Welcome to Virginia Transit Association 

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Thank you to all those who joined us for the conference! Over 275 attendees came to network with colleagues, hear about new products and services, and learn how to enhance transit efforts across the Commonwealth. 

Conference presentations are available here. 

Conference photos are available here. 

Summary of 2018 General Assembly Transit Actions

Budget
The 60-day regular session of the 2018 General Assembly ended on March 10 but without a biennial budget.  Governor Northam called a special budgetary session for the General Assembly on Wednesday, April 11 to resolve the differences between the House and Senate budgets but no resolution was reached until May 30.  Governor Northam signed the budget bills on June 7.  The absolute deadline for a state budget was June 30 when the current budget expires. 

The final budget – F1 and 2  includes language that calls for investigation of a possible program for the financing of statewide transit capital needs using the Master Equipment Leasing Program.  It also calls for DRPT to convene a work group that will use the Report of the Transit Capital Revenue Advisory Board findings to estimate the SGR transit capital needed annually and identify potential sources within the Transportation Trust Fund that could be used to provide lease payments for the Master Lease Program.

Omnibus Bill
Governor Northam had until April 9 to sign, amend, or veto the bills that came through the regular session.  Those measures were taken up in the one-day reconvened session or “veto” session on April 18^th.  This is the day where the legislature voted on the Governor’s amendments and vetoes. 

The bill at the center of the transit debate was HB 1539/SB 856.  It was the final transit omnibus conference bill for agreement on Metro and other transit measures.  The bill allocates $154 million for Metro funding as was needed and $15 million for VRE but the revenue primarily comes from existing sources of funding – much of it from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that funds regional transportation.  Governor Northam had sent down amendments to the bill that would have raised $30 million from a real estate grantor’s tax and a hotel tax but while the Senate approved the amendments on a 26-12 vote, the House Republicans- led by Delegate Tim Hugo from Fairfax, blocked the new revenue in a party-line 51-48 vote thereby defeating the amendments. 

Click here for a complete Summary of the 2018 General Assembly Transit Actions. 

Transit Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly
January 22, 2018

On Monday, January 22 the Virginia Transit Association hosted its annual legislative briefing, Transit Advocacy Day, and “Transportations Choices” Legislative Reception. For more information and photos, please click here. 

The Honorable Tom Rust

Transit Capital Project Revenue Advisory Board Report

Who’s my Legislator?

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ACTION ALERTS

 Citizen's Guide to the General Assembly by VPAP

FAST FACTS on public transportation

Automated Vehicles Can’t Save Cities

Commuter Tax Benefits for Transit  

Voices for Public Transit-Helping Communities Thrive

Transit News

VTA News:

New officers for the Virginia Transit Association

Federal News:

FTA FY2018 Apportionments

Omnibus Appropriations Bill Signed into Law

Administration Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2019 

FTA - Updated TAM Website Demonstration Video: A TAM website demonstration video is now available to help navigate the wealth of resources available on the FTA TAM website.

FTA - New FAQs: The TAM FAQs page has been updated to include additional information on requirements for 5310 grantees.

FTA - TAM Final Rule Compliance Checklist: An updated version of the TAM Final Rule Compliance Checklist is now available, including additional information about requirements for Tier I and Tier II agencies.

FTA Region III TrAMS Grant Development Reference Guide 2017

Industry Footprint Map 

APTA Legislative and Regulatory Updates:

State News:

DRPT TransAM Entry Requirements

Metrorail and VRE Boost State Revenues by $600 Million 

Smart Scale:  Information regarding the scores and the funding scenario are available here

VTRANS2040:  The Draft 2025 Recommendations for Tier 1 needs are currently being presented to all MPO and/or PDC regions in Virginia.  All the materials from these meetings are available at http://www.vtrans2040.com/Pages/Recommendations.aspx

DRPT Organizational Chart

DRPT FY18 Six-Year Improvement Plan