2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 20 - EXECUTIVE BRANCH › 20 ILCS 3968/ - Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation Act.

(20 ILCS 3968/1)
Sec. 1. 
		Short title. 
		This Act may be cited as the
Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transportation Act.
(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)
(20 ILCS 3968/5)
Sec. 5. 
		Findings; purpose. 
		The General Assembly finds that
safe, reliable, and convenient transportation to and from (i) work and
related destinations such as child care and education, (ii) medical
appointments and related destinations such as a pharmacy, and (iii)
ancillary services necessary to the health, well-being, and
independence of the family such as grocery shopping, adult day services,
and pharmacy related services are extremely
important in the ability to
find and retain employment and insure the continued independence and
well-being of all citizens of Illinois, particularly in the lower
income sectors of the economy. For many people, these transportation
needs are not met by existing mass transit. In a national survey by
the University of Illinois at Chicago of over 500 riders of 23
federally funded community transportation projects under the Job Access
and Reverse Commute (JARC) program across the nation, 68% of riders
indicated that they would not be able to reach their employment without
this service. Furthermore, the national evaluation of the JARC program
by the General Accounting Office illustrates that 65% of all projects
have extended existing fixed routes by schedule or location as well as
created connections to existing services. This creates a need for
innovative transportation to work strategies that fit within local
circumstances in Illinois. Many localities around Illinois do not
have the resources or the expertise to develop and support innovative
transportation options. Localities need access to technical
assistance both in designing programs and in accessing various sources
of State and federal funds. Illinois also leaves substantial federal
transportation funds unclaimed because of the failure to put forward
projects to use the funds. Thus, Illinois would benefit from an
Interagency Coordinating Committee to set priorities for improving
access to transportation for the transportation disadvantaged. The
General Accounting Office has found in its evaluation that interagency
collaboration has informed transit agencies of how to better serve low-income
communities by knowing where jobs are located and a system of
supports are found. Illinois would also benefit from a unified State
process to apply for federal transportation assistance for innovative
transportation to work projects and strategies and for identifying the
matching funds necessary to access that federal assistance. The
purpose of this Act is to establish the Interagency Coordinating
Committee on Transportation.
(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)
(20 ILCS 3968/10)
Sec. 10. 
		Definitions. 
		As used in this Act:
(1) "Agency" means an official, commission, authority, council,
department, committee, division, bureau, board, or any other unit or
entity of the State, a municipality, a county, or other local governing
body or a private not-for-profit transportation service providing
agency.
(2) "Committee" means the Illinois Coordinating Committee on
Transportation.
(3) "Coordination" means the arrangement for the provision of
transportation services to the transportation disadvantaged in a manner
that is cost-effective, efficient, and reduces fragmentation and
duplication of services.
(4) "Transportation disadvantaged" means those persons who,
because of physical or mental disability, income status, age, location
of residence, or other reasons are unable to transport themselves or to
purchase affordable transportation and are, therefore, dependent upon
others to obtain access to health care, employment, education,
shopping, social activities, or other life-sustaining activities.
(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)
(20 ILCS 3968/15)
Sec. 15. Committee. The Illinois Coordinating Committee on
Transportation is created and shall consist of the following members:
(1) The Governor or his or her designee.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her     designee.
(3) The Secretary of Human Services or his or her     designee.
(4) The Director of Aging or his or her designee.
(5) The Director of Healthcare and Family Services or     his or her designee.
(6) The Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity     or his or her designee.
(7) A representative of the Illinois Rural Transit     Assistance Center.
(8) A person who is a member of a recognized     statewide organization representing older residents of Illinois.
(9) A representative of centers for independent     living.
(10) A representative of the Illinois Public     Transportation Association.
(11) A representative of an existing transportation     system that coordinates and provides transit services in a multi-county area for the Department of Transportation, Department of Human Services, Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or Department on Aging.
(12) A representative of a statewide organization of     rehabilitation facilities or other providers of services for persons with one or more disabilities.
(13) A representative of a community-based     organization.
(14) A representative of the Department of Public     Health.
(15) A representative of the Rural Partners.
(16) The Director of Employment Security or his or     her designee.
(17) A representative of a statewide business     association.
(18) A representative of the Illinois Council on     Developmental Disabilities.
The Governor shall appoint the members of the Committee other
than those named in paragraphs (1) through (6) and paragraph (16) of
this Section. The Governor or his or her designee shall serve as
chairperson of the Committee and shall convene the meetings of the
Committee. The Secretary of Transportation and a representative of a
community-based organization involved in transportation or their
designees, shall serve as co-vice-chairpersons and shall be responsible
for staff support for the committee.
(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
(20 ILCS 3968/20)
Sec. 20. 
		Duties of Committee. 
		The Committee shall encourage
the coordination of public and private transportation services, with
priority given to services directed toward those populations who are
currently not served or who are underserved by existing public transit.
The Committee shall seek innovative approaches to providing and
funding local transportation services and offer their expertise to
communities statewide. Specifically, the Committee shall:
(1) Coordinate a State process within federal guidelines to
facilitate coordination of community-based transportation programs.
This process should include: developing objectives for providing
essential transportation services to the transportation disadvantaged;
providing technical assistance to communities that are addressing
transportation gaps that affect low-income populations; developing a
process for requesting federal funds such as the Job Access and
Reverse Commute (JARC) Grant program that is based on input from
communities statewide; assisting communities in identifying funds from
other available sources for projects that are not an eligible use of
JARC funds; and developing a plan to identify and recruit potential
stakeholders in future community transportation initiatives to the
Committee.
(2) Develop goals and objectives to reduce duplication of
services and achieve coverage that is as complete as possible.
(3) Serve as a clearinghouse for information about funding
sources and innovations in serving the transportation disadvantaged.
(4) Submit a report, not later than February 1, 2006, to the
Governor and the General Assembly that outlines the progress made by
the Committee in performing its duties set forth in paragraphs (1)
through (4) of this Section and makes recommendations for statutory and
regulatory changes to promote coordination.
(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)
(20 ILCS 3968/99)
Sec. 99. 
		Effective date. 
		This Act takes effect upon becoming
law.
(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)