PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1631, 1767 PRINTER'S NO. 1854
No. 1200 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY KUSSE, SINGEL, SHUMAKER, ROMANELLI, SNYDER AND
O'PAKE, DECEMBER 14, 1983
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, MARCH 26, 1984
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of January 22, 1968 (P.L.42, No.8), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act empowering and authorizing the Department
3 of Transportation to establish and administer certain grant
4 programs for the betterment of mass transportation systems
5 and facilities throughout the Commonwealth; providing for
6 State grants to transportation companies, municipalities,
7 counties, or their instrumentalities and to agencies and
8 instrumentalities of the Commonwealth for studies, research,
9 demonstration programs, promotion programs, purchase of
10 service projects, and capital improvement projects under
11 certain conditions; authorizing grants by counties or
12 municipalities in metropolitan areas to local transportation
13 organizations, authorizing the creation of a transportation
14 authority to function in each metropolitan area consisting of
15 any county of the first class and all nearby counties within
16 a radius of twenty miles of any such first class county, as a
17 body corporate and politic for the purpose of establishing an
18 integrated mass transportation system with all pertinent
19 powers including, but not limited to, leasing, acquiring,
20 owning, operating and maintaining a system for, or otherwise
21 providing for, the transportation of persons, authorizing the
22 borrowing of money and issuance of bonds therefor, conferring
23 the right of eminent domain on the authority; altering the
24 jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission, authorizing
25 the acceptance of grants from Federal, State and local
26 governments, limiting actions against the authority and
27 exempting it from taxation, authorizing counties and
28 municipalities to enter into compacts for the financing of
29 each authority and to make appropriations in accordance with
30 such compacts, creating a citizen advisory committee,
31 conferring exclusive jurisdiction upon certain courts with
32 respect to matters relating to such authority, empowering
33 each authority to function outside of the metropolitan area
1 under certain terms and conditions," rewording definitions;
2 increasing the level of loss reimbursement; and further
3 providing for State appropriation for subsidies for local
4 transportation organizations or companies.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. The definitions of "average fare" and "linked
8 passenger trips" in section 202 of the act of January 22, 1968
9 (P.L.42, No.8), known as the Pennsylvania Urban Mass
10 Transportation Law, added July 10, 1980 (P.L.427, No.101), are
11 amended to read:
12 Section 202. Definitions.--The following terms, whenever
13 used or referred to in this article, shall have the following
14 meanings, except in those instances where the context clearly
15 indicates a different meaning:
16 "Average fare" shall be defined as total passenger revenue
17 divided by the total [linked passenger trips excluding trips by
18 senior citizens participating in the free transit program for
19 senior citizens.] number of fare paying passengers. WITH REGARD <--
20 TO THE CALCULATION OF AVERAGE FARE OR BASE FARE FOR THE
21 REIMBURSEMENT OF LOSSES RESULTING FROM FREE SERVICE TO SENIOR
22 CITIZENS AUTHORIZED BY THIS ACT, THE DEPARTMENT OF
23 TRANSPORTATION SHALL NOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN SERVICES PROVIDED
24 BY ANY AGENCY FOR ANY REASON.
25 * * *
26 ["Linked passenger trips" shall mean and include transit
27 trips taken by initially boarding (originating) patrons paying a
28 full fare, any reduced fare or no fare (free fare) but shall not
29 mean and shall exclude all transfer rides and all charter
30 rides.]
31 * * *
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1 Section 2. Sections 203(5)(i) and 204 of the act, added July
2 10, 1980 (P.L.427, No.101), are amended to read:
3 Section 203. Program Authorizations.--The department is
4 hereby authorized, within the limitations hereinafter provided
5 and is required where the provisions of section 204 apply:
6 * * *
7 (5) To make grants from the State Lottery Fund to
8 transportation companies, county transportation systems and
9 local transportation organizations to pay estimated transit
10 losses resulting from providing:
11 (i) Free service or local common carrier mass transportation
12 systems to persons sixty-five years or older when such passage
13 is on fixed route public transportation services during nonpeak
14 riding hours and on holidays and weekends. The losses resulting
15 from granting service on mass transportation systems shall be
16 reimbursable at [seventy-five] one hundred percent of such
17 system's average or base fare, whichever is greater, multiplied
18 by the number of trips made by senior citizens, including <--
19 transfers, participating in such free transit program. [Transit
20 systems that currently receive a program reimbursement based
21 upon a percentage of average fare greater than seventy-five
22 percent shall receive their current amount of senior citizen
23 program reimbursement until such time as the amount of
24 reimbursement for these systems equals seventy-five percent of
25 the average fare times the number of senior citizens trips:
26 Provided, however, That reimbursement for the fiscal year 1980-
27 1981 shall be calculated using the average fares as of January
28 1, 1980.] NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL, <--
29 WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF THE BUDGET,
30 REIMBURSE TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES OR LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
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1 ORGANIZATIONS FOR ALL OR A PORTION OF LOSSES RESULTING FROM
2 SENIOR CITIZEN TRANSFER TRIPS, INCURRED UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF
3 THIS SUBSECTION. IN FISCAL YEAR 1983-1984, SUCH REIMBURSEMENT
4 SHALL BE SIXTY PERCENT OF THE LOSSES INCURRED RESULTING FROM
5 SENIOR CITIZENS TRANSFER TRIPS. REIMBURSEMENT FOR SUCH LOSSES IN
6 FISCAL YEAR 1984-1985 SHALL BE AT LEAST SIXTY PERCENT OF SUCH
7 LOSSES, AND IN FISCAL YEAR 1985-1986 AND THEREAFTER,
8 REIMBURSEMENT SHALL BE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF SUCH LOSSES.
9 * * *
10 Section 204. Annual Appropriation, Computation of Subsidy.--
11 (a) The Commonwealth shall annually determine the level of
12 appropriation for urban common carrier mass transportation
13 assistance, using the standards contained in this section, to
14 sufficiently fund and to make fully operative section
15 203(2)(iii) and (3).
16 (b) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate to the
17 department for distribution an amount based upon the individual
18 projected subsidies of the local transportation organizations or
19 transportation companies participating in the program. In the <--
20 State fiscal year 1984-1985, and each fiscal year thereafter,
21 the annual appropriation to the department shall not exceed the
22 prior year's appropriation, increased by a percentage calculated
23 in accordance with subsection (c)(1). Each local transportation
24 organization and transportation company shall be entitled to
25 receive a State subsidy of at least two-thirds but not more than
26 three-quarters of its constrained deficit: Provided, however,
27 That if amount of moneys actually appropriated by the General
28 Assembly is greater or lesser than the lump sum appropriation
29 request, the individual calculated grants shall be prorated
30 among all recipients in accordance with the provisions of this
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1 article using a ratio determined by applying the actual lump sum
2 appropriation to the lump sum appropriation request.
3 (c) The constrained deficit shall be an amount equal to
4 eligible operating costs reduced by assumed revenues and Federal
5 operating subsidies. For purposes of this subsection:
6 (1) Eligible operating costs for the budget year shall not
7 exceed the prior year's operating costs for the same level of
8 service increased by a percentage equal to the percentage
9 increase in operating costs for all local transportation
10 organizations and transportation companies for the most recently
11 completed State fiscal year as compared to the fiscal year
12 immediately preceding such year plus fifteen percent of such
13 increase.
14 (2) (i) Assumed revenues shall be a percentage of eligible
15 operating costs as determined by reference to the following
16 table:
17 FISCAL YEAR (A) (B) (C)
18 1980-81 48% 38%
19 1981-82 48% 38%
20 [1982-83 46% 36%
21 1983-84 44% 34%
22 1984-85 42% 32%]
23 1983-84
24 and thereafter 48% 46% 34%
25 (ii) Column (A) is to be used for local transportation
26 organizations or transportation companies operating more than
27 [twenty] one thousand transit vehicles in the peak period,
28 column (B) is to be used for transportation organizations and
29 companies operating between twenty-one and nine hundred and
30 ninety-nine vehicles in the peak period and column [(B)] (C) is
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1 to be used for local transportation organizations or
2 transportation companies operating twenty or fewer transit
3 vehicles in the peak period.
4 (iii) In any case where a local transportation organization
5 or transportation company increases or decreases the number of
6 transit vehicles operating during the peak period so as to move
7 to or from [column (B) to column (A) or from column (A) to
8 column (B)] columns (A), (B) or (C) the department may make
9 appropriate adjustments regarding assumed revenues during a
10 reasonable period following such increase or decrease.
11 (3) Federal operating subsidies shall mean the total
12 operating assistance funds in the budget year which the eligible
13 grantee actually receives under the Federal Urban Mass
14 Transportation Act of 1964, Public Law 88-365 (49 U.S.C. § 1601,
15 et seq.) or any other Federal law.
16 (d) The basic subsidy for which each local transportation
17 organization or transportation company shall be entitled shall
18 be equal to sixty-six and two-thirds percent of its constrained
19 deficit.
20 (e) Each local transportation organization or transportation
21 company shall receive, in addition to the basic subsidy, an
22 incentive grant subsidy of up to eight and one-third percent of
23 its constrained deficit based upon a finding that the local
24 transportation organization or transportation company for the
25 most recently completed State fiscal year as compared to the
26 fiscal year immediately preceding such year has met or exceeded
27 the following performance factors. Each factor which a local
28 transportation organization or transportation company meets
29 shall result in an additional increase in State funding of its
30 constrained deficit. The factors to be considered by the
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1 department in awarding incentive grant subsidies are as follows:
2 (1) [A] No decrease [of no more than two percentage points]
3 in the system's revenue/cost ratio from the previous fiscal
4 year.
5 (2) Higher ridership per vehicle hour in the system than in
6 the previous fiscal year.
7 (3) Higher operating revenue per vehicle hour in the system
8 than in previous fiscal year.
9 (4) Lower operating costs per vehicle hour in the system
10 (adjusted for inflation) than in the previous fiscal year.
11 (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no
12 local transportation organization or transportation company
13 shall be entitled to receive an amount with respect to any
14 fiscal year greater than seventy-five percent of its actual
15 operating costs less actual revenues, excluding excess revenues
16 determined in accordance with subsection (g), and Federal
17 subsidies for that fiscal year.
18 (g) A local transportation organization or transportation
19 company may utilize revenues which the department determines to
20 be in excess of assumed revenues for any purpose in furtherance
21 of urban common carrier mass transportation in its service areas
22 except that such excess revenues may not be used to reduce local
23 matching funds for any State operating grant. All excess
24 revenues exceeding twelve percent of actual revenues shall be
25 used to reduce operating deficits for grant determinations by
26 the department. Expenses which are ineligible for reimbursement
27 by the department under sections 203(2)(iii) and 204, including
28 debt service, renewal and replacement and vehicle overhaul, may
29 be funded by transportation companies or local transportation
30 organizations through excess revenues.
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1 [(g)] (h) A local transportation organization or
2 transportation company may at its option submit an application
3 for project grants covering modes or operating subsidiaries on
4 an individual basis or on a collective basis.
5 [(h) Recipients] (i) Each recipient of funds under this
6 section shall submit to the department between August 15 and
7 September 15 of each calendar year a proposed budget for the
8 budget year beginning July 1 together with budget projections
9 for four succeeding budget years. Budget proposals, based upon
10 information submitted by individual recipients, shall appear as
11 line items in the department's budget request, subject to the
12 provisions of subsection (b): Provided, however, That the
13 department budget request for funds under this section shall be
14 made as a lump sum appropriation request which shall be the
15 total of such line items.
16 [(i)] (j) Local transportation organizations and
17 transportation companies shall be prepared to appear
18 individually before the appropriation committees of the Senate
19 and the House of Representatives to justify budget requests.
20 SECTION 3. SECTION 406(C) OF THE ACT, ADDED JULY 10, 1980 <--
21 (P.L.427, NO.101), IS AMENDED TO READ:
22 SECTION 406. DEMAND RESPONSE ENTITLEMENT GRANTS.--* * *
23 (C) UPON THE TERMINATION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 1981-1982, NO
24 FURTHER GRANTS SHALL BE MADE DIRECTLY TO THE COUNTIES UNDER THIS
25 PARAGRAPH: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NO COUNTY RECEIVING A FISCAL
26 YEAR GRANT UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL FORFEIT SUCH GRANT OR BE
27 DENIED SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEAR GRANTS SOLELY ON THE BASIS THAT
28 THE COUNTY HAS FAILED WITHIN EITHER THE FISCAL YEAR 1980-1981 OR
29 1981-1982 TO FULLY AND COMPLETELY IMPLEMENT ITS TRANSIT SYSTEM
30 FOR THE ELDERLY, IT BEING THE INTENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO
19830S1200B1854 - 8 -
1 PROVIDE EACH COUNTY FIVE YEARS FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS
2 ACT IN WHICH TO PHASE IN AND MAKE OPERATIONAL SOME TYPE OF
3 TRANSIT SYSTEM FOR THE ELDERLY. IN THE EVENT THAT ANY COUNTY
4 FAILS WITHIN SUCH FIVE YEARS TO PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF AN
5 OPERATIONAL TRANSIT SYSTEM FOR THE ELDERLY, ANY UNSPENT AND
6 UNENCUMBERED GRANT MONEYS MADE TO THE COUNTIES FOR THE FISCAL
7 YEARS 1980-1981 OR 1981-1982 SHALL BE RETURNED THROUGH THE
8 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR DEPOSIT IN THE STATE LOTTERY
9 FUND FOR USE IN THE GRANT PROGRAM PROVIDED IN SECTION 203(5) OR
10 FOR OTHER SENIOR CITIZENS PROGRAMS. FOR THE 1984-1985 FISCAL
11 YEAR AND EVERY YEAR THEREAFTER ALL COUNTIES EXCEPT COUNTIES OF
12 THE FIRST AND SECOND CLASS SHALL BE ENTITLED TO GRANTS FROM THE
13 STATE LOTTERY FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF REPLACING AND-OR UPGRADING
14 EQUIPMENT FOR REDUCED FARE DEMAND RESPONSE SERVICE. THE AMOUNT
15 ENTITLED TO ALL COUNTIES AND TO BE GRANTED BY THE DEPARTMENT
16 SHALL NOT EXCEED $2,300,000. THE AMOUNT ENTITLED TO ANY COUNTY
17 SHALL NOT BE MORE THAN $150,000 FOR EACH FISCAL YEAR. THE
18 DEPARTMENT MAY REQUIRE THE COUNTIES TO COORDINATE THE
19 ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT THROUGH A STATEWIDE PURCHASE PROGRAM
20 SHOULD THE DEPARTMENT FIND SUCH A PROGRAM TO BE COST EFFICIENT.
21 Section 3 4. No local transportation organization or <--
22 transportation company receiving State funds under the
23 provisions of the act to which this is an amendment shall
24 receive a lesser amount for the fiscal year 1983-1984 than the
25 amount which had been approved by the department on the
26 effective date of this act.
27 Section 4. (a) This act shall apply to fiscal years <--
28 commencing July 1, 1983, and thereafter.
29 (b) This act shall take effect immediately.
30 SECTION 5. (A) SECTION 3 OF THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT JULY <--
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1 1, 1984.
2 (B) THE REMAINDER OF THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY
3 AND SHALL APPLY TO THE 1983-1984 FISCAL YEAR AND TO EACH FISCAL
4 YEAR THEREAFTER.
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