Bill Text: IA HF2205 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act establishing a safe routes to school program and fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-11 - Subcommittee, Byrnes, Abdul-Samad, and Fry. H.J. 214. [HF2205 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF2205-Introduced.html
House File 2205 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  MAXWELL

                                 (COMPANION TO 5689SS
                                     by HOGG)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act establishing a safe routes to school program and fund.
  2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 5689YH (3) 86
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  306E.1  Definitions.
  1  2    As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
  1  3 requires:
  1  4    1.  "Demonstrated high=need area" means either of the
  1  5 following:
  1  6    a.  An area encompassing one or more school districts in
  1  7 which at least fifty percent of the children are eligible to
  1  8 receive free or reduced price meals under the federal National
  1  9 School Lunch Act and the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966,
  1 10 42 U.S.C. {{1751=1785, as amended.
  1 11    b.  A census tract in which the median household income is
  1 12 less than eighty percent of the statewide average median based
  1 13 on the most current census tract level data from the United
  1 14 States census bureau's American community survey.
  1 15    2.  "Department" means the department of transportation.
  1 16    3.  "Safe routes to school project" or "project" means either
  1 17 or both of the following:
  1 18    a.  An infrastructure project, including a planning or
  1 19 engineering project, which is located within two miles of
  1 20 a school and supports bicycling and walking to the school,
  1 21 such as sidewalk improvements, speed reduction improvements,
  1 22 pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements, on=street bicycle
  1 23 facilities, off=street bicycle and pedestrian facilities,
  1 24 secure bicycle parking facilities, and traffic diversion or
  1 25 calming improvements.
  1 26    b.  A noninfrastructure project designed to encourage
  1 27 children to walk and bicycle to school, including public
  1 28 awareness campaigns and outreach to press and community
  1 29 leaders; traffic education and enforcement in the vicinity of a
  1 30 school; student education sessions on bicycle and pedestrian
  1 31 safety, health, and environment; and training for volunteers
  1 32 and managers.
  1 33    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  306E.2  Safe routes to school program.
  1 34    1.  Program established.  The department shall establish and
  1 35 administer a safe routes to school program to increase safety
  2  1 and convenience for school children walking or bicycling, to
  2  2 encourage school children to walk or bicycle to school, and to
  2  3 support safe routes to school projects in Iowa's communities.
  2  4 The goals of the program are to improve the public health and
  2  5 safety of children and communities by supporting and funding
  2  6 safe routes to school projects intended to reduce childhood
  2  7 obesity, and to reduce student injuries and fatalities
  2  8 resulting from automobile collisions on routes to and from
  2  9 school.
  2 10    2.  Program staffing.  The department shall dedicate at
  2 11 least one=half of one of the department's authorized full=time
  2 12 equivalent positions to maintain a coordinator for the safe
  2 13 routes to school program.
  2 14    3.  Responsibilities.  The department shall do all of the
  2 15 following:
  2 16    a.  Provide outreach, education, and technical and
  2 17 application assistance relating to the program to local
  2 18 communities and schools.
  2 19    b.  Develop a plan, in cooperation with the departments of
  2 20 education and public health, for implementation of the program
  2 21 for students and schools throughout the state.  Priority shall
  2 22 be given to providing technical assistance, resources, and
  2 23 funding to projects located in demonstrated high=need areas.
  2 24 The department shall provide demonstrated high=need areas
  2 25 with preapplication assistance as needed, including but not
  2 26 limited to application preparation assistance, planning grants,
  2 27 and engineering consultation services.  The department shall
  2 28 identify and take every reasonable measure to reduce barriers
  2 29 to the success of any safe routes to school project located in
  2 30 a designated high=need area.
  2 31    c.  Ensure the timely award and obligation of funds to safe
  2 32 routes to school projects eligible for funding under this
  2 33 chapter, the federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation
  2 34 Act, Pub. L. No. 114=94, and the federal safe routes to
  2 35 school program under the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
  3  1 Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, Pub.
  3  2 L. No. 109=59, {1404.
  3  3    d.  Develop and periodically revise guidelines for
  3  4 administration of the safe routes to school program, including
  3  5 but not limited to a clear application process, project
  3  6 selection criteria, application and project schedules and
  3  7 procedures, project performance measures, student travel data
  3  8 collection procedures, and program evaluation measures and
  3  9 procedures.
  3 10    e.  Annually, award not less than ten percent, nor more than
  3 11 thirty percent, of the moneys deposited in the safe routes to
  3 12 school fund established in section 306E.3 for safe routes to
  3 13 school projects in accordance with this chapter.
  3 14    f.  Deposit in the safe routes to school fund established
  3 15 under section 306E.3 not less than eighteen percent of the
  3 16 moneys received by the department under the federal surface
  3 17 transportation block grant program of the federal Fixing
  3 18 America's Surface Transportation Act, Pub. L. No. 114=94,
  3 19 {1109.
  3 20    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  306E.3  Safe routes to school fund.
  3 21    A safe routes to school fund is established as a separate
  3 22 fund in the state treasury under the authority of the
  3 23 department. The fund shall consist of moneys available to and
  3 24 obtained or accepted by the department for purposes of the safe
  3 25 routes to school program as established under this chapter.
  3 26 The moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for
  3 27 purposes of the safe routes to school program.  Moneys in
  3 28 the fund shall not be subject to appropriation for any other
  3 29 purpose by the general assembly, but shall be used only for the
  3 30 purposes of the safe routes to school program. Notwithstanding
  3 31 section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or
  3 32 unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert
  3 33 but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes
  3 34 designated until the close of the succeeding fiscal year.
  3 35 Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or
  4  1 earnings on moneys deposited in the fund shall be credited to
  4  2 the fund.
  4  3    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  306E.4  Rule of construction.
  4  4    Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit,
  4  5 restrict, or otherwise discourage the allocation of federal or
  4  6 nonstate grants, gifts, or contracts for purposes of the safe
  4  7 routes to school program or safe routes to school projects.
  4  8                           EXPLANATION
  4  9 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  4 10 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  4 11    This bill establishes the safe routes to school program
  4 12 to be administered by the department of transportation, and
  4 13 establishes a safe routes to school fund in the state treasury
  4 14 under the authority of the department.
  4 15    The program is established to increase safety and
  4 16 convenience for school children walking or bicycling, to
  4 17 encourage school children to walk or bicycle to school, and to
  4 18 support safe routes to school projects in Iowa's communities.
  4 19 The goals of the program are to improve the public health and
  4 20 safety of children and communities by supporting and funding
  4 21 projects intended to reduce childhood obesity and to reduce
  4 22 student injuries and fatalities resulting from automobile
  4 23 collisions on school routes.
  4 24    The department is to maintain a coordinator for the
  4 25 program, and to provide outreach, education, and technical
  4 26 and application assistance to local communities and schools;
  4 27 develop a plan, in cooperation with the departments of
  4 28 education and public health, for implementation of the program;
  4 29 ensure the timely award and obligation of funds to safe routes
  4 30 to school projects; develop and periodically revise program
  4 31 guidelines; annually award 10 to 30 percent of the moneys in
  4 32 the fund for projects; and deposit in the fund at least 18
  4 33 percent of the moneys received by the department under the
  4 34 federal surface transportation block grant program of the
  4 35 federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.
  5  1 Priority shall be given to providing technical assistance,
  5  2 resources, and funding to projects located in demonstrated
  5  3 high=need areas, including application preparation assistance,
  5  4 planning grants, and engineering consultation services.  The
  5  5 department must identify and take every reasonable measure to
  5  6 reduce barriers to the success of any project located in a
  5  7 designated high=need area.
  5  8    The bill defines "demonstrated high=need area" to mean
  5  9 either an area encompassing one or more school districts in
  5 10 which at least 50 percent of the children are eligible to
  5 11 receive free or reduced price meals under federal law, or a
  5 12 census tract in which the median household income is less than
  5 13 80 percent of the statewide average median.
  5 14    A "safe routes to school project" includes either an
  5 15 infrastructure project or a noninfrastructure project, or
  5 16 both.  An infrastructure project may include a planning or
  5 17 engineering project, and is a project located within two miles
  5 18 of a school that supports bicycling and walking to the school,
  5 19 such as sidewalk improvements, speed reduction improvements,
  5 20 pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements, on=street bicycle
  5 21 facilities, off=street bicycle and pedestrian facilities,
  5 22 secure bicycle parking facilities, and traffic diversion or
  5 23 calming improvements.
  5 24    A noninfrastructure project is a project designed to
  5 25 encourage children to walk and bicycle to school, including
  5 26 public awareness campaigns and outreach to press and community
  5 27 leaders; traffic education and enforcement in the vicinity of a
  5 28 school; student education sessions on bicycle and pedestrian
  5 29 safety, health, and environment; and training for volunteers
  5 30 and managers.
  5 31    The fund consists of moneys available to and obtained or
  5 32 accepted by the department of transportation for the program,
  5 33 and the moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department
  5 34 for the program.
  5 35    Nothing in the bill shall be construed to limit, restrict,
  6  1 or otherwise discourage the allocation of federal or nonstate
  6  2 grants, gifts, or contracts for purposes of the safe routes to
  6  3 school program or safe routes to school projects.
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