Resolve, To Establish the Commuter and Passenger Rail Advisory Task Force

Emergency preamble. Whereas,  acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas,  the Commuter and Passenger Rail Advisory Task Force is established to evaluate and prioritize investments in commuter and passenger rail service in the State through the development of a Maine commuter and passenger rail plan; and

Whereas,  Maine communities are expanding their efforts to secure funding for passenger rail service; and

Whereas,  Maine's very high burden of per capita road maintenance imposes an increasingly unworkable cost burden on Maine's economy; and

Whereas,  rail transit may offer more economical and appealing transportation and community quality to the young workers that Maine needs to attract and retain; and

Whereas,  in some regions of the State, rail transit may expedite more efficient, enjoyable and prosperous downtown communities; and

Whereas,  federal transportation funding priorities are increasingly recognizing the economics and quality of life advantages of rail transit; and

Whereas,  public allocations of rail development funds require justified priorities for rail system support; and

Whereas,  Maine's priorities for passenger rail facilities expansion have not yet been researched and communicated through an adopted state rail plan; and

Whereas,  the Passenger Rail Service Act, as established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, chapter 621, established the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority for the general purpose of promoting passenger rail service and directs the authority to take all actions that are reasonably necessary to initiate, establish or reinitiate regularly scheduled passenger rail service between points in the State and points inside and outside the State; and

Whereas,  the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority is empowered to use any services of the Department of Transportation that are available and expedient; and

Whereas,  the development of the plan must be initiated before the 90-day period expires in order that the plan may be completed and a report submitted in time for submission to the next legislative session; and

Whereas,  in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore, be it

Sec. 1. Task force established. Resolved: That the Department of Transportation, referred to in this resolve as "the department," working with the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, referred to in this Act as "the authority," shall establish and convene the Commuter and Passenger Rail Advisory Task Force, referred to in this resolve as "the task force," to evaluate and prioritize investments in commuter and passenger rail service between communities in this State to help target available funding and establishment of rail service where it is most appropriate in the major economic and population centers of this State in order to reduce the costs to the State, its municipalities and its citizens of travel to and from work, business activities and entertainment and recreation activities; and be it further

Sec. 2. Task force membership. Resolved: That the department shall invite the participation of the following persons in the task force:

1. Four regional transportation planners, one each from the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System, Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center, Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System and the midcoast region;

2. Two representatives of major private employers from the greater Portland area, Lewiston-Auburn area or Bangor area, each representing a different employer;

3. One representative of a group that has expertise in transit services in the State that are complementary to rail service;

4. One representative of the Department of Transportation, who has experience in rail planning;

5. One representative of statewide environmental organizations;

6. One representative of a contracting company in this State with expertise and experience in the construction of rail line facilities;

7. One interested citizen of the State, who is informed with respect to rail service issues;

8. One representative of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority; and

9. One representative from the Legislature; and be it further

Sec. 3. Duties. Resolved: That the department, working with the authority, shall convene the task force at least once a month to develop a Maine commuter and passenger rail plan, referred to in this resolve as "the plan." The task force shall research and identify investment priorities for the establishment of commuter and passenger rail service between communities in this State. The plan must be based on existing studies and analyses. The plan must identify the markets and infrastructure and the potential to remove automobile traffic from excessively used roadways. The plan must serve to reduce highway construction and maintenance costs and to reduce road congestion and lessen transportation costs for citizens living in cities in this State. The commuter rail investment priorities identified by the task force must be included in the plan. The task force shall recommend and include in the plan routes for passenger and commuter rail development; projected operational and capital investment costs; logistical issues; requirements for equipment, operators and track upgrades; and proposed sources of funding. The task force shall make recommendations regarding connections at rail terminal sites to bus transit and bicycle, trail and pedestrian access points and routes to destinations from terminals. The task force may include in the plan total cost estimates and environmental and service quality comparisons to other transportation investments for achieving similar results. If comparisons are included in the plan, the comparisons must include a comparison of rail service to the continued reliance on private motor vehicles and bus service, including the costs of road and bridge construction and maintenance.

The task force must work closely with the State's regional planning councils, economic development districts, metropolitan planning organizations and Indian tribal governments, must prioritize their recommendations into the task force findings and must ensure that multimodal investments and connections are designed in a manner that integrates their collective priorities with those of the State; and be it further

Sec. 4. Chairs. Resolved: That the representative of the Department of Transportation and the representative of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority shall serve as cochairs; and be it further

Sec. 5. Staff assistance. Resolved: That the department shall provide necessary staffing services to the task force; and be it further

Sec. 6. Compensation. Resolved: That the members of the task force serve without compensation or reimbursement of expenses; and be it further

Sec. 7. Report. Resolved: That the department shall report the findings and the plan of the task force to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation no later than February 28, 2014. The Joint Standing Committee on Transportation may submit a bill to the Second Regular Session of the 126th Legislature on the subject matter of the report.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.

summary

This resolve directs the Department of Transportation to establish and convene the Commuter and Passenger Rail Advisory Task Force to evaluate and prioritize investments in commuter and passenger rail service between communities in this State in order to expedite development of efficient commuter rail service as appropriate in the major economic and population centers of this State to reduce costs to the State, its municipalities and its citizens of travel to and from work, business activities and entertainment and recreation activities. The task force must develop a Maine commuter and passenger rail plan, which must include investment priorities for the establishment of commuter and passenger rail service between communities in this State. The plan must be based on existing studies and analyses and explore the markets and infrastructure and the potential to remove automobile traffic from excessively used roadways. The plan must also provide for the reduction of highway construction and maintenance costs and identify ways to limit the need for parking facilities and to reduce road congestion and lessen transportation costs for citizens living in cities in this State. The Department of Transportation must report the findings and the plan of the task force to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation no later than February 28, 2014. The Joint Standing Committee on Transportation may submit a bill to the Second Regular Session of the 126th Legislature on the subject matter of the report.