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1996 SESSION

961262749
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 120
Offered January 22, 1996
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study creation of a Northern Virginia Regional Transportation Authority.
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Patron-- Waddell
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Referred to the Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, an integrated transportation infrastructure is essential to the quality of life and development of Northern Virginia's economy; and

WHEREAS, that transportation network must be capable of moving people and goods in a reasonable period of time, at a reasonable cost, at an appropriate level of safety, and with the least practicable impact on the environment; and

WHEREAS, the Northern Virginia regional transportation infrastructure is inadequate and will become increasingly so; and

WHEREAS, the improvement of the region's transportation infrastructure is dependent upon identifying additional sources of revenue and strengthening jurisdictional and agency cooperation; and

WHEREAS, new funding authorities and mechanisms such as state and regional bonds, lines of credit, public-private partnerships, and private facilities have made significant interjurisdictional transportation improvements possible in the last decade and provide models to develop additional non-traditional funding mechanisms; and

WHEREAS, interstate cooperation in funding major transportation infrastructure needs to be expanded; and

WHEREAS, the region's quality of life and the development of its economy may be accelerated through improved regional cooperation and additional sources of transportation revenue; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That there be established a joint subcommittee to study the relationships and functions of existing transportation agencies and authorities and the need to create new agencies, restructure existing agencies, and/or combine existing agencies and authorities for the Northern Virginia region. The study shall consider critical unfunded transportation needs in Northern Virginia; funding mechanisms and revenue sources needed to meet those needs; the role of privatization and public-private financing; recommendations of the Transportation Coordinating Council of Northern Virginia relating to the relationships and functions among transportation planning and funding agencies in Northern Virginia; the need to participate in interjurisdictional and interstate agreements; multimodal planning; non-surface transportation; and the relationship of the Northern Virginia transportation functions of the Commonwealth of Virginia and its agencies, the federal government and its agencies, and to other public entities and authorities.

The joint subcommittee shall consist of 19 members as follows: five members of the House of Delegates and one citizen member residing in Northern Virginia, appointed by the Speaker of the House; three members of the Senate and one citizen member residing in Northern Virginia, appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections; four local Virginia county and city government elected officials (no more than one of whom comes from any single jurisdiction), one each to be selected by the Transportation Coordinating Council of Northern Virginia, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, the Potomac-Rappahanock Transportation Commission, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority; a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board from Virginia; a Virginia member of the Transportation Board; a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board who resides in the Northern Virginia Transportation District; the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or his designee; and the Treasurer of Virginia or his designee.

The direct costs of this study shall not exceed $ 8,750.

The Northern Virginia Construction District Office staff of the Department of Transportation shall provide staff support for the study.

The joint subcommittee shall report its findings and recommendations as to the need to create new, combine, and/or restructure existing, transportation agencies and authorities to more effectively meet the transportation needs of the Northern Virginia region to the Governor and General Assembly by June 1, 1997, as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for processing legislative documents.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may withhold expenditures or delay the period for the conduct of the study.