Relationship of Proposal to the ATS Plan  
After receiving a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant in May 2018, CCTA and County staff began preparations to launch the ATS Plan. That preparation included reaching out to various stakeholders. Included in that outreach was CCTA's Bus Transit Coordinating Council (BTCC). The BTCC communicated the concern that three studies of this type have been done in the past with little success and asked how this study would be different. With that feedback staff reviewed the past efforts and the numerous studies available that document why these types of efforts are frequently unsuccessful. That review resulted in staff developing a strategy to address the various risk areas of the study. One such area is that of funding availability. Funds in this field are notoriously scarce and dedicated almost entirely to existing operations. There is little flexibility or surplus funding available to make system changes or significant investment in capital or institutional capacity improvements. This proposal is intended to address that issue by making State funds available to make system improvements and respond to increased due to demographic shifts demand without drawing on existing operations funding.  
  
Legislation Proposal Summary  
The details of the Seniors/Persons with Disabilities (SPD) Transportation Funding Program proposal can be seen in the two attachments. In summary, the proposal seeks funding to address two long standing problems in providing transportation service to this population, 1) the well documented need to increase coordination, make necessary systemic changes and improvements to the way these services are provided in order to increase efficiencies and access to services, and 2) increased operations funding needed due to pressures from demographic and public health shifts. The attached proposal addresses the problems by providing capital funding for systemic or institutional improvements and operating funds tied to the growth of the target population. The State revenue being sought is from the cap and trade program, the General Fund, and/or existing bond programs. The types of efficiency improvements proposed demonstrably reduce greenhouse gasses and the target population is consistent with the polices to direct resources to "disadvantaged communities". The type of programs in this proposal are similar to other other programs operating with General Fund support.   
  
The proposal is to use several existing, well-developed tools designed to address problem #1 mentioned above, the need to increase coordination and improve systemic or institutional efficiencies. These tools have been available and for some time but their effectiveness suffers due to the lack of implementation specific funding: the federally required Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plans (Coordinated Plans) and the Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (CTSA) enabled by California State statute:

A.The Coordinated Plans are produced and updated uniformly throughout the Country based on requirements in the past three federal transportation funding packages. (SAFETEA-LU/2005, MAP-21/2012, FAST/2015). The Coordinated Plans identify the transportation needs of individuals with disabilities, older adults, and people with low incomes, provide strategies for meeting these needs, and prioritize transportation services for funding and implementation. These plans make recommendations which are, for the most part, unfunded.  
  
B.The CTSA mechanism was created under the California State Social Service Transportation Act (AB 120 – 1979). The Act required agencies throughout California to conduct regional inventory reports and prepare/implement action plans. The intent was to encourage coordination among social service transportation providers so existing transportation resources are used more effectively.

  
Administrative Notes:  
TWIC staff is coordinating with Lara Delaney, legislative staff, to ensure the this proposal is developed consistent with County processes. This proposal was developed with the assistance of Mark Watts, consultant to the County, and Peter Engel, Director of Programs - CCTA.  
  
Relative to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund request in the proposal, the SPD Transportation Funding Program is consistent with #20 on our 2018 State Legislative Platform:

SUPPORT efforts to expand eligible expenditures of the Greenhouse Gas Revenue[sic] Fund to investments in accessible transit/transportation systems (serving seniors, disabled, veterans) which result in more efficient (shared trips, increased coordination) service and corresponding reductions in greenhouse gas production.

  
There are two attachments with similar information:  
1. 2019 County Sponsored Legislation Proposal: For internal County use only.   
2. Detailed Seniors/Persons with Disabilities State Transportation Funding Program: This detail and format was requested by the County's legislative consultant to being outreach activities. If progress is made relative to interest in the proposal, additional documentation will be provided, additional necessary technical and policy details as well as a more concise, user-friendly summary, a "one-pager".

If the proposal is not approved, the Board will miss an opportunity to make progress on policy #20 in the County's State Platform, "SUPPORT efforts to expand eligible expenditures of the Greenhouse Gas Revenue[sic] Fund to investments in accessible transit/transportation systems (serving seniors, disabled, veterans) which result in more efficient (shared trips, increased coordination) service and corresponding reductions in greenhouse gas production."