05 LC 34
0184
Senate
Bill 150
By:
Senators Zamarripa of the 36th, Williams of the 19th, Reed of the 35th, Moody of
the 56th, Adelman of the 42nd and others
AS
PASSED SENATE
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
provide a short title; to amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 32 of
the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative
to the State Road and Tollway Authority, so as to provide that the authority
shall implement a program to provide for the development and expansion of
streetcar transportation and attendant economic and community development
opportunities; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to
repeal a specific law; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
This
Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Community Streetcar
Development and Revitalization Act."
SECTION
2.
Part
1 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to the State Road and Tollway
Authority, is amended by adding immediately following Code Section 32-10-75 a
new Code Section 32-10-76 to read as follows:
"32-10-76.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Local government authority' and 'state' mean the same as under 49 U. S. C.
Section 5302.
(2)
'Public-private project initiative' means a local or regional streetcar project
which is proposed and advanced by a cooperative entity or sponsor that involves
a combined public and private sector financing and development structure which
includes not for profit entities.
(3)
'Streetcar' includes, but is not limited to, a rail transit vehicle, including a
modern, antique, or reproduction vehicle, that is designed to fit the scale and
traffic patterns of the neighborhoods through which it travels, is powered by
electricity, and operates at lower speeds generally in existing rights of way
through mixed traffic, with frequent stops.
(b)
The authority shall establish and implement a five-year grant program to provide
assistance to local governmental authorities as well as a public-private project
initiative for the capital, technical, and start-up costs of development and
expansion of streetcar transportation and attendant economic and community
development opportunities. The five-year grant program shall begin when funding
becomes available for such purposes. The five-year grant program may be renewed
at the end of each five-year period, consistent with the provisions of this Code
section.
(c)
The authority will work closely with the formation of a pilot program and will
provide a state-level flow through point for any available federal funding or
other forms of financial and development sources and assistance for local,
regional, and public-private streetcar projects.
(d)
The authority may consider the following factors in its selection of projects
that will be implemented by this pilot program:
(1)
The project is ripe for development, construction, and operation;
(2)
The project application demonstrates strong local and private sector financial
participation in the project;
(3)
The project will foster redevelopment opportunities adjacent to the streetcar
line for which assistance is being sought;
(4)
The project requires the financial participation of the private owners of real
property abutting the streetcar line, with the exception of owner occupied
residential properties, for some of the capital costs of the
project;
(5)
The project application demonstrates that development or redevelopment
agreements are in place with respect to the project and land planning policies
complimentary to the project have been adopted for land in close proximity to
the streetcar line, including the availability of property zoned to accommodate
mixed use development adjacent to the streetcar line;
(6)
The project application demonstrates either how redeveloping or new
neighborhoods on vacant or underutilized land will be connected by the project
to each other or to major attractors in the central city where the project will
be carried out or how circulator or connector lines under the project will
connect developed neighborhoods with one another or with the business district
in the central city;
(7)
The project has demonstrated desirable levels of local financial or linking
resources commitment, or both; and
(8)
The project may include, and is encouraged to include, a public-private project
initiative and organizational structure or sponsor.
(e)
The authority will coordinate with all appropriate metropolitan, regional, and
municipal planning and development agencies where projects may be pursued and
will coordinate with the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and
appropriate local transit agencies in the development, funding, and
implementation of various streetcar projects.
(f)
In order to receive grant assistance under this Code section, a sponsor of a
project must submit to the authority an application that includes a detailed
operating plan for the streetcar line for which such assistance is being sought,
including the frequency of service, hours of operation, stop locations, and
demonstration of the financial capacity of the sponsor to operate the streetcar
line.
(g)
A project for which grant assistance may be provided under this Code section may
include streetscaping, signalization modifications, and other modifications to
the road system or other public rights of way on which the project is to be
carried out; acquisition of streetcars; and project construction, design, and
engineering."
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
4.
This
Act specifically repeals Ga. L. 2004, p. 898, Section 2.
SECTION
5.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.