HEARING EXAMINER’S INTRODUCTION CAPITAL BUDGET WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020 11:30 AM AND 5:00 PM

Greetings ladies and gentlemen. My name is JOSEPH M. O’MALLEY and this proceeding is a virtual public hearing being held by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, better known as “SEPTA” and sometimes called “the Authority”, in compliance with the provision in SEPTA's enabling legislation requiring the Authority to conduct a public hearing for its tentative capital budget for the coming fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2021) and for its tentative capital program beyond the next fiscal year. This hearing is also held in connection with SEPTA's applications to the United States Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for SEPTA's proposed Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Budget and Fiscal Years 2021- 2032 Capital Program, and the projects contained therein.

Due to the State of Emergency declared by both the President of the United States and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the public health concerns created by the COVID-19 outbreak (coronavirus); and to support the health, well-being and safety of our community, this public hearing is being held as a virtual hearing. I have been appointed as Hearing Examiner by Pasquale T. Deon, Sr., Chairman of the Board, to conduct this hearing. Again, this hearing concerns SEPTA's proposed Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Budget and its proposed Fiscal Years 2021-2032 Capital Program, and the projects contained therein, which involve applications for funding, to be filed by SEPTA with the United States Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration, also known as the FTA, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, also known as PennDOT.

The tentative Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Budget and Fiscal Years 2021-2032 Capital Program, together with descriptions of the projects, have been available for public inspection on SEPTA’s Website on or about April 20, 2020.

SEPTA's public notice of these hearings indicates that persons wishing to file written comments should mail them to the Director, Capital Budgets, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 1234 Market Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107 or individuals may submit comments via email to [email protected]. SEPTA will forward any such comments received in time for this hearing process to the Hearing Examiner.

Page 1 of 7 SEPTA invites all who wish to provide oral comments or testimony to call 215-580-7771 and submit such comments or testimony via voicemail message.

Turning now to the exhibits which SEPTA is moving into the record of these hearings as SEPTA exhibits, these are as follows:

My appointment to conduct this hearing on behalf of SEPTA is marked as SEPTA Exhibit No. 1.

SEPTA has caused the public notice of these hearings to be published in various local newspapers in the five-county area, as follows:

 The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News;  The Delaware County Daily Times;  The Doylestown Intelligencer  The Metro Philadelphia;  The Norristown Times Herald;  The Philadelphia Tribune; and  The West Chester Daily Local News.

The affidavits substantiating this publication are marked as SEPTA Exhibit No. 2.

SEPTA Exhibit No. 3 is a copy of the text of the Notice of this virtual public hearing on the tentative Capital Budget and tentative Program Proposal.

SEPTA Exhibit No. 4 is a copy of SEPTA's Online Internet posting of the Notice of the tentative Capital Budget and Capital Program.

SEPTA Exhibit No. 5 is confirmation that the Notice of Public Hearing on SEPTA's Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Budget and Fiscal Years 2021-2032 Capital Program has been posted on NFB News Line for the visually impaired.

SEPTA Exhibit No. 6 is a copy of the tentative Capital Budget and Capital Program.

SEPTA Exhibit No. 7 is a copy of the text of SEPTA's written testimony and presentation, which SEPTA's witness (es) will provide at the beginning of this hearing.

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For any letters, transcriptions of voicemails, emails and other documents submitted by any individuals, governmental bodies, or groups or companies, they will be marked as Public Exhibits, and the first will of course be marked as Public Exhibit No. 1, and so on.

I now admit these SEPTA and Public Exhibits into the record.

The entire proceeding will be recorded by a Court Reporter. The record of this hearing will consist of the transcript, the SEPTA Exhibits I have just identified, and any other documents that SEPTA and members of the public should want placed into the record and which I approve for the record.

Any persons who wish to speak during the virtual hearing must pre-register at www.septa.org/notice. These will be marked collectively as SEPTA Exhibit No. 9.

After I have received the transcript of this hearing, I will submit my report and recommendation about the tentative Capital Budget and Capital Program to the SEPTA Board. It is the SEPTA Board that decides, at a future public meeting of the Board, on the Capital Budget and Capital Program. The Board is not bound by my recommendation. The record of this proceeding will close as of the close of business on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Any submissions addressed and intended for me, received by SEPTA by the close of business that day will be forwarded to me and I will mark them with an appropriate exhibit number and include them in the record.

I note for the record that a sign language interpreter is present and has been at work since the beginning of this hearing, and that the SEPTA witnesses have been sworn in and are authorized to testify on behalf of SEPTA.

We will now proceed with this hearing with the presentation by SEPTA.

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