SB 671

Under current law, the Department of Transportation provides state aid

payments to local public bodies in urban areas served by mass transit systems to

assist the local public bodies with the expenses of operating those systems. There

are four classes of urban mass transit systems for which funding is presently

provided, referred to as Tier A-1, Tier A-2, Tier B, and Tier C. A Tier A-1 system

has annual operating expenses of $80,000,000 or more. A Tier A-2 system has

annual operating expenses in excess of $20,000,000 but less than $80,000,000. A

Tier B system operates within an urbanized area having a population of at least

50,000 or receives federal mass transit aid but has annual operating expenses of less

than $20,000,000. A Tier C system operates within an area having a population of

less than 50,000 or receives federal mass transit aid. The total amount of state aid

payments for each class of mass transit system is limited to a specified amount in

each calendar year.

This bill increases the total amount of state aid payments for each class of mass

transit system as follows: 1) by about 2 percent for Tier A-1 and A-2 systems; 2) by

about 4 percent for Tier B systems; and 3) by about 6 percent for Tier C systems.