A resolution for an interim study of public transportation moved forward in the House on Wednesday, passing a second reading vote 51-49.
Senate Joint Resolution 19, brought by Sen. Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, seeks to study improvements to “passenger transportation service and public transit” with the requirement it’s reported during the next legislative session.
The resolution said some communities are poorly served by transit and that in general, public transportation is on the decline in Montana. It also specifically notes the state’s elderly population and issues with distance between where someone lives and their medical appointments.
“Basically the study looks at ways to improve passenger transportation, whether that’s air, bus, train, vehicle services, identifying where the need is and looks to further enhance and improve that so we stay connected as a community across the state,” said Rep. Denise Baum, D-Billings during a House floor session on Tuesday.
Baum is carrying the legislation in the House. She also carried legislation this session seeking to use railroad tax money to help fund the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority.
That bill failed in the Senate after lobbying efforts and questions around viability doomed the legislation. Just a handful of bills this session have touched on public transportation.
House Bill 764, brought by Rep. Brian Close, D-Bozeman changed the process of how urban transportation districts are created and expanded.
The bill passed both chambers and would add a stipulation that anytime county commissioners want to expand a transportation district, a map of the proposed district would have to be added. It also adds language to the law making it easier for property owners in urban transportation districts but not receiving services to get out of them.
HB 764 is headed to the Governor’s desk, while SJ 19 awaits another vote on Thursday afternoon.
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