SB 511

Prior to the Biennial Budget Act,

2009 Wisconsin Act 28

(Act 28), the counties

of Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee were required to create a Regional Transit

Authority (the KRM authority). The KRM authority was responsible for the

coordination of transit and commuter rail programs within these three counties but

had no authority to manage or operate any transit system. The KRM authority was

authorized to impose a rental car transaction fee within these three counties, which

fee was to be used to hire staff, conduct studies, and prepare a report to the

legislature and the governor, due by November 15, 2008.

Act 28 terminated the KRM authority as of October 1, 2009, and created a

successor entity, the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SERTA). The SERTA

is a public body corporate and politic and a separate governmental entity; it consists

of the counties of Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee. The jurisdictional area of the

SERTA is the geographic area formed by the combined territorial boundaries of the

counties of Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee. The powers of the SERTA are vested

in its board of directors. The SERTA's powers are limited but include all powers

necessary and convenient to create, construct, and manage a commuter rail transit

system connecting the cities of Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee (KRM commuter

rail line).

Under current law, upon approval by its board of directors, the SERTA may

impose a rental car transaction fee, in the counties of Kenosha, Racine, and

Milwaukee, of not more than $18 per transaction, except that the SERTA's board of

directors may have this fee annually adjusted for inflation. From each rental car

transaction fee, the SERTA may retain not more than $2 per transaction for

administration of the SERTA and may retain the remainder for expenditures related

to the KRM commuter rail line, including planning, construction, maintenance,

operations, and engineering expenditures. The SERTA is the only entity in the

counties of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha that may submit an application to the

Federal Transit Administration under the federal New Starts Grant Program (New

Starts application) for funding for the KRM commuter rail line. By July 1, 2010, the

SERTA must submit a New Starts application to enter the preliminary engineering

phase for the KRM commuter rail line. Transit system operators in Kenosha County

and Racine County receiving state transit aids must provide copies of all of their

annual and long-term transit plans to the SERTA as these plans become available.

Act 28 also authorized the creation of several new regional transit authorities

(RTAs): the Dane County RTA, the Chippewa Valley RTA, and the Chequamegon

Bay RTA. Each RTA, once created, is a public body corporate and politic and a

separate governmental entity. Act 28 also specified the powers and duties of these

three RTAs. In brief, for each, the RTA's authority is vested in its board of directors