-days-a-week
  5  6 basis and during sufficient hours of operation to meet the
  5  7 needs of the senior citizens and persons with disabilities in
  5  8 the transit system's service area.  Each transit system
  5  9 selected shall form an advisory board consisting of five
  5 10 members who are senior citizens and five members who have
  5 11 disabilities and one representative from the transit system.
  5 12    The bill directs the department to issue the request for
  5 13 proposals not later than October 1, 1997, and directs the
  5 14 oversight committee to select the four participating transit
  5 15 systems not later than April 1, 1998, and to provide a report
  5 16 to the department and the general assembly not later than
  5 17 December 31, 1999.  The actual transportation service portion
  5 18 of the pilot program shall last one year, from July 1, 1998,
  5 19 to June 30, 1999.
  5 20    The bill defines several terms, including "senior citizen"
  5 21 (a person age 60 or older) and "transit system" (defined as a
  5 22 public, regional, or urban transit system under Code chapter
  5 23 324A).  The bill defines the term "disability" the same as
  5 24 defined in Code section 15.102, subsection 5.
  5 25    The bill takes effect on July 1, 1997, except for the
  5 26 provisions regarding the establishment of the committee by the
  5 27 department, which take effect upon enactment.  
  5 28 LSB 1712SV 77
  5 29 mk/cf/24
     

Text: SF00362                           Text: SF00364
Text: SF00300 - SF00399                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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