HB627 Alabama 2013 Session

Relating to any transit authority organized under laws authorizing a public corporation for the purpose of providing a public transportation system in any county having a population of not less than 600,000 according to the last or any subsequent federal decennial census; to make legislative findings; to provide for the continued applicability of the act to an authorizing county which had, at one time, been subject to the act, notwithstanding a subsequent change in the county's population; to provide for the organization of a transit authority which would govern the establishment and operation of a public transportation system; to provide for amendments to the certificate of incorporation of the authority; to provide for the membership of the board of directors of the authority; to provide for the composition, terms, and powers of the board of directors of the authority; to provide for the compensation of board members attending meetings; to provide for inflation adjustments for various dollar amounts found in the act; to provide for the powers of the authority; to provide for the establishment of a Transit Citizens Advisory Body; to provide that the board can determine the fiscal year of the transit authority; to provide for a quorum for any meeting of the board; to provide for the number of directors needed to approve an act of the board; to place limits on the recovery of damages for judgments against, or settlements by, the authority; to provide for the fixing of rates, fees, and charges by the authority; to provide that the rates charged for the use of the transit system would be subject to approval by the principal municipality; to provide for the issuance of bonds by the transit authority by including defining "bonds" to include warrants and other obligations, clarifying that bonds of the authority could be payable by other public bodies, providing for the method of execution of the bonds, providing for variable, in addition to fixed, rates of interest, and providing for a notice for publication and other procedures to establish the validity of the bonds and the security for the bonds; to provide for the tax exemption of the authority and its bonds, conveyances, leases, mortgages, and deeds of trust; to provide that the incorporation of one transit authority in a county shall prohibit the establishment of another; to provide for the exemption from regulation of transit authorities by the Public Service Commission; to provide for the use of rights-of-way on public roads; to provide for the regular audit of the books of the authority; to provide that employees of the transit authority may participate in a labor union; to provide for the dissolution of the transit authority; to provide that, upon the dissolution of the transit authority, its assets would vest equally in the principal municipality and the authorizing county; to provide for the application of employee protective conditions and remedies of Section 13(c) of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended; to provide for the application of this act to the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority; to limit the effect of the enactment of this act and repeal of prior acts; to provide for the calculation of annual payments by the authorizing county, the principal municipality and any participating municipality; to provide for the calculation of ad valorem taxes paid by the authorizing county; to provide that the principal municipality would be required, like other municipalities, to set forth its desired routes for service; to provide for the review of the transit authority's budget by the principal municipality; to provide that the authorizing county and the principal municipality would have no further power to approve or disapprove of expenditures of the transit authority; to provide for the setting of routes by the principal municipality and any participating municipality; to provide for payments by the principal municipality and each participating municipality based on such routes; to provide for the transit authority's discontinuance or reduction in service to any municipality which fails timely to pay for such services; to provide for the use of ad valorem taxes to pay, in certain instances, the amounts owed by any municipality; and to provide for the repeal of Act 2004-500 of the 2004 Regular Session (Acts 2004, p. 939), Act 993 of the 1971 Regular Session (Acts 1971, p. 1787), Act 204 of the 1971 Third Special Session (Acts 1971, p. 4472), Act 329 of the 1973 Regular Session (Acts 1973, p. 459), Act 508 of the 1973 Regular Session (Acts 1973, p. 748), and Act 87-449 of the 1987 Regular Session (Acts 1987, p. 663).