                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

HAMPTON ROADS REGIONAL TRANSIT PROGRAM AND FUND (§ 33.2-2600.1)

A. The General Assembly declares it to be in the public interest that developing
and continuing operations of reliable regional public transportation is
important for a balanced and effective multimodal transportation system in the
Hampton Roads region and is essential to the region&#8217;s economic growth,
vitality, and competitiveness. The General Assembly further declares that a
special transportation program, to be known as the Hampton Roads Regional
Transit Program (the Program), should provide for the costs of developing,
maintaining, and improving a core regional network of transit routes and related
infrastructure, rolling stock, and support facilities that have the greatest
positive impacts on economic development potential, employment opportunities,
mobility, environmental sustainability, and quality of life. The goal of the
Program is to provide a modern, safe, and efficient core network of transit
services across the Hampton Roads region. The Program shall be incorporated into
strategic plans developed pursuant to &#xA7; 33.2-286 and adopted by the
governing board of each transit entity and shall form the basis for the regional
transit planning process coordinated by the federally designated Metropolitan
Planning Organization.

B. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund for
Planning District 23 to be known as the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Fund,
referred to in this chapter as &#8220;the Regional Transit Fund.&#8221; The
Regional Transit Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All
revenues dedicated to the Regional Transit Fund pursuant to &#xA7;&#xA7;
58.1-802.5, 58.1-816, and 58.1-1743 shall be paid into the state treasury and
credited to the Regional Transit Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Regional
Transit Fund shall remain in the Regional Transit Fund and be credited to it.
Any moneys remaining in the Regional Transit Fund, including interest thereon,
at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall
remain in the Regional Transit Fund.

C. The Regional Transit Fund shall be managed by the Commission, and
disbursements from the Regional Transit Fund shall be approved by the Commission
consistent with the regional transit planning process developed pursuant to
subsection D of &#xA7; 33.2-286. The moneys deposited in the Regional Transit
Fund shall be used solely for (i) the development, maintenance, improvement, and
operation of a core and connected regional network of transit routes and related
infrastructure, rolling stock, and support facilities, to include the operation
of a regional system of interjurisdictional, high-frequency bus service, in a
transportation district in Hampton Roads created pursuant to &#xA7; 33.2-1903 as
included in the strategic plans and regional transit planning process developed
pursuant to &#xA7; 33.2-286 and (ii) administrative and operating expenses of
the Commission as specified in subsection B of &#xA7; 33.2-2605. In the
allocation of funds, priority shall be given, when possible, to investments in
the most sustainable and cost-effective operations, rolling stock, and
facilities to reduce or eliminate reliance upon diesel fuels. Funds from the
Regional Transit Fund shall not be used to support the expansion of light rail
beyond the boundaries of a locality where light rail is operated on January 1,
2020. The amounts dedicated to the Regional Transit Fund shall be deposited
monthly by the Comptroller into the Regional Transit Fund and thereafter
distributed to the Commission as soon as practicable for use in accordance with
this chapter. If the Commission determines that such moneys distributed to it
exceed the amount required to meet the current needs and demands to fund transit
projects pursuant to this chapter, the Commission may invest such excess moneys
to the same extent and in the same manner as provided in subsection A of &#xA7;
33.2-1525 for excess funds in the Transportation Trust Fund.

D. The amounts deposited into the Regional Transit Fund and the distribution and
expenditure of such amounts shall not (i) be used to calculate or reduce the
share of federal, state, or local revenues otherwise available to participating
localities; (ii) allow a local government that is a member of the transportation
district to reduce its local funding for public transportation purposes to an
amount less than what was appropriated on July 1, 2019, for such purposes; or
(iii) diminish or supplant allocations and appropriations from other sources or
diminish allocations to which a transportation district, transit system, or
locality would be entitled under any other provisions of law but shall
supplement such funds to accelerate and augment transportation improvements in
the Hampton Roads region. Further, such revenues and moneys shall not be
included in any computation of, or formula for, a locality&#8217;s ability to
pay for public education, upon which appropriations of state revenues to local
governments for public education are determined. Any amounts paid from the
Regional Transit Fund shall be considered local funds when used to make a
required match for state or federal transportation grant funds.

HISTORY: 2020, cc. 1241, 1281.