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 certain transportation services from the requirement of obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity under certain circumstances; providing that a regional transportation commission, certain less populous counties and incorporated cities within such counties are not required to obtain such a certificate to operate a system of public transportation under certain circumstances; expanding the authorized purposes of interlocal contracts to include the joint use or operation of a system of public transportation; authorizing a regional transportation commission, certain less populous counties and incorporated cities within such counties to establish or operate a public transit system that provides certain services to serve certain specified persons and the public; 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 apply

1-3 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 [.] ;

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

2-1 available upon request and without regard to regular routes or fixed

2-2 schedules; or

2-3 (c) Transportation of elderly or physically or mentally handicapped

2-4 persons without regard to regular routes or fixed schedules.

2-5 Under such an agreement, the public entity shall establish the routes

2-6 required by paragraph (a) and the fares , and provide for any required

2-7 safety inspections.

2-8 3. A nonprofit carrier of elderly or physically or mentally handicapped

2-9 persons is not required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and

2-10 necessity to operate as a common motor carrier of such passengers only,

2-11 but such a carrier is not exempt from inspection by the authority to

2-12 determine whether its vehicles and their operation are safe.

2-13 4. [An incorporated city, county or] A regional transportation

2-14 commission , a county whose population is less than 100,000 or an

2-15 incorporated city within such a county is not required to obtain a

2-16 certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate a system of

2-17 public transportation [.] by itself or through an independent contractor.

2-18 Sec. 2. NRS 277.180 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-19 277.180 1. Any one or more public agencies may contract with any

2-20 one or more other public agencies to perform any governmental service,

2-21 activity or undertaking which any of the public agencies entering into the

2-22 contract is authorized by law to perform. Such a contract [shall] must be

2-23 ratified by appropriate official action of the governing body of each party

2-24 to the contract as a condition precedent to its entry into force. Such a

2-25 contract [shall] must set forth fully the purposes, powers, rights, objectives

2-26 and responsibilities of the contracting parties.

2-27 2. The authorized purposes of agreements made pursuant to subsection

2-28 1 include , but are not limited to:

2-29 (a) The joint use of hospitals, road construction and repair equipment,

2-30 and such other facilities or services as may and can be reasonably used for

2-31 the promotion and protection of the health and welfare of the inhabitants of

2-32 this state.

2-33 (b) The joint use of county and city personnel, equipment and facilities,

2-34 including sewer systems, drainage systems, street lighting systems, fire

2-35 alarm systems, sewage disposal plants, playgrounds, parks and recreational

2-36 facilities, and public buildings constructed by or under the supervision of

2-37 the board of county commissioners or the city council of the county and

2-38 city concerned, upon such terms and agreements, and within such areas

2-39 within the county as may be determined, for the promotion and protection

2-40 of health, comfort, safety, life, welfare and property of the inhabitants of

2-41 the counties and cities.

2-42 (c) The joint employment of clerks, stenographers and other employees

2-43 in the offices of the city and county auditor, city and county assessor, city

3-1 and county treasurer, or any other joint city and county office existing or

3-2 hereafter established in the several counties, upon such terms and

3-3 conditions as may be determined for the equitable apportionment of the

3-4 expenses of the joint city and county office.

3-5 (d) The joint and cooperative use of fire-fighting and fire-protection

3-6 equipment for the protection of property and the prevention and

3-7 suppression of fire.

3-8 (e) The joint use of county and city personnel, equipment and facilities,

3-9 upon such terms and conditions, and within such areas within the county as

3-10 may be determined, for the promotion and protection of the health of the

3-11 inhabitants of the county and city through the regulation, control and

3-12 prohibition of the excessive emission of dense smoke and air pollution.

3-13 (f) The joint and cooperative use of law enforcement agencies.

3-14 (g) The joint use or operation of a system of public transportation.

3-15 3. Each public agency which has entered into an agreement pursuant to

3-16 this section shall annually at the time of preparing its budget include an

3-17 estimate of the expenses necessary to carry out such agreement, the funds

3-18 for which are not made available through grant, gift or other source, and

3-19 provide for such expense as other items are provided in its budget. Each

3-20 such public agency may furnish property, personnel or services as

3-21 necessary to carry out the agreement.

3-22 Sec. 3. NRS 373.117 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-23 373.117 1. A regional transportation commission , a county whose

3-24 population is less than 100,000 or an incorporated city within such a

3-25 county may establish or operate a public transit system consisting of

3-26 [regular] :

3-27 (a) Regular routes and fixed schedules to serve the public [.] ;

3-28 (b) Nonemergency medical transportation of persons to facilitate their

3-29 use of a center as defined in NRS 435.170, if the transportation is

3-30 available upon request and without regard to regular routes or fixed

3-31 schedules; or

3-32 (c) Other routes to serve the public.

3-33 2. A regional transportation commission may lease vehicles to or from

3-34 or enter into other contracts with a private operator for the provision of

3-35 such a system.

3-36 3. In a county whose population is less than 400,000, such a system

3-37 may also provide service which includes:

3-38 (a) Minor deviations from the regular routes and fixed schedules

3-39 required by paragraph (a) of subsection 1 on a recurring basis to serve the

3-40 public transportation needs of passengers. The deviations must not exceed

3-41 one-half mile from the regular routes.

3-42 (b) The transporting of persons other than those specified in paragraph

3-43 (b) of subsection 1 upon request without regard to regular routes or fixed

4-1 schedules, if the service is provided by a common motor carrier which has

4-2 a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the

4-3 transportation services authority pursuant to NRS 706.386 to 706.411,

4-4 inclusive, and the service is subject to the rules and regulations adopted by

4-5 the transportation services authority for a fully regulated carrier.

4-6 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 332 of NRS or NRS

4-7 625.530, a regional transportation commission may utilize a turnkey

4-8 procurement process to select a person to design, build, operate and

4-9 maintain, or any combination thereof, a fixed guideway system, including,

4-10 without limitation, any minimum operable segment thereof. The

4-11 commission shall determine whether to utilize turnkey procurement for a

4-12 fixed guideway project before the completion of the preliminary

4-13 engineering phase of the project. In making that determination, the

4-14 commission shall evaluate whether turnkey procurement is the most cost

4-15 effective method of constructing the project on schedule and in satisfaction

4-16 of its transportation objectives.

4-17 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 332 of NRS, a regional

4-18 transportation commission may utilize a competitive negotiation

4-19 procurement process to procure rolling stock for a fixed guideway project.

4-20 The award of a contract under such a process must be made to the person

4-21 whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the

4-22 commission, based on price and other factors specified in the procurement

4-23 documents.

4-24 6. If a commission develops a fixed guideway project, the department

4-25 of transportation is hereby designated to serve as the oversight agency to

4-26 ensure compliance with the federal safety regulations for rail fixed

4-27 guideway systems set forth in 49 C.F.R. Part 659.

4-28 7. As used in this section:

4-29 (a) "Fully regulated carrier" means a common carrier or contract carrier

4-30 of passengers or household goods who is required to obtain from the

4-31 transportation services authority a certificate of public convenience and

4-32 necessity or a contract carrier’s permit and whose rates, routes and services

4-33 are subject to regulation by the transportation services authority.

4-34 (b) "Minimum operable segment" means the shortest portion of a fixed

4-35 guideway system that is technically capable of providing viable public

4-36 transportation between two end points.

4-37 (c) "Public transit system" means a system employing motor buses, rails

4-38 or any other means of conveyance, by whatever type of power, operated for

4-39 public use in the conveyance of persons.

4-40 (d) "Turnkey procurement" means a competitive procurement process

4-41 by which a person is selected by a regional transportation commission,

4-42 based on evaluation criteria established by the commission, to design,

4-43 build, operate and maintain, or any combination thereof, a fixed guideway

5-1 system, or a portion thereof, in accordance with performance criteria and

5-2 technical specifications established by the commission.

5-3 Sec. 4. NRS 377A.130 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-4 377A.130 A public transit system may, in addition to providing local

5-5 transportation within a county, provide:

5-6 1. Services to assist commuters in communicating with others to share

5-7 rides;

5-8 2. Transportation for elderly persons and the handicapped [;] ,

5-9 including, without limitation, nonemergency medical transportation of

5-10 persons to facilitate their use of a center as defined in NRS 435.170;

5-11 3. Parking for the convenience of passengers on the system; [and]

5-12 4. Stations and other necessary facilities to ensure the comfort and

5-13 safety of passengers [.] ; and

5-14 5. Transportation that is available without regard to regular routes

5-15 or fixed schedules, if the public transit system is operated by a regional

5-16 transportation commission, a county whose population is less than

5-17 100,000 or an incorporated city within such a county.

5-18 Sec. 5. NRS 377A.140 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-19 377A.140 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a public

5-20 transit system in a county whose population is 400,000 or more may, in

5-21 addition to providing local transportation within the county and the services

5-22 described in NRS 377A.130, provide:

5-23 (a) Programs to reduce or manage motor vehicle traffic; and

5-24 (b) Any other services for a public transit system which are requested by

5-25 the general public,

5-26 if those additional services are included and described in a long-range plan

5-27 adopted pursuant to 23 U.S.C. § 134 and 49 U.S.C. § 5303.

5-28 2. Before a regional transportation commission may provide for an on-

5-29 call public transit system in an area of the county, other than an on-call

5-30 public transit system that provides the nonemergency medical

5-31 transportation described in NRS 377A.130, the commission must receive a

5-32 determination from the transportation services authority that:

5-33 (a) There are no common motor carriers of passengers who are

5-34 authorized to provide on-call operations for transporting passengers in that

5-35 area; or

5-36 (b) Although there are common motor carriers of passengers who are

5-37 authorized to provide on-call operations for transporting passengers in the

5-38 area, the common motor carriers of passengers do not wish to provide, or

5-39 are not capable of providing, those operations.

5-40 3. As used in this section:

5-41 (a) "Common motor carrier of passengers" has the meaning ascribed to

5-42 it in NRS 706.041.

6-1 (b) "On-call public transit system" means a system established to

6-2 transport passengers only upon the request of a person who needs

6-3 transportation.

6-4 Sec. 6. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1999.

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