Expand Authority For Regional Transportation Improvements

The bill authorizes a transportation planning organization (TPO) to exercise the powers of a regional transportation authority (RTA). Among other powers, the powers of a RTA include the power to impose various charges, fees, and, with voter approval, visitor benefit, sales, and use taxes to generate transportation funding. Any additional transportation funding obtained by a TPO exercising the power of a RTA are intended to supplement and not supplant state transportation funding allocated within the boundaries. Therefore, the transportation commission and the department of transportation (CDOT) are prohibited from taking such additional transportation funding into account when determining the amount of state transportation funding to be allocated within the boundaries of a TPO, and CDOT, when submitting its annual proposed budget allocation plan, is required to provide evidence that the proposed allocation of state transportation funding within the boundaries of any TPO that has obtained such additional transportation funding has not been reduced in any way on account of the additional transportation funding.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)