(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) (I) Over-reliance on personal passenger vehicles for transportation contributes to poor air quality and climate change and has a negative economic impact on families in the state; (II) (A) Nationwide, the number of jobs within the typical commute distance for residents in major metropolitan areas has declined over time according to a report by the Brookings Institution titled "The Growing Distance Between People and Jobs in Metropolitan America"; (B) Coloradans drive more miles per person than they used to, in part due to stress on transportation infrastructure and increasing household costs; and (C) Since 1981, per capita vehicle miles traveled in Colorado have risen by over twenty percent according to data from the federal highway administration; (III) High transportation costs impact low-income households in particular, with households making less than forty thousand dollars per year in the western United States spending over twenty-four percent of their income on transportation, when spending more than fifteen percent of income on transportation is considered cost burdened, according to data from the bureau of labor statistics consumer expenditure surveys; (IV) (A) In addition to economic impacts, the increase in vehicle traffic has an environmental impact; (B) The United States environmental protection agency has classified the Denver metro/north front range area as being in severe nonattainment for ozone and ground level ozone, which has serious impacts on human health, particularly for vulnerable populations; (C) According to the greenhouse gas pollution reduction roadmap, published by the Colorado energy office and dated January 14, 2021, the transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in Colorado; (D) Nearly sixty percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector come from light-duty vehicles, which constitute the majority of cars and trucks that Coloradans drive every day; (E) As part of the greenhouse gas pollution reduction roadmap, a strategic action plan to achieve legislatively adopted targets of reducing greenhouse gas pollution economy-wide by fifty percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and ninety percent by 2050, the state committed to reducing emissions from the transportation sector by forty-one percent by 2030 from a 2005 baseline; and (F) The greenhouse gas transportation planning standard adopted by the transportation commission in 2021 set a target to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions through the transportation planning process by one million five hundred thousand tons by 2030; (b) The general assembly further finds and declares that: (I) The environmental and economic issues that result from increased reliance on passenger vehicles and an increase in the number of miles traveled per person is a matter of statewide concern; (II) One of the key findings of the greenhouse gas pollution reduction roadmap is that reducing growth in driving is an important tool to achieve the state's climate goals and that expanding public transit is an important near-term action that can help achieve those goals; and (III) It is the state's responsibility to support programs that reduce the growth in driving and expand public transit. (2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Committee" means the statewide transit pass exploratory committee created in subsection (3) of this section. (b) "Statewide transit pass" or "pass" means a single transit pass on a universal platform that can be used on transit provided by transit agencies across the state. (c) "Transit agency" means a provider of public transportation, as defined in 49 U.S.C. sec. 5302 (15), as amended. (3) (a) No later than October 1, 2024, the executive director shall create a statewide transit pass exploratory committee to produce a viable proposal for the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass. The committee shall meet as necessary to produce a viable proposal by July 1, 2026, with the goal of implementing a statewide transit pass by January 1, 2028. (b) The committee consists of the following members appointed by the executive director: (I) Three representatives from the five largest transit agencies in the state; (II) Eight representatives from a diverse group of transit agencies throughout the state including at least one representative from a transit agency that serves a rural part of the state that is not a resort community and at least one representative from a transit agency that serves one or more resort communities; (III) One representative of an entity or interest group involved in the promotion, planning, or development of passenger rail systems; (IV) One representative from an organization with a statewide perspective regarding transportation; (V) Two representatives of the department, one who is knowledgeable about the department's inter-city regional bus service and one who is knowledgeable about the department's innovative mobility program; (VI) One representative from a disproportionately impacted community. As used in this subsection (3)(b)(VI), "disproportionately impacted community" has the meaning set forth in section 24-4-109 (2)(b)(II). (VII) Any other members deemed necessary by the executive director. (c) Members of the committee serve at the pleasure of the executive director and without compensation. (4) In conducting its work and in producing a viable proposal for the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass, the committee shall consider the following: (a) The logistics of creating a statewide transit pass, including: (I) A viable structure for the pass to allow pass holders to use services provided by transit agencies across the state with a single pass; (II) A plan for coordination among transit agencies across the state to implement and administer the pass; (III) A method for cost-sharing the expenses in connection with the creation, implementation, administration, and advertisement of the pass; (IV) A structure for sharing, apportioning, and distributing revenue from the sale of the pass among the transit agencies that participate in the pass; and (V) The possibility of creating a formula to distribute revenue from the sale of the pass among the transit agencies that participate in the pass, the factors to consider in the creation of such a formula, and a determination regarding the frequency with which the formula would be recalculated; (b) A method for determining the price of a statewide transit pass, including whether there will be options for discounted passes for low-income populations and consideration of how transit operators would continue to collect a fare from the pass that is consistent with their existing fare structure; (c) A structure for the sale of the statewide transit pass to individuals and to employers for their employees, including: (I) An opt-in or opt-out program with a motor vehicle registration or with the renewal of a driver's license or state identification card issued by the department of revenue; (II) Online sales; and (III) Sales kiosks at airports, train and bus stations, tourism offices, and other physical locations across the state; (d) The services that will be offered to statewide transit pass holders, including: (I) Consideration of whether the pass would cover only services on fixed routes or provide access-on-demand services in addition to services on fixed routes; (II) If access-on-demand services would be included in the pass, how the cost of those rides factors into the cost of the pass; (III) Consideration of the requirements of the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., as amended, regarding accessibility and access to transit; and (IV) Consideration of federal laws relating to antidiscrimination, including Title VI of the federal "Civil Rights Act of 1964", Pub.L. 88-352, as amended; (e) The types of statewide transit passes that would be offered, including different options for the duration of the pass to accommodate Colorado residents who may use a pass year-round, for a portion of the year, or for other longer durations and visitors to Colorado who may use a pass for a day, a week, or another limited duration; (f) Additional opportunities for collaboration across transit agencies in the state, in addition to the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass, to make it easier and more appealing for people to use transit, including: (I) The possibility of transit agencies allowing customers to purchase a ticket in one transaction for an entire trip that requires transit services provided by multiple transit agencies; and (II) The possibility of transit agencies submitting their trip planning data to a central source to allow customers to create an itinerary that requires services provided by multiple transit agencies; (g) The technology that would be needed to monitor the use of the statewide transit pass and track ridership across transit agencies to assist transit agencies in determining and understanding the financial impact of the pass in the future; (h) Any additional local, tribal, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations that need to be considered in connection with the creation of a statewide transit pass; (i) The best method for advertising and marketing a statewide transit pass; (j) The potential impacts that a statewide transit pass will have on transit pass programs that are currently offered by transit agencies; (k) The potential impacts of section 20 of article X of the state constitution to local governments in connection with revenue generated by the sale of a statewide transit pass; (l) A proposal for the structure and composition of a permanent advisory board to oversee the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass; and (m) Any other issues that need to be discussed or addressed, as deemed necessary and appropriate by a majority vote of the members of the committee. (5) In producing a viable proposal for the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass, the committee shall solicit input from subject matter experts and interested parties across the state, including: (a) The transit and rail advisory committee created in section 43-1-1104 (1)(b); (b) Transit agencies from across the state, including a presentation by and discussion with members of the committee regarding a statewide transit pass at an annual meeting organized by a nonprofit entity to provide training on a variety of topics, including transit management, leadership development, driver safety, system safety, human services issues, mobility, and policy issues in connection with the federal transit administration and the department; and (c) Members of the public, including an opportunity for members of the public to follow the work of the committee and to provide written comments regarding the proposal for the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass or discussions in connection with the proposal. (6) The committee shall submit its proposal for the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass, including recommendations for any necessary legislation in connection with the proposal, to the executive director and the members of the transportation legislation review committee of the general assembly on or before July 1, 2026.
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