MINUTES OF THE
SENATE Committee on Transportation
Seventy-First Session
May 10, 2001
The Senate Committee on Transportationwas called to order by Chairman William R. O'Donnell, at 3:43 p.m., on Thursday, May 10, 2001, in Room 2149 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. The meeting was video conferenced to the Grant Sawyer Office Building, Room 4401, Las Vegas, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator William R. O'Donnell, Chairman
Senator Mark Amodei, Vice Chairman
Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen
Senator Raymond C. Shaffer
Senator Terry Care
Senator Maggie Carlton
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Maurice Washington (Excused)
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Senator Dean A. Rhoads, Northern Nevada Senatorial District
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Donald O. Williams, Committee Policy Analyst
Alice Nevin, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Dave Larsen, Concerned Citizen
Sandi McGrew Stanio, Statewide Transit Coordinator, Nevada Department of Transportation
Ray Jones, Concerned Citizen
Gary Julian, Concerned Citizen
Stephanie Licht, Lobbyist, Elko County Board of Commissioners
Marc Reynolds, General Manager, Carson City Community Transportation
Chairman O'Donnell:
I will open the hearing on Assembly Bill (A.B.) 643.
ASSEMBLY BILL 643: Provides for issuance of special license plates for antique trucks and truck-tractors and authorizes owner or operator of motor vehicle displaying special license plates for disabled veteran to park in space designated for handicapped persons under certain circumstances. (BDR 43-1019)
Chairman O'Donnell:
We have a conflict notice on this bill which needs to be addressed. The bill conflicts with Senate Bill (S.B.) 374, which is enrolled and has been sent to the Governor.
SENATE BILL 374: Revises provisions concerning duty to erect and maintain signs to designate parking spaces for use by handicapped persons. (BDR 43-710)
Dave Larsen, Concerned Citizen:
I live in Verdi, Nevada, and I am a member of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the American Truck Historical Society. I have a packet of information for each committee member (Exhibit C. Original is on file in the Research Library.) and a copy of my testimony for the record (Exhibit D).
Chairman O'Donnell:
Does this bill give you an exemption?
Mr. Larsen:
Assembly Bill 643 would exempt the weight fees. The first issuance of the license plate would be $15 and the renewal would be $5 per year, provided the antique trucks or truck-tractors meet certain criteria, such as over 25 years of age; designed to carry over one ton; used only for antique truck shows, exhibitions, parades or similar activities.
Chairman O'Donnell:
Basically, you are using the license plate registration as the determinant for allowing the exemption. What about the portion of the bill that has to do with handicapped persons?
Mr. Larsen:
That is a different portion of the bill and I cannot address that issue.
Donald O. Williams, Committee Policy Analyst:
Section 4, subsection 2 of A.B. 643 amends the law regarding disabled veterans’ plates. It provides that vehicles displaying these plates and being driven by a veteran, or carrying him as a passenger, may park in handicapped spaces without displaying a handicapped placard. I do not know the source of that amendment. I would be glad to research that for the committee.
Chairman O'Donnell:
Section 4, subsection 2 of A.B. 643 says:
An owner or operator of a motor vehicle displaying special plates for a disabled veteran issued pursuant to NRS [Nevada Revised Statutes] 482.377 may, without displaying a special license plate, placard or sticker issued pursuant to NRS 482.384, park in a parking space designated for the handicapped if: (a) The parking is done by a disabled veteran; or (b) A disabled veteran is a passenger in the motor vehicle being parked.
Mr. Williams, please research who amended the bill and why it was amended.
Mr. Larsen:
Should I be concerned with the conflict notice?
Chairman O'Donnell:
No, it deals with the disabled section of the bill.
Mr. Larsen:
I am a retired Lieutenant from the California Highway Patrol and my interpretation of that section of the bill is to park in a handicapped parking place, you have to have a license plate or placard that has the wheelchair symbol on it. What they are trying to do is say additionally, anyone with a disabled veterans’ plate can park in that parking spot without securing the disabled license plate or placard.
Chairman O'Donnell:
The veterans’ plate has the words disabled veteran but not the international handicapped symbol.
We will close the hearing on A.B. 643 and open the hearing on Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.R.) 13.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 13: Expresses support for certain applications for capital grant funding from Federal Transit Administration and urges Nevada Congressional Delegation to pursue attainment of these grants. (BDR R-1522)
Sandi McGrew Stanio, Statewide Transit Coordinator, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT):
We (NDOT) administer and manage the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) dollars for the State of Nevada. In 1998, we had about $400,000 of FTA money to provide public transportation for the small urban and rural areas of the state. With the passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century or TEA-21, two things happened to the Nevada program. Our funding was increased to $600,000 and a new grant became available, called FTA Job Access.
The FTA Job Access grant was part of the welfare-to-work program and was used to transport people to jobs. The job access grant, combined with other federal dollars, provided the startup of public transportation in the small urban and rural areas of the state. The funds were used to pay for operating; to pay for gas, oil, drivers, and maintenance. We did not have capital funds.
This request is for a FTA discretionary grant for bus and bus-related facilities. The application to the FTA is to purchase buses, build bus garages, bus maintenance facilities, and bus transit centers throughout the small urban and rural areas of the state. As part of the bill, you will notice it says $4 million is for small urban and rural, our full application was for $16 million but we are asking for $4 million over 4 years. The additional funds in the resolution are requests for Washoe County and Clark County. Washoe County put in a request for capital funds to rebuild their downtown transit center, and Clark County has requested funds to purchase buses. It is a combined resolution supporting all three applications and urging the Nevada Congressional Delegation to pursue attainment of these grants.
I have handouts for you (Exhibit E). The first handout describes the state transit program and lists capital requests for bus and bus-related facilities by location in the state (Exhibit E, pp. 1-7). This is for the small urban and rural areas, as we do not have jurisdiction in Reno and Las Vegas.
Ms. Stanio:
The second handout is the FTA Capital Program Request for funds for buses and bus-related facilities, which was prepared by the Nevada Department of Transportation in March 2001 (Exhibit E, pp. 8-29). The third discusses the state transit program regions (Exhibit E, pp. 30-34). The fourth handout is a state transit program fact sheet which contains the accomplishments of the state transit program for the elderly and persons with disabilities for the state funds allocated by the 1999 Legislature (Exhibit E, pp. 35-36).
We currently have 99 buses in the small urban and rural program. With current funding, we can replace about ten buses a year. It takes 9 years to replace all the vehicles and they are aging rapidly. This capital request would allow us to purchase vehicles to replace the aging vehicles, and allow us to buy new vehicles for the areas that we have serviced.
We have just started service for Elko, Wells and Carlin, providing over 3000 rides per month; Fallon and the surrounding areas, are doing almost 2000 rides per month; Ely, a town of 5000 people, does about 1000 rides per month. In addition, we now have the public rural ride service, that connects Reno to Carson City; and, soon we will have service from Carson City to Minden-Gardnerville, and service from Carson City to Fallon.
Ms. Stanio:
We are able to start putting these systems together, but we are doing it through operators where they supply the vehicles and we pay a higher premium because we do not have the capital equipment. These vehicles, across the small urban and rural areas of the state, are called “built buses” or actually a ford chassis with a body on it. It is very difficult to get the maintenance done on these vehicles. If we could build central maintenance facilities, we could be sure the buses are being maintained and safety checked so they are safer on the road.
The bus garages are to house the buses and the transit centers are multi-purpose facilities that could be used for various activities such as museums, office space, or retail space. We are asking for support of our application. It is the first time we have ever asked for these funds and we are competing with the rest of the nation. We do have the match money so we will not be asking for any money from the state Legislature.
Senator Jacobsen:
I helped sponsor this program during the last session, because there was a concern about no transportation for the senior citizens in Douglas County. I think it is a great service, especially for the rural areas where seniors do not have the capability to get to shopping centers or medical facilities.
Senator Dean A. Rhoads, Northern Nevada Senatorial District:
Some time ago, a group came to me about getting funds for a railroad museum in Elko. I found there were grants available and on line 20 of S.J.R. 13 it states that funds can be used for museums. The State of Nevada is seeking $39.9 million to be used for public transportation assistance, but $4 million (page 2, line 8 of the bill) can be used for critically necessary ongoing projects for rural and small urban areas.
It was felt by our congressional delegation and NDOT that a resolution from this body would emphasize the needs and the full amount of funding could be gotten through the appropriation process. I have two constituents here with me who have been working on the railroad museum.
Ray Jones, Concerned Citizen:
I have lived in Spring Creek, Nevada, for 6 years. I am retired from the Southern Pacific Railroad. After retiring, I noticed there was nothing in Elko to show that Elko was created by the Southern Pacific Railroad. I met with several people to discuss creating a railroad museum. Later, there was a suggestion to create a transportation center in Elko which would include the museum.
The transportation center would involve both intrastate and interstate buses, the local taxi company, and possibly later on would involve Amtrak as well. We approached Senator Rhoads regarding this because the transportation hub could be an economic advantage for Elko to attract visitors to the area. Western Pacific Railroad donated some property for this facility in Elko and now funds are needed to build the building. I have letters of support from the mayor of Elko and from others who support this project (Exhibit F).
Gary Julian, Concerned Citizen:
I am an Elko resident retired from the Western Pacific-Union Pacific Railroad. The success of Elko was brought by the Western Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. We just received 1.77 acres, formerly part of the Western Pacific Railroad yard, from the City of Elko for a transportation center. A portion of the building would be used for a railroad museum. There will be other outside displays of old transportation equipment, such as mining, ranching, railroad, and possibly airplane displays because airmail service did originate to Elko. This building could be used by Greyhound, tour buses, taxicabs, and Amtrak. With the northeastern transit authority and the taxi dispatcher located in the building, it could be open 24 hours a day for patrons with public restrooms, hot and cold vending machines, and a warm waiting area. We need your support for this transportation center in downtown Elko.
Stephanie Licht, Lobbyist, Elko County Board of Commissioners:
I support this bill.
Marc Reynolds, General Manager, Carson City Community Transportation:
I support this bill. Carson City Community Transportation started 3 years ago and since that time, we have provided over 180,000 passenger trips. Public transportation is very important for the citizens of Carson City, especially for medical purposes. The big problem at this time is housing the vehicles. These funds would help preserve the equipment.
Chairman O'Donnell:
The chair will accept a motion on S.J.R. 13.
SENATOR AMODEI MOVED TO DO PASS S.J.R. 13.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR WASHINGTON WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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Chairman O'Donnell:
The chair will accept a motion on A.B. 643. It does have a conflict notice and we will have to get this bill amended.
SENATOR AMODEI MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 643.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR WASHINGTON WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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Chairman O'Donnell:
I will open the work session on A.B. 86.
ASSEMBLY BILL 86: Prohibits director of department of transportation, in certain circumstances, from retaining portion of contract price of, or requiring bonds in connection with, certain contracts awarded to railroad companies. (BDR 35-762)
SENATOR AMODEI MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 86.
SENATOR CARLTON SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR WASHINGTON WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
*****
Chairman O'Donnell:
I will open the work session on A.B. 476.
ASSEMBLY BILL 476: Revises provisions governing reinstatement of registration of motor vehicle suspended for lack of insurance. (BDR 43‑865)
SENATOR AMODEI MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 476.
SENATOR CARLTON SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR WASHINGTON WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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Chairman O'Donnell:
I will open the work session on A.B. 646.
ASSEMBLY BILL 646: Revises provisions authorizing certain inspection stations and authorized inspection stations to renew certificates of registration. (BDR 43-403)
SENATOR SHAFFER MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 646.
SENATOR CARE SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR WASHINGTON WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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Chairman O'Donnell:
I will accept a motion to concur with Amendment No. 667 to S.B. 77.
SENATE BILL 77: Provides for issuance of special license plates and souvenir license plates to support construction, maintenance, improvement and promotion of Virginia & Truckee Railroad. (BDR 43-191)
SENATOR AMODEI MOVED TO CONCUR WITH AMENDMENT NO. 667 TO S.B. 77.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR WASHINGTON WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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Chairman O'Donnell:
There being no further business, the meeting is adjourned at 4:21 p.m.
Alice Nevin,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator William R. O'Donnell, Chairman
DATE: