Assembly Bill No. 628–Committee on Transportation

March 19, 1999

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Referred to Committee on Transportation

 

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing public transit. (BDR 58-1602)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to public transit; exempting a common motor carrier that operates a public transit system which provides nonemergency medical transportation to certain persons from the requirement of obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity under certain circumstances; authorizing a regional transportation commission to establish or operate a public transit system that provides nonemergency medical transportation to certain persons under certain circumstances; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 706.745 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 706.745 1. The provisions of NRS 706.386 and 706.421 do not

1-3 apply to ambulances or hearses.

1-4 2. A common motor carrier [who] that enters into an agreement for the

1-5 purchase of its service by an incorporated city, county or regional

1-6 transportation commission is not required to obtain a certificate of public

1-7 convenience and necessity to operate a system of public transit consisting

1-8 of [regular] :

1-9 (a) Regular routes and fixed schedules [.] ; or

1-10 (b) Nonemergency medical transportation of persons to facilitate their

1-11 use of a center as defined in NRS 435.170, if the transportation is

1-12 available upon request and without regard to regular routes or fixed

1-13 schedules.

1-14 Under such an agreement, the public entity shall establish the routes

1-15 required by paragraph (a) and the fares , and provide for any required

1-16 safety inspections.

2-1 3. A nonprofit carrier of elderly or physically or mentally handicapped

2-2 persons is not required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and

2-3 necessity to operate as a common motor carrier of such passengers only,

2-4 but such a carrier is not exempt from inspection by the authority to

2-5 determine whether its vehicles and their operation are safe.

2-6 4. An incorporated city, county or regional transportation commission

2-7 is not required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity

2-8 to operate a system of public transportation.

2-9 Sec. 2. NRS 373.117 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-10 373.117 1. A regional transportation commission may establish or

2-11 operate a public transit system consisting of [regular] :

2-12 (a) Regular routes and fixed schedules to serve the public [.] ; or

2-13 (b) Nonemergency medical transportation of persons to facilitate their

2-14 use of a center as defined in NRS 435.170, if the transportation is

2-15 available upon request and without regard to regular routes or fixed

2-16 schedules.

2-17 2. A regional transportation commission may lease vehicles to or from

2-18 or enter into other contracts with a private operator for the provision of

2-19 such a system.

2-20 3. In a county whose population is less than 400,000, such a system

2-21 may also provide service which includes:

2-22 (a) Minor deviations from the regular routes and fixed schedules

2-23 required by paragraph (a) of subsection 1 on a recurring basis to serve the

2-24 public transportation needs of passengers. The deviations must not exceed

2-25 one-half mile from the regular routes.

2-26 (b) The transporting of persons other than those specified in paragraph

2-27 (b) of subsection 1 upon request without regard to regular routes or fixed

2-28 schedules, if the service is provided by a common motor carrier which has

2-29 a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the

2-30 transportation services authority pursuant to NRS 706.386 to 706.411,

2-31 inclusive, and the service is subject to the rules and regulations adopted by

2-32 the transportation services authority for a fully regulated carrier.

2-33 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 332 of NRS or NRS

2-34 625.530, a regional transportation commission may utilize a turnkey

2-35 procurement process to select a person to design, build, operate and

2-36 maintain, or any combination thereof, a fixed guideway system, including,

2-37 without limitation, any minimum operable segment thereof. The

2-38 commission shall determine whether to utilize turnkey procurement for a

2-39 fixed guideway project before the completion of the preliminary

2-40 engineering phase of the project. In making that determination, the

2-41 commission shall evaluate whether turnkey procurement is the most cost

2-42 effective method of constructing the project on schedule and in satisfaction

2-43 of its transportation objectives.

3-1 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 332 of NRS, a regional

3-2 transportation commission may utilize a competitive negotiation

3-3 procurement process to procure rolling stock for a fixed guideway project.

3-4 The award of a contract under such a process must be made to the person

3-5 whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the

3-6 commission, based on price and other factors specified in the procurement

3-7 documents.

3-8 6. If a commission develops a fixed guideway project, the department

3-9 of transportation is hereby designated to serve as the oversight agency to

3-10 ensure compliance with the federal safety regulations for rail fixed

3-11 guideway systems set forth in 49 C.F.R. Part 659.

3-12 7. As used in this section:

3-13 (a) "Fully regulated carrier" means a common carrier or contract carrier

3-14 of passengers or household goods who is required to obtain from the

3-15 transportation services authority a certificate of public convenience and

3-16 necessity or a contract carrier’s permit and whose rates, routes and services

3-17 are subject to regulation by the transportation services authority.

3-18 (b) "Minimum operable segment" means the shortest portion of a fixed

3-19 guideway system that is technically capable of providing viable public

3-20 transportation between two end points.

3-21 (c) "Public transit system" means a system employing motor buses, rails

3-22 or any other means of conveyance, by whatever type of power, operated

3-23 for public use in the conveyance of persons.

3-24 (d) "Turnkey procurement" means a competitive procurement process

3-25 by which a person is selected by a regional transportation commission,

3-26 based on evaluation criteria established by the commission, to design,

3-27 build, operate and maintain, or any combination thereof, a fixed guideway

3-28 system, or a portion thereof, in accordance with performance criteria and

3-29 technical specifications established by the commission.

3-30 Sec. 3. NRS 377A.130 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-31 377A.130 A public transit system may, in addition to providing local

3-32 transportation within a county, provide:

3-33 1. Services to assist commuters in communicating with others to share

3-34 rides;

3-35 2. Transportation for elderly persons and the handicapped [;] ,

3-36 including, without limitation, nonemergency medical transportation of

3-37 persons to facilitate their use of a center as defined in NRS 435.170;

3-38 3. Parking for the convenience of passengers on the system; and

3-39 4. Stations and other necessary facilities to ensure the comfort and

3-40 safety of passengers.

3-41 Sec. 4. NRS 377A.140 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-42 377A.140 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a public

3-43 transit system in a county whose population is 400,000 or more may, in

4-1 addition to providing local transportation within the county and the

4-2 services described in NRS 377A.130, provide:

4-3 (a) Programs to reduce or manage motor vehicle traffic; and

4-4 (b) Any other services for a public transit system which are requested

4-5 by the general public,

4-6 if those additional services are included and described in a long-range plan

4-7 adopted pursuant to 23 U.S.C. § 134 and 49 U.S.C. § 5303.

4-8 2. Before a regional transportation commission may provide for an on-

4-9 call public transit system in an area of the county, other than an on-call

4-10 public transit system that provides the nonemergency medical

4-11 transportation described in NRS 377A.130, the commission must receive

4-12 a determination from the transportation services authority that:

4-13 (a) There are no common motor carriers of passengers who are

4-14 authorized to provide on-call operations for transporting passengers in that

4-15 area; or

4-16 (b) Although there are common motor carriers of passengers who are

4-17 authorized to provide on-call operations for transporting passengers in the

4-18 area, the common motor carriers of passengers do not wish to provide, or

4-19 are not capable of providing, those operations.

4-20 3. As used in this section:

4-21 (a) "Common motor carrier of passengers" has the meaning ascribed to

4-22 it in NRS 706.041.

4-23 (b) "On-call public transit system" means a system established to

4-24 transport passengers only upon the request of a person who needs

4-25 transportation.

4-26 Sec. 5. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1999.

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