House Transportation committee advances SJ 19 for statewide public-transportation study

The House Transportation Committee voted 9-5 to pass Senate Joint Resolution 19, sending the measure to the House floor for second reading. Senator Andrea Olsen, sponsor of the resolution, described SJ 19 as a comprehensive interim study of public transportation meant to identify gaps in service, funding and coordination across the state.

Supporters who testified said the study could help rural Montanans, seniors and people with disabilities remain connected to jobs and health care. "Transportation is one of the biggest barriers facing people in rural Montana," Cassie Wick of Ability Montana told the committee, urging that "people with lived experience be part of this study process" so findings reflect actual needs. Laura Collins of the Montana Environmental Information Center said public transit can reduce vehicle miles traveled and collisions, arguing that the issue "is definitely deserving of a little bit more consideration and investigation." Shyla Patera, a transportation advocate with Northcentral Independent Living, said she uses fixed-route and paratransit services daily and urged the study to identify ways to better connect and grow existing systems. "I use transportation daily," Patera said, describing the limits of current paratransit and fixed-route options.

Sunshine Ross, director of Streamline in Bozeman, told lawmakers that transit is funded and governed in many different ways across Montana and called for examination of how to stabilize funding and improve statewide coordination, especially as the population ages. "Public transportation is really a community service," Ross said, adding the study should explore "how rural systems can better be supported and better connected to each other and to the nearby urban systems."

Senator Olsen said the study is intentionally broad and could examine rail as well as buses and other modes. Responding to a question about Amtrak and the southern rail route, Olsen noted past work on rail and said a 2010 government estimate put the cost to restore the southern line at $200,000,000. "There has been a lot of fear," Olsen said, but she emphasized that the study would take stock of what exists, what was lost and what could be rebuilt, including examining federal funding opportunities and existing local efforts.

After testimony and discussion, Vice Chair Wirth moved that SJ 19 "do pass, do concur." The committee conducted a roll-call vote; clerk Emma recorded nine votes in favor and five opposed. Chair Durham announced that SJ 19 passed the House Transportation Committee and will be scheduled for second reading on the House floor. The resolution requires that the study's final results be reported to the seventieth legislature.

The committee did not identify a preferred House sponsor; Senator Olsen declined to name one and the chair volunteered Vice Chair Balham to carry the measure. The committee then adjourned.