Senate Bill No. 735
(By Senator Unger)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §9-10-1, §9-10-2,
§9-10-3 and §9-10-4, all relating to the coordination of
transportation needs of the transportation disadvantaged;
creating a
Transportation Coordinating Council within the
Department of Health and Human Resources' Division of Human
Services; establishing its membership, responsibilities and
reporting requirements; and requiring the use of public
transit systems under certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §9-10-1, §9-10-2,
§9-10-3 and §9-10-4,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION.
§9-10-1. Findings.
The Legislature finds that:
(1) The continuing development of infrastructure to support
all transportation needs is essential to the state's economic
development growth and to the benefit and well-being of all its
citizens;
(2) Enhancing access to transportation will improve the
mobility, employment opportunities and availability of community
services to citizens who are transportation-disadvantaged;
(3) Both state and federal government have allocated millions
of dollars to fund transportation infrastructure within this state;
and
(4) The state's monetary resources earmarked for this purpose
may be used more efficiently and effectively through the creation
of strategies to increase current resources, eliminate duplicated
agency efforts and centralize the management of resources.
§9-10-2. Transportation Coordinating Council created.
(a) The Transportation Coordinating Council is created within
the
Division of Human Services
.
(b) The following serve as ex officio members of the council:
(1) The State Americans with Disabilities Coordinator;
(2) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Senior Services, or a
designee appointed by the commissioner;
(3) The Superintendent of the Department of Education, or a designee appointed by the superintendent;
(4) The Executive Director of the West Virginia Development
Office, or a designee appointed by the executive director;
(5) The Secretary of the Department of Transportation, or a
designee appointed by the secretary;
(6) The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health,
Department of Health and Human Resources, or a designee appointed
by the commissioner;
(7) The Commissioner of the Division of Human Services,
Department of Health and Human Resources, or a designee appointed
by the commissioner;
(8) The Executive Director of the Governor's Cabinet on
Children and Families, or a designee appointed by executive
director; and
(9) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Resources, or a designee appointed by the secretary.
(c) The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate,
shall appoint members as follows:
(1) A representative of a state advocacy program for the
disabled;
(2) Two members representing the public transportation
community;
(3) A member representing the emergency medical transportation
providers' community;
(4) A member representing a state transportation advocacy
organization; and
(5) Two members representing public transportation consumers
with disabilities.
(d) The
Commissioner of the Division of Human Services
or the
commissioner's designee serves as chair.
(e) The members appointed by the Governor serve terms of three
years, except of the members initially appointed, two serve terms
of one year and two serve terms of two years, as designated by the
Governor.
§9-10-3. Council responsibilities.
(a) The council shall study issues pertaining to the effective
and efficient use of transportation resources including, but not
limited to, the following:
(1) Coordination of transportation services;
(2) Elimination of waste and overlap caused by duplicated
agency efforts; and
(3) Elimination of service gaps to enhance citizen access to
all available transportation and resources.
(b) The council shall coordinate its efforts with the United
States Department of Transportation.
(c) The council shall participate in and apply for grants
though the federal "United We Ride" program.
(d) The council shall consult with outside experts and receive the testimony of the public during its regularly scheduled
meetings.
(e) The council shall annually, prior to the first day of
December, present a report of its progress to the Governor, the
Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Joint
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
(f) The council shall propose rules for legislative approval
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a, designed to implement a state-wide nonemergency
medical transportation plan and pilot projects.
(g) The council, in conjunction with the Department of Health
and Human Resources and the Division of Public Transit of the
Department of Transportation,
shall prepare and develop a
state-wide nonemergency medical transportation plan
. The plan shall
include, without limitation, an operational framework for the
state-wide coordinated transportation of nonemergency medical,
recommendations for the implementation of the plan using funds
available for this purpose, the identification and discussion of
additional funds for this purpose, a discussion about goals,
viability, location, and need for pilot projects, and recommended
time frames for implementing the state-wide nonemergency medical
transportation plan. The council shall hold public hearings and
meetings with notice to receive public input regarding the proposed
state-wide nonemergency medical transportation plan
. The plan shall be a multiyear plan setting forth the state's goals and initiatives
for coordinating and providing nonemergency medical transportation
and related medical services, and provide a direction for the
private sector.
(h) The council is authorized to propose and develop pilot
projects, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human
Resources, the Division of Public Transit
and the United We Ride
Initiative, implementing
cost-effective nonemergency medical
transportation services and related medical support services. The
council shall submit an operating report, review, and summary of
the pilot projects and a plan for state-wide implementation,
including any legislation necessary for implementation to the
Governor
and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
on an
annual basis.
(i) The council
may rely upon internal staff reports or the
advice of outside advisors or consultants and may procure the
services with the consent of the Secretary of Health and Human
Resources. The council may also involve national, state and local
government leadership and other experts.
§9-10-
4. Use of public transit services.
The Commissioner of the Division of Human Services shall
direct programs of the division to purchase client transportation
through public transit systems in all instances where public
transit services are appropriate to client needs and as cost-efficient as other transportation.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a
Transportation
Coordinating Council within the Department of Health and Human
Resources, Division of Human Services, and establish its
membership, responsibilities and reporting requirements.
The bill
also requires the Division of Human Services to purchase client
transportation through public transit systems when public transit
services are appropriate to client needs and as cost-efficient as
other transportation.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.