§ 223 — Economically sustainable transportation demonstration program

§ 223. Economically sustainable transportation demonstration program.\n1. Definitions. As used in this section:\n (a) "Economically sustainable transportation provider" shall mean a\nnon-profit provider of transportation services that submits to the\ndirector and obtains approval of a plan demonstrating that the provider\nis capable of providing economically sustainable transportation\nservices.\n (b) "Economically sustainable transportation services" shall mean\ndemand-responsive transportation services that are provided:\n (1) by automobile;\n (2) to qualified individuals;\n (3) twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; and\n (4) by volunteer or paid drivers.\n (c) "Qualified individual" shall mean an individual who is:\n (1) an older individual, as defined in section 102 of the Older\nAmericans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002); or\n (2) an individual who is blind, within the meaning of the\nRehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), an individual who\nhas significant visual impairment described in section 751 of the\nRehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796j), or an individual who is\neligible for benefits under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act\n(42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.) on the basis of blindness.\n (d) "Qualified transportation account" shall mean an account\nestablished for a qualified individual for the purpose of acquiring\ntransportation services from an economically sustainable transportation\nprovider.\n (e) "Director" shall mean the director of the New York state office\nfor the aging.\n (f) "Eligible entity" shall mean a private non-profit organization\nwith experience in establishing and replicating the independent\ntransportation network to provide economically sustainable\ntransportation services for qualified individuals.\n 2. The director shall establish the economically sustainable\ntransportation demonstration program for the purpose of enabling seniors\nto remain independent and mobile in their community. The program would\nprovide an on demand transit service for seniors that would use\nautomobiles driven by volunteer and paid drivers to transport seniors to\nwhere they need and want to go. After a period of five years, the\nprogram would no longer be eligible for state funding and would be\ncompletely self-sustaining, relying on consumer fares and voluntary\ncommunity support to remain operational.\n 3. Before carrying out the economically sustainable transportation\ndemonstration program, the director shall enter into a contract or a\ncooperative agreement with an eligible entity to provide recommendations\nand support to the director regarding the administration of such a\nprogram.\n (a) The eligible entity that enters into a contract or agreement under\nsubdivision three of this section shall:\n (1) Provide initial and ongoing technical assistance and support to\nthe director for the administration of the sustainable transportation\ndemonstration program.\n (2) Provide initial and ongoing technical assistance to economically\nsustainable transportation providers.\n (3) Provide recommendation to the director about the establishment of,\nand requirements concerning locations where the economically sustainable\ntransportation services will be provided in the state.\n (4) Provide recommendations to the director for the creation and use\nof qualified transportation accounts for the transportation services,\nincluding the provisions that such an account:\n (i) may be funded with credits or funds equal to the value of a\nvehicle traded to an economically sustainable transportation provider\nby, or on behalf of, a qualified individual, or by other means;\n (ii) shall be used only to provide transportation services to the\nqualified individual;\n (iii) shall have a designated beneficiary; and\n (iv) shall be transferable to an individual other than the qualified\nindividual.\n (5) Provide recommendations to the director regarding participation in\nany federal grant program for an economically sustainable transportation\nprogram.\n 4. After receiving the recommendations and support described in\nsubdivision three of this section, the director shall develop a request\nfor proposal to carry out the economically sustainable demonstration\nprogram.\n 5. Copyrights and trademarks. Nothing in this section shall affect the\nrights of the eligible entity under the copyright or trademark laws of\nthe United States. Nothing in this section shall require the disclosure\nof information to which Federal law relating to trade secrets (including\nsection 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code) applies. In entering\ninto a contract or cooperative agreement under this section, the\ndirector shall not establish any conditions that affect such rights or\nrequire such disclosure.\n 6. Within amounts appropriated, the director shall make grants\navailable to qualified economically sustainable transportation providers\nof no less than fifty-five thousand dollars per grantee in the first\nyear of the operation of the program. Such providers shall be eligible\nto receive funding under this section annually for up to five years.\nAfter such time, providers must be able to provide economically\nsustainable transportation services without receiving further public\nfinancial assistance for operating or capital expenses.\n 7. To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an\neconomically sustainable transportation provider shall commit to raising\nmatching funds from non-state sources equal to fifty percent of the\nstate grant. Up to ten percent of the provider match may be provided\nin-kind.\n 8. The office may use up to twelve percent of the total of any funding\nappropriated pursuant to this section for administration.\n