January 2021 NEWSLETTER Supporting the needs of Texas’ public transportation systems through statewide advocacy and education. The Texas Transit Association would like to welcome our new Board Members The Texas Transit Association is pleased to announce that Managing Director Ellen Smyth from Sun Metro in El Paso and General Manager Scott Lewis from Longview Transit have been appointed to the Texas Transit Association Board of Directors. One of the Texas Transit Association's key roles is to educate Texans about issues affecting the public transit industry. Additionally, TTA actively supports public transportation in the State of Texas and works with legislative members to Ellen Smyth, Managing Dir. pursue additional resources to support public Sun Metro, El Paso, TX transit. In their newly appointed positions, Mrs. Smyth and Mr. Lewis will utilize Scott Lewis, General Mgr. their expertise to work closely with fellow TTA Board Members to support Longview Transit, the Texas Transit Association's goals and objectives. Also, we would like to recognize the following individuals that were re-elected to the TTA Board of Directors: Jorge Cruz-Aedo (Board President), Randy Clarke, Mario Delgado, Tom Logan, Serena Stevenson, Vicente Huerta (President-elect) and Jesse Arriaga. Congratulations to each of you. TTA Legislative Day and State Conference, Roadeo and Expo Canceled Unfortunately, with COVID-19 cases still surging across the state and travel budgets being reduced or eliminated, our board of directors was forced to make the difficult decision to cancel the upcoming Legislative Day at the Capitol and the 2021 State Conference, Roadeo, and Expo. Like everyone, we are looking forward to life returning to normal this new year and hope you will understand this decision. We appreciate your patience and welcome your feedback as we work on planning future events. Our Legislative and Education/Events Committees will be working on alternative options. So please feel free to share any concerns, questions, or ideas with me by email. If you are interested in serving on any of the TTA committees, you can email me at [email protected]. Thank you, and we are optimistically looking forward to a new and exciting year. Norma Zamora assumes an expanded leadership roleTTA’s to January serve 2021 as Newsletter Area Vice President within First Transit Management. Norma Zamora, TTA Board Member and Director of Transit for the City of Brownsville/ Brownsville Metro, a First Transit Managed system, assumes an expanded leadership role to serve as Area Vice President within First Transit Management. With more than 27 years of transit leadership, Norma's experience includes financial oversight, strategic planning, labor negotiations, and initiating partnerships with city and state leaders. This promotion speaks to Norma's dedication to her customers and colleagues. After 22 years as Director of Brownsville Metro, she is looking forward to this new chapter in her life. She states that she is grateful and humbled to have been offered this exciting opportunity through First Transit to serve as Area Vice President over six properties in the United States' central region. She will continue to provide transit leadership guidance to the City of Brownsville/Brownsville Metro as AVP, in addition, to Laredo and Abilene in Texas; and Duluth, MN, Racine, WI, and St. Joseph, MO. Norma has served as a Board Member in the Texas Transit Association since 2004. During her time with TTA, she held many positions from President, Vice President for Small Urban, Treasurer, and Chair of the Finance Committee. The Texas Transit Association is grateful to Norma for her leadership and support of public transportation throughout the state. We wish her the best of luck as she begins this new chapter in her life. If you would like to congratulate Norma, she can be reached at [email protected] Jess Segovia, your ADA Guru, is offering the following courses in February to assist transit profes- sionals of all levels and responsibilities in understanding how to provide high quality, compliant accessible public transit services. February 1 & 3, 2021: ADA Requirements for Bus & Demand Responsive Services Webinar February 11, 2021: Bus Stop Accessibility Requirements Webinar February 2 & 4, 2021: Advanced Wheelchair Securement Strategies Webinar February 16 &18, 2021: ADA Paratransit Eligibility Determination Webinar February 9, 2021: Creating Effective Operating Policies, Procedures & Documentation Strategies February 27, 2021 : Enhancing Your Community's Mobility Management Webinar For more information, pricing and registration Jess Segovia—ADA Guru Jess has spent his career assisting agencies throughout the country in the delivery of safe, high quality and compliant accessible transportation services. Page 2 TTA’s LEGISLATIVE UPDATE TTA’s January 2021 Newsletter By Wade Long The Texas Legislature returned to Austin last week to begin the 87th legislative session. The pan- demic reduced the number of people in the House and Senate Chambers and also reduced the number of people in the Capitol. Mandatory COVID-19 testing was required for members of the public wishing to attend the opening day events. The Texas State House of Representatives elected Representative Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) as speaker of the House on a vote of 143-2. The State Senate elected Senator Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) as president pro tempore of the Texas Senate. Both the House and Senate adopted COVID-19 protocols. The Senate will require all visitors to pass a COVID test before entering the gallery or senate committee. The House recommends testing but does not require a test. A COVID-19 testing tent has been constructed on the north side of the Capitol. Visitors will be issued a wrist band after testing negative. Both chambers require masks to be worn in the chamber and in committee rooms. The Senate adopted rules for the 87th session. The major change is the vote requirement for bringing bills to the Senate floor. Past sessions required a three-fifths majority to bring legislation to the floor. The new rule requires a vote of 18 members. The voting change was passed on a party line vote of 18-13. The House also adopted rules for the 87th session. Major changes include allowing members to cast votes from a portable device if they are near the chamber. The House also deleted a provision allowing for increased use of virtual testimony during com- mittee hearings. The Lt. Governor released his Senate Committee appointments. The appointments can be found here 2021-Senate- Committees.pdf (texas.gov) State Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the revenue estimate for the 2022-2023 biennium Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Re- leases Biennial Revenue Estimate. Tax collections have been falling short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Comptroller re- ports that lawmakers will have a nearly $1 billion deficit. The original estimate was a $4.5 billion shortfall in state revenue. Governor Greg Abbott released his priorities for the session. Expand tele-medicine Protect pre-existing conditions Public safety 2nd amendment sanctuary state Protect against cancelation of conservative speech Protect religious rights Fight overreach of Biden Administration LEGISLATIVE DATES OF INTEREST Monday, November 9, 2020 First day legislators and legislators-elect may file bills for the 87th Legislature. Regular Session Tuesday, January 12, 2021 (1st day) 87th Legislature convenes Friday, March 12, 2021 Deadline for the unrestricted filing of bills and joint resolutions other than local bills, emergency appropri- ations, and emergency matters submitted by the governor. Monday, May 31, 2021 (140th day) Last day of 87th Regular Session (sine die) Page 3 TTA’s January 2021 Newsletter Page 5 Sun Metro is the recipient of a $225,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of its Public Transportation COVIDTTA’s January-19 Research 2021 Newsletter Program. Funding to Help Develop Contactless Pay- ment System Sun Metro is the recipient of a $225,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of its Public Transportation COVID-19 Research Program. The federal program will support Sun Metro in developing and deploying innovative solutions to improve operational efficiencies that enhance the transit experience. “We are extremely grateful to the FTA for this award. The funding is critical during the COVID-19 pandem- ic in supporting our innovative efforts to keep our passengers safe. The grant will allow us to develop and integrate a contactless payment system for tickets and passes,” said Sun Metro Managing Director Ellen Smyth. FTA’s Public Transportation COVID-19 Research Demonstration Grant Program is part of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 public health emergency funding to aid transit agencies that were significantly impacted during the pandemic. For more information about Sun Metro, visit sunmetro.net or call (915) 212-3333. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/sunmetro or follow us on Twitter @SunMetro. John Hendrickson of HTG presented Resilience Project Ideas regarding Cares Act Funding to all Rural Transit Districts on 1/14/21. The following are a list of ideas that were presented: 1. PPE and Related Equipment 2. Improvements to Vehicle and Facility HVAC Systems 3. Improvements to Vehicle Interior Treatments 4. Improvements for Operator Barriers 5. Contactless Fare Collection Systems 6. Fleet Replacements 7. Disinfecting Equipment 8. Facility Barrier upgrades Page 6 TTA’s January 2021 Newsletter DART D2 Subway Project Named Global Light Rail Award "Vision of the Year" At this year's Global Light Rail Awards, recognizing excellence and innovation in the global light and urban rail sector, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) was named the winner of the "Vision of the Year" for the D2 Subway project. The DART D2 Subway project is a future second light rail line through downtown Dallas that extends from Victory Park to Deep Ellum. The D2 project reached the 30% level of preliminary design in October. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is being prepared in cooper- ation with Federal Transit Administration (FTA).