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1998 SESSION

987153443
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 281
Offered January 26, 1998
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study consolidation of transportation authorities in Northern Virginia.
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Patron-- Scott
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, an efficient multimodal and integrated intermodal transportation system is essential to the quality of life and economic vitality of all parts of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the need for a seamless transportation network is particularly acute in regions such as Northern Virginia, with large, high-density populations, huge and rapidly-growing traffic volumes, and numerous large but scattered centers of business, commercial, and cultural activity; and

WHEREAS, an effective transportation network must not only be efficient, but also safe -- capable of moving high volumes of people and goods quickly and at a reasonable cost, without sacrificing safety for speed or capacity; and

WHEREAS, whatever its other merits, any transportation system must, in its every aspect and operation, be acutely aware of and sensitively responsive to the need to not merely preserve, but actively improve the quality of the environment; and

WHEREAS, Northern Virginia's existing regional transportation system, in comparison with these desiderata, is deficient in many respects, and will inevitably become more inadequate without prompt and aggressive but careful and well-considered action; and

WHEREAS, the improvement of the region's transportation system depends at least as much on improving and strengthening interjurisdictional and inter-agency cooperation as it does on adequate sources of revenue; and

WHEREAS, a vital element in such endeavor must be the consolidation of the region's patchwork of transportation authorities, advisory panels, and other similar entities into a single, consolidated body (or at the very least, a reduced number of bodies) that can think, speak, act, and plan for the region as a whole; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That there be established a joint subcommittee to study the desirability and feasibility of consolidating the transportation authorities, advisory panels, and other similar entities responsible for or having an interest in transportation in Northern Virginia, into a single entity or a smaller number of entities. If the joint subcommittee recommends any such consolidation, it shall include in its report specific draft legislation to implement that recommendation.

The joint subcommittee shall consist of fifteen members as follows: nine members of the House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker of the House, and six members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections.

The direct costs of this study shall not exceed $ 15,750.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its work in time to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 1999 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of 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.