Introduced
by
To create a new Detroit area regional transportation authority (“the authority”) comprised of the Detroit area regional transportation authority and the suburban mobility authority for regional transportation (SMART), and including Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties and those cities, townships, and villages within those counties that are subject to the authority. SMART’s independent authority would be taken over by the new entity. Within 270 days after the selection of its chief executive officer, the authority would present to the legislature and the governor its recommendations for legislation to establish a dedicated funding stream for itself. The authority would be authorized to undertake the planning, designing, constructing, operating, administering, acquiring, and contracting of all public transportation facilities of the region. The authority would develop, implement, and update a comprehensive regional public transportation service plan. The governing board of the authority would be composed of two representatives from Detroit, two each from Oakland and Wayne counties, and one each from the other counties. No action could be taken by the board unless at least one of the members from Detroit and one from Oakland and Wayne County each concur. The authority would be prohibited from reducing the worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, pension, seniority, wages, sick leave, vacation, health and welfare insurance, or any other benefit of employees in a transit system that is taken over, and would have to require those same conditions for the employees of any privatized service. The authority would have authorization to borrow, and to collect taxes, property taxes, special assessments, or charges collected by a political subdivision within its area, pursuant to a contract with that unit. The authority may acquire facilities, assets, and rights of existing and operating private or public transportation systems, and if the negotiations for such acquisition do not reach a conclusion, has the power to impose binding arbitration or condemnation on the other system. See also House Bills 5468 and 5523.
Referred to the Committee on Commerce
Substitute offered
To remove some but not all of the labor provisions of the bill. The authority would be prohibited from reducing workers compensation, unemployment compensation, pension, seniority, wages, sick leave, health and welfare insurance, or any other benefit of employees of a transit system that is taken over, but these requirements generally no longer apply to privatized services. The substitute removes a provision that leases or contracts for the operation of other transit systems and facilities must extend to their employees the same labor contract provisions as other Detroit transit workers. References to a federal law which allows the Secretary of Labor to regulate employment arrangements for employees of mass transit systems would apply only where federal funding is involved, rather than for all transit workers. Requirements that the authority negotiate labor agreements to protect the interests of employees (rather than taxpayers or transit riders), including when contracting out or curtailing services, are removed. In summary, the substitute removes most of the provisions that would have made it impossible to privatize service, but still will make it difficult to improve efficiency through transfers of workers within the authority.
The substitute passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To allow a unit of government to withdraw from the transit authority upon a vote of its governing body.
The amendment failed 35 to 62 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To limit the future geographic size of DARTA to counties within 90 miles of Detroit.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To specify that DARTA's authority to coordinate the functions of different public transportation facilities refers only to the provision of transit service.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To apply a federal law which allows the Secretary of Labor to regulate employment arrangements for employees of mass transit systems to all DARTA employees, and those of public or private transit service providers under contract to DARTA, rather than apply only where federal funding is involved.
The amendment failed 54 to 45 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To require that any elections to raise local property taxes to pay for DARTA must be held with regularly scheduled primary or general elections, rather than in special elections.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To allow any county to withdraw from the transit authority upon a vote of its governing body.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To require the Wayne County DARTA board members to be approved by a majority of the county's municipalities, less Detroit.
The amendment failed 36 to 61 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To tie bar the bill to House Bill 5253, which would establish a southeast Michigan regional airport authority to manage the business operations of Detroit Metro Airport. This means the bill would not go into effect unless HB 5253 also becomes law.
The amendment failed 15 to 82 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To limit the proposal for funding which the bill requires DARTA to make to an increase of no more than five percent of the current amount appropriated for Detroit area public transportation.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To remove St. Clair County from the regional transit authority proposed by the bill.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To apply a federal law which allows the Secretary of Labor to regulate employment arrangements for employees of mass transit systems to all DARTA employees, and those of public or private transit service providers under contract to DARTA, rather than apply only where federal funding is involved.
The amendment failed 54 to 44 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To require the Wayne County DARTA board members to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the county's municipalities, less Detroit.
The amendment failed 34 to 58 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To apply a federal law which allows the Secretary of Labor to regulate employment arrangements for employees of mass transit systems to all DARTA employees, and those of public or private transit service providers under contract to DARTA, rather than apply only where federal funding is involved.
The amendment failed 52 to 45 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To require that no privatization of transit service my be undertaken unless DARTA can document that the action would save at least five-percent ($50,000) on contracts of $1 million or greater, and save between 10 and 25-percent on smaller contracts.
The amendment failed 43 to 55 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To require the Wayne County DARTA board members to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the county commission (rather than only by the county executive).
The amendment passed by voice vote
Passed in the House 74 to 23 (details)
To create a new Detroit area regional transportation authority (DARTA) comprised of the Detroit area regional transportation authority and the suburban mobility authority for regional transportation (SMART), and including Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties and those cities, townships, and villages within those counties that are subject to DARTA. SMART’s independent authority would be taken over by the new entity. Within 15 months, DARTA would present to the legislature and the governor its recommendations for legislation to establish a dedicated funding stream for itself. Overall funding would come from existing or new federal, state, local, and regional tax dollars, and DARTA would be the designated the recipient for all federal transit funds for the region. DARTA would plan, design, construct, operate, administer, acquire, and contract all public transportation facilities of the region. The governing board of DARTA would be composed of two representatives from Detroit, two each from Oakland and Wayne counties, and one each from the other counties. No action could be taken by the board unless at least one of the members from Detroit and one from Oakland and Wayne County each concur. DARTA would be prohibited from reducing the worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, pension, seniority, wages, sick leave, vacation, health and welfare insurance, or any other benefit of employees in a transit system that is taken over, even if the employee was transferred to another entity under the authority. DARTA would have authorization to borrow, and to collect taxes, property taxes, special assessments, or charges collected by a political subdivision within its area, pursuant to a contract with that unit. DARTA would be empowered to acquire facilities, assets, and rights of existing and operating private or public transportation systems, and if negotiations for acquisitions do not reach a conclusion, would have the power to impose binding arbitration or condemnation on the other system. See also House Bills 5468 and 5523.
Amendment offered
by
To re-insert language from an earlier version of the bill that incorporated an agreement struck with labor leaders to further limit DARTA’s flexibility regarding laying off or reassigning existing transit workers. This would also apply restrictions on laying off transit workers that apply when federal money is used to transit functions that are funded only by state money.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Substitute offered
To replace the previous version of the bill with one which would require DARTA to provide transit service in the most cost efficient manner to the poor, disabled, and elderly, but states that it “may” provide service for other segments of the population. As drafted the substitute would make it easier for a county (except Wayne) to withdraw from DARTA. This was amended to require in a county other than Wayne, a two-thirds vote by the board of commissioners to place before the voters a ballot initiative on whether to opt into DARTA. If the voters reject entry, the existing SMART transit system would continue to provide service. The Senate Committee of the Whole rejected a version of the bill recommended by the transportation committee that incorporated an agreement struck with labor leaders to further limit DARTA’s flexibility regarding laying off or reassigning existing transit workers. The version adopted contains the same labor provisions as the House-passed bill.
The substitute passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To allow local governments to withdraw from DARTA by a vote of their governing body, and have no further lax liability to the authority.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To strip out language allowing DARTA to provide service to persons other than the poor, disabled, and elderly, only to the extent that doing so does not impair its ability to serve the poor, disabled, and elderly. The effect is to remove a potential limit on DARTA’s authority to serve persons other than the poor, disabled, and elderly.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Substitute offered
by
To allow local governments to withdraw from DARTA by a vote of their board or council, and have no further lax liability to the authority.
The substitute failed 17 to 19 (details)
Amendment offered
by
To require, in a county other than Wayne, a vote of the people on a ballot proposal authorized by the county board in order to opt-in to DARTA, and periodically allow a county other than Wayne to opt out of DARTA upon a vote of the people on a ballot proposal authorized by the county board.
The amendment passed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To require the existing SMART transit system to continue to provide service to a county that opts out of DARTA.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Amendment offered
by
To reconsider the vote on the amendment to re-insert language from an earlier version of the bill that incorporated an agreement struck with labor leaders to further limit DARTA’s flexibility regarding laying off or reassigning existing transit workers. This would also apply restrictions on laying off transit workers that apply when federal money is used to transit functions that are funded only by state money.
The amendment failed 16 to 21 (details)
Substitute offered
by
To replace the previous version of the bill with one which would require DARTA to provide transit service in the most cost efficient manner to the poor, disabled, and elderly, but states that it “may” provide service for other segments of the population. The substitute would allow Oakland and Macomb counties to withdraw from DARTA through a vote by the board of commissioners and people in 2005, and every four years thereafter. Smaller counties could get out with a vote of the county commission only. The substitute contains the same labor provisions as the House-passed bill.
The substitute passed by voice vote
Passed in the Senate 20 to 17 (details)
To create a new Detroit area regional transportation authority (DARTA) comprised of the Detroit area regional transportation authority and the suburban mobility authority for regional transportation (SMART), and including Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties. would allow Oakland and Macomb counties to withdraw from DARTA through a vote by the board of commissioners and people in 2005, and every four years thereafter. Smaller counties could get out with a vote of the county commission only. DARTA would later present to the legislature and the governor recommendations for legislation to establish a dedicated funding stream for itself, including taxes levied by local governments. Overall funding would come from new or existing federal, state, local, and regional tax dollars, and DARTA would be the recipient for most federal regional transit funds, with some exceptions. DARTA would be resoinsible for all public transportation facilities of the region. Its governing board would be composed of two representatives from Detroit, two each from Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, and one each from the other counties. No action could be taken by the board unless at least one of the members from Detroit and one from Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne County each concur. DARTA would be prohibited from reducing the worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, pension, seniority, wages, sick leave, vacation, health and welfare insurance, or any other benefit of employees in a transit system that is taken over, even if the employee was transferred to another entity under the authority. DARTA could borrow and could collect assessments or taxes levied by a political subdivision within its area, pursuant to a contract with that unit, but would not have direct taxing power itself. DARTA would could acquire facilities, assets, and rights of existing private or public transportation systems, and if negotiations for such did not reach a conclusion, could impose binding arbitration or condemnation. See also House Bills 5468 and 5523.
Failed in the House 0 to 100 (details)
To concur with a Senate-passed version of the bill. The vote sends the bill to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences.
Passed in the House 87 to 18 (details)
To adopt a compromise version of the bill reported by a House-Senate conference committee. See the Senate-passed bill for details.
Passed in the Senate 20 to 13 (details)
