State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
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90_HB3870

      New Act
      30 ILCS 740/2-13.01 new
      70 ILCS 3605/7b new
      70 ILCS 3610/5.4 new
      70 ILCS 3615/2.25 new
          Creates the  Public  Transportation  Consumer  Protection
      Act.   Provides that transit operators shall seek competitive
      proposals on at least 10% of  their  services  on  an  annual
      basis.   Provides  for the establishment of minimum standards
      for private transit  operators  and  contracts.   Establishes
      procedures  for  competitive bidding.  Provides for audits of
      service   providers.     Amends    the    Downstate    Public
      Transportation  Act,  the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act,
      the  Local  Mass  Transit  District  Act,  and  the  Regional
      Transportation Authority Act to make those  Acts  subject  to
      the Public Transportation Consumer Protection Act.
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                                               LRB9011699MWpc
 1        AN ACT concerning public transportation.
 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:
 4        Section 1.  Short title.  This Act may be  cited  as  the
 5    Public Transportation Consumer Protection Act.
 6        Section  5.  Legislative findings.  The legislature finds
 7    and declares that:
 8        (a)  Public  transportation  services  are  provided   to
 9    assist  in  the transit of the dependent and the economically
10    disadvantaged, to relieve congestion,  and  to  minimize  the
11    automobile pollution;
12        (b)  Protection  of consumers, the public transit riders,
13    and taxpayers, requires that public transportation service be
14    provided at the lowest possible cost consistent with  service
15    and safety standards;
16        (c)  Private  transportation  providers  have  been  used
17    under  competitive contracts to provide public transportation
18    services at lower costs and with lower annual cost increases;
19        (d)  Decisions on whether a public transportation service
20    should be operated by a public agency or  a  private  company
21    should  be  made  on  economic  considerations rather than on
22    institutional considerations;
23        (e)  Obtaining  cost  effective   public   transportation
24    services  requires  a competitive environment and a mechanism
25    for competitive contracting of those services; and
26        (f)  Facilities  and  vehicles   purchased   for   public
27    transportation service are public assets that are held in the
28    public  trust  for  service  to public transit riders and the
29    taxpayers.
30        Section 10.  Definitions.  As used in  this  Act,  unless
                            -2-                LRB9011699MWpc
 1    the context otherwise requires:
 2        "Attributable  fully  allocated cost" means the operating
 3    and capital cost of a public transportation service including
 4    the direct costs of driver  labor  and  benefits  based  upon
 5    actual   driver  work  assignments  for  the  service  and  a
 6    reasonable allocation of  costs  for  replacement  and  spare
 7    drivers  and  all  other costs of providing and administering
 8    transportation and maintenance for  the  service,  minus  the
 9    cost of any function not to be competitively contracted.
10        "Public   transit  operator"  means  any  public  agency,
11    district, or  authority  that  provides  or  sponsors  public
12    transportation service and receives a public subsidy.
13        Section 15.  Competitive proposals.
14        (a)  On  an  annual  basis,  each public transit operator
15    shall seek competitive proposals  on  at  least  10%  of  its
16    paratransit  and  fixed  route  bus service, unless otherwise
17    prohibited  by  law.    The   annual   competitive   proposal
18    requirement  shall  be met only by the requests for proposals
19    or bids for services not currently operated under competitive
20    proposals.  Any paratransit and fixed route services operated
21    through competitive contracts on the effective date  of  this
22    Act  will  not  count  toward  any  annual  requirement.   In
23    addition  to  the annual requirement, all new paratransit and
24    fixed route services shall be competitively bid.  The  annual
25    competitive  proposal  requirements  shall  be based upon the
26    annual service hours for  the  last  fiscal  year  for  which
27    information is available.
28        (b)  Notwithstanding  the requirements of subsection (a),
29    the competitive contracting required under this Act shall  be
30    accomplished   through   attrition   of  the  public  transit
31    operator's full time drivers and mechanics in the  employ  of
32    the  public  transit  operator  on the effective date of this
33    Act.  A  public  transit  operator  may  hire  new  permanent
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 1    drivers and mechanics only to the extent necessary to operate
 2    services  that  the  public transit operator has been awarded
 3    through competitive proposals.
 4        (c)  Any services operated under competitive proposals on
 5    or after the effective date of this Act shall be subject to a
 6    new competitive proposal at least every 5 years.  In no  case
 7    shall  a  service  operated  under  competitive  proposal  be
 8    returned  to  operation  not subject to competitive proposal.
 9    Renewal options that extend a contract beyond 5  years  shall
10    be prohibited.
11        (d)  The  public  transit  operator  shall  determine the
12    routes, schedules, and fares that are to be included  in  any
13    request for proposals or bids.
14        (e)  Savings   obtained   through   competitive   service
15    provisions shall be used only for consumer benefit, including
16    increased  service levels, establishing new services, reduced
17    passenger fares, new capital facilities, and the reduction of
18    public transportation subsidies.
19        (f)  Each  public  transit  operator  shall  make   buses
20    purchased  after the effective date of this Act available for
21    operations   under   competitive   proposals    by    private
22    transportation providers under nominal leases.
23        (g)  Each  public  transit operator shall maintain a list
24    of interested proposers that shall include all  organizations
25    that  have  requested  inclusion  on  the  list.   The public
26    transit  operator  shall  advertise  for  additions  to   the
27    interested  proposers  list  at  least annually in accordance
28    with its general procurement policy.
29        (h)  A public transit operator may replace  service  with
30    alternative  service  provision  methods  through competitive
31    proposals  if  the  public   transit   operator   finds   the
32    alternative service methods to be in the public interest.
33        (i)  A  public  transit  operator  may execute negotiated
34    contracts with one or more private  transportation  providers
                            -4-                LRB9011699MWpc
 1    to  operate any service on an interim basis in the event that
 2    the public transit operator determines the  operation  to  be
 3    required by the public welfare.  Any service operated under a
 4    negotiated  contract shall be subject to competitive proposal
 5    within 12 months of negotiated contract service commencement.
 6        (j)  A  public  transit  authority  operating   with   an
 7    exclusive  charter  may  not  prevent  any  private  operator
 8    qualified  to  provide  service  under Section 20 of this Act
 9    from operating  fixed  route  or  paratransit  service  if  a
10    subsidy  is not required to operate the service.  The private
11    operator  has  the  right  to   establish   fares   for   the
12    unsudsidized service.
13        Section 20.  Standards.
14        (a)  Within  6  months  after  the effective date of this
15    Act, each public transit operator shall promulgate reasonable
16    standards with respect to  experience,  safety  records,  and
17    financial  responsibility  by  which  private  transportation
18    providers can be qualified to provide public transit services
19    under  this  Act.   The  standards  shall  not be designed to
20    restrict  the  number  of  eligible   participants   in   the
21    competitive proposal process.
22        (b)  Within  6  months  after  the effective date of this
23    Act, each public transit operator shall  prepare  a  standard
24    form  or  contract  to  provide public transit services.  The
25    contract shall include:
26             (1)  Reasonable  passenger  comfort,   safety,   and
27        vehicle maintenance standards.
28             (2)  Reasonable   standards  for  access  to  public
29        transit services for persons with disabilities that shall
30        be as specified in the public transit operator's plan for
31        those services.
32             (3)  Reasonable standards for  training  and  safety
33        records to be required of any driver.
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 1             (4)  Requirements     for    reasonable    insurance
 2        protecting the public transit operator from liability for
 3        the   acts,   negligence,   or   omissions   of   private
 4        transportation  providers,  their   agents,   and   their
 5        employees.
 6             (5)  Reasonable   standards   for   reliability  and
 7        on-time performance.
 8             (6)  Reasonable     penalties     for     inadequate
 9        performance,  including  the  public  transit  operator's
10        right to cancel contracts.
11             (7)  Reasonable   bonuses   and    incentives    for
12        performance well above established standards.
13             (8)  Provisions  and  standards  for  the use of the
14        public transit operator's logo, transfers, transit  ways,
15        bus  stops,  vehicles,  and  any  other elements that are
16        owned  by  the  public  transit  operator  and  that  are
17        appropriate  for  use  by  the   private   transportation
18        providers under contract to the public transit operator.
19        (c)  A  public  transit  operator  may  not establish any
20    requirement relating to the wages, benefits, work rules, work
21    conditions, or union organization  of  contractor  employees.
22    All   contractors   shall   comply  with  and  give  adequate
23    certification of compliance with all applicable  federal  and
24    State labor laws.
25        (d)  No  change  in  the  contract  payment  amount  to a
26    private transportation  provider  shall  be  made  except  as
27    specified  in  the  contract.   Payment changes in a contract
28    shall be limited to indices, escalators,  deflators,  changes
29    in  service  level,  and other expressly stated or calculable
30    amounts consistent with the  request  for  proposal  and  the
31    proposal  of  the private transportation provider awarded the
32    contract.
33        (e)  Contract expiration dates shall be  rotated  to  the
34    maximum  extent  feasible  to minimize the number of contract
                            -6-                LRB9011699MWpc
 1    awards under consideration at any particular time.
 2        (f)  Public transit operators shall have in place  within
 3    6  months  after  the effective date of this Act a method for
 4    receiving   and   considering    proposals    from    private
 5    transportation providers.
 6        Section 25.  Requests for proposals.
 7        (a)  Each request for proposals or bids shall specify the
 8    route,  service  frequency,  and  fares  as determined by the
 9    public transit operator.
10        (b)  The public transit operator shall  seek  the  widest
11    reasonable  distribution of each request for proposal or bids
12    and at a minimum shall send each  request  for  proposals  or
13    bids  to  each  organization on the interested proposers list
14    and  to  each  additional  organization  that  requests   the
15    specific request for proposals or bids.
16        (c)  The  public  transit  operator  shall advertise each
17    request for proposals or bids within 10 days  after  issuance
18    and in accordance with its general procurement policy.
19        (d)  Submittal of proposals or bids shall be required not
20    less than 45 days after the advertisement date.
21        (e)  Services   shall  commence  under  any  request  for
22    proposal or bids within  120  days  after  the  deadline  for
23    proposals  or  bids  but not less than 8 weeks after the date
24    the contract is awarded.
25        (f)  No  single  request  for  proposals  or  bids  shall
26    include more than a 50 bus peak requirement.
27        (g)  Any qualified private  transportation  provider  may
28    respond  to  any  request for proposals or bids.  Each public
29    transit operator shall  ensure  that  disadvantaged  business
30    enterprises, as defined in part 23 of title 49 of the Code of
31    Federal  Regulations,  have the greatest possible opportunity
32    to respond.
33        (h)  With respect to each request for proposals  or  bids
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 1    the  public  transit operator shall award the contract to the
 2    private transportation provider or  public  transit  operator
 3    whose  responsible  and responsive proposal or bid offers the
 4    lowest cost.
 5        (i)  No company, subsidiary of a  company,  parent  of  a
 6    company,  or  company related to a company holding a contract
 7    to manage the public transit operator shall be  qualified  to
 8    submit  a  proposal  or  bid  or  be  awarded any contract to
 9    operate public transportation services for the public transit
10    operator.
11        Section 30.  Proposals from public transit operators.
12        (a)  A  public  transit  operator,  including  a   public
13    transit  operator  issuing  the  competitive procurement, may
14    submit a proposal or bid and be awarded any  service  subject
15    to the following conditions:
16             (1)  It  submits a sealed proposal or bid before the
17        advertised  deadline  for  the  proposals  or  bids,  the
18        proposal or bid is not altered after that  deadline,  and
19        the proposal or bid is publicly opened at the deadline.
20             (2)  Any  labor provision assumed in the proposal or
21        bid shall be  either  specified  in  currently  effective
22        labor  contracts  or  executed before the proposal or bid
23        deadline in a written and binding agreement  between  the
24        public   transportation   operator  and  the  appropriate
25        organization.
26             (3)  It  takes  reasonable  steps   to   ensure   an
27        objective   and   fair   evaluation   process   including
28        prohibition  of  proposal or bid evaluation participation
29        by  personnel  or  departments  that  were  involved   in
30        preparing  the  public transportation operator's proposal
31        or bid.
32             (4)  Its proposal or bid price is not less than  its
33        attributable  fully  allocated  cost for the service, its
                            -8-                LRB9011699MWpc
 1        proposal or bid price is not based  on  part  time  labor
 2        provisions  or  other  less  costly labor provisions to a
 3        greater percentage than those provisions are employed  in
 4        the  public  transportation  operator's  fixed  route bus
 5        services that have  not  been  subjected  to  competitive
 6        proposals,  and  its  proposal or bid price is consistent
 7        with currently adopted budgets and financial plans.
 8             (5)  It shall make  or  be  bound  by  no  contract,
 9        agreement,  or assurance that creates or extends any form
10        of  obligation  for  continued  employment  or   employee
11        compensation,  except  for  pension,  beyond the contract
12        expiration date under the provisions of the  request  for
13        proposal or bid for employees assigned to the service.
14             (6)  It shall be bound by the same terms, conditions
15        and  performance,  and  other  standards  as  would  have
16        applied  to a private transportation provider awarded the
17        contract under the request for proposal or bid.
18             (7)  Its  costs  per  service  hour,  exclusive   of
19        capital  costs, for services that have not been subjected
20        to competitive proposals shall not at  any  point  during
21        the  contract  rise by a percentage greater than the cost
22        per service hour, exclusive of  capital  costs,  for  the
23        competitive  service  in  the  private transit operator's
24        proposal or bid for the corresponding period.
25                  (A)  Each adopted budget or budget revision and
26             each  United  States  Department  of  Transportation
27             Urban Mass Transportation Administration Section  15
28             annual  report  shall  be  reviewed  by  the  public
29             transit  operator  to determine compliance with this
30             provision.
31                  (B)  If  the  public  transit  operator's  cost
32             performance  is  not  in   compliance   with   these
33             provisions,   the   public  transit  operator  shall
34             relinquish  the  contract  and  a  new  request  for
                            -9-                LRB9011699MWpc
 1             proposal or bid for  the  service  shall  be  issued
 2             within 90 days.
 3        Section   35.  Audits;   funds   of   the  Department  of
 4    Transportation.
 5        (a)  Each public transit operator shall contract with  an
 6    independent  certified accounting firm, other than the public
 7    transit  operator's  regular  auditor,  for  a  neutral   and
 8    unbiased  performance  audit  to be completed and reported to
 9    the legislature within 2 years after the  effective  date  of
10    this  Act.   The  performance  shall  analyze  in  a fair and
11    equitable fashion the implementation of this  Act  including,
12    but  no  limited to, compliance with the competitive proposal
13    requirement,  equitable  administration  of  the  competitive
14    proposal process, compliance  with  fully  allocated  costing
15    requirements, the level of the contract compliance by private
16    transportation providers, the cost of the compliance, whether
17    the costs will be recurring or may be reduced, application of
18    savings  to  consumer  benefit,  and  taxes  paid  by private
19    transportation providers.
20        (b)  The Illinois Department of Transportation shall  not
21    dispense  funds  to  public  transit  operators  found not in
22    compliance with this Act at any time after 2 years  from  the
23    effective  date  of  this  Act.   Disbursement  of funds will
24    resume when the public transit operator  complies  with  this
25    Act.
26        Section 40.  Facilities.
27        (a)  The   planning   of   all   maintenance  facilities,
28    operations facilities, and garages shall include  a  thorough
29    review  of  competitive  alternatives available for efficient
30    development, management, operations, or  any  combination  of
31    development,  management,  or operation for those facilities.
32    The planning process  shall  include  private  transportation
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 1    providers  and  any  application for funding assistance shall
 2    include a full description of the alternatives reviewed.
 3        (b)  No  public  transit  vehicle   or   maintenance   or
 4    operations  facility  purchased or leased after the effective
 5    date of  this  Act  shall  be  encumbered  by  any  contract,
 6    agreement,  or  assurance  that  limits  its  use  by private
 7    transportation service under contracts, subject to the policy
 8    control of the public transit operator.
 9        Section 45.  Contracts affecting compliance with Act.  No
10    public transit  operator  shall  make  or  be  bound  by  any
11    contract,  agreement, or assurance that restricts its ability
12    to comply with this Act  in  any  respect,  unless  otherwise
13    prohibited by law.
14        Section  800.  The Downstate Public Transportation Act is
15    amended by adding Section 2-13.01 as follows:
16        (30 ILCS 740/2-13.01 new)
17        Sec. 2-13.01.  Public Transportation Consumer  Protection
18    Act.   Funds  disbursed  under  this  Act  are subject to the
19    requirements of  Section  35  of  the  Public  Transportation
20    Consumer Protection Act.
21        Section  805.   The Metropolitan Transit Authority Act is
22    amended by adding Section 7b as follows:
23        (70 ILCS 3605/7b new)
24        Sec. 7b.  Public Transportation Consumer Protection  Act.
25    Contracts  entered  into  under  this  Act are subject to the
26    requirements of the Public Transportation Consumer Protection
27    Act.
28        Section 810.  The Local  Mass  Transit  District  Act  is
                            -11-               LRB9011699MWpc
 1    amended by adding Section 5.4 as follows:
 2        (70 ILCS 3610/5.4 new)
 3        Sec.  5.4. Public Transportation Consumer Protection Act.
 4    Contracts entered into under this  Act  are  subject  to  the
 5    requirements of the Public Transportation Consumer Protection
 6    Act.
 7        Section  815.   The Regional Transportation Authority Act
 8    is amended by adding Section 2.25 as follows:
 9        (70 ILCS 3615/2.25 new)
10        Sec. 2.25. Public Transportation Consumer Protection Act.
11    Contracts entered into under this  Act  are  subject  to  the
12    requirements of the Public Transportation Consumer Protection
13    Act.

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