A2607 2R

An Act concerning paratransit services ¹[and amending various parts of the statutory law]¹.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

¹[1. Section 3 of P.L.2020, c.114 (C.27:25-37) is amended to read as follows:

3. For the purposes of P.L.2020, c.114 (C.27:25-35 et seq.):

"Community organization" means an organization that provides programs and services to persons with disabilities.

"Corporation" means the New Jersey Transit Corporation.

"Corporation paratransit service" means the paratransit service that is managed, administered, or provided directly through the New Jersey Transit Corporation's operating budget, as a part of the Access Link program or any successor program to meet the requirements of the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.), and does not include services directly provided by county transit agencies.

"County transit agency" means a transportation service organized under or in conjunction with a county government to provide trips to senior citizens and residents with disabilities under the "Senior Citizen and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance Act," P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.).

"Department" means, unless another meaning clearly applies, the Department of Human Services.

"Paratransit provider" means any organization or entity that provides paratransit services, including State and local transit agencies, directly or through contract service, and community organizations that provide transportation trips, either directly or through a third party, funded by the Department of Human Services or the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

"Paratransit service" means and includes any transportation service other than fixed route transportation service[, except that "paratransit service" does not include private or charter services provided by taxicabs, limousines, or transportation network companies].

(cf: P.L.2020, c.114, s.3)]¹

¹[2. Section 3 of P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-3) is amended to read as follows:

3. As used in [this act] P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et seq.):

a. "Corporation" means the New Jersey Transit Corporation.

b. "Motorbus regular route service" means and includes the operation of any motorbus or motorbuses on streets, public highways or other facilities, over a fixed route and between fixed termini on a regular schedule for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire or otherwise, in this State or between points in this State and points in other states.

c. "Capital equipment and facilities" means and includes, in connection with public transportation service, passenger stations, shelters and terminals, automobile parking facilities, ramps, track connections, signal systems, power systems, information and communication systems, roadbeds, transit lanes or rights of way, equipment storage and servicing facilities, bridges, grade crossings, rail cars, locomotives, ferries and ferry facilities, including capital projects for ferry terminals, approach roadways, pedestrian accommodations, parking, docks, ramps and other necessary land-side improvements, motorbus and other motor vehicles, maintenance and garage facilities, revenue handling equipment and any other equipment, facility or property useful for or related to the provision of public transportation service.

d. "Paratransit services" means and includes any transportation service[,] other than motorbus regular route service [and charter services, including, but not limited to, dial-a-ride, nonregular route, jitney or community minibus, and shared-ride services such as vanpools, limousines or taxicabs which are regularly available to the public. Paratransit services shall not include limousine or taxicab service reserved for the private and exclusive use of individual passengers].

e. "Public transportation or public transportation service" means rail passenger service, motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, motorbus charter service, and ferry passenger service.

f. "Motorbus charter service" means and includes subscription, tour, other special motorbus services or school bus services or charter services as set forth in section 7 of P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-7).

g. "Rail passenger service" means and includes the operations of a railroad, subway, street, traction or electric railway for the purpose of carrying passengers in this State or between points in this State and points in other states.

h. "Ferry passenger service" means any service which involves the carriage of persons for compensation or hire by waterborne craft in this State or between points in this State and points in other states.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.91, s.1)]¹

¹[3. Section 3 of P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-3) is amended to read as follows:

3. As used in this act:

"Air passenger service" means any service which involves the carriage of persons for compensation or hire by aircraft.

"Atlantic City Expressway" means the expressway project known as the Atlantic City Expressway constructed by the New Jersey Expressway Authority pursuant to section 40 of P.L.1962, c.10 (C.27:12C-40).

"Atlantic City International Airport" means the airport authorized by section 24 of this act.

"Atlantic County Transportation Authority" means the county transportation authority authorized pursuant to P.L.1980, c.44 (C.40:35B-1 et seq.).

"Authority" means the South Jersey Transportation Authority created by section 4 of this act.

"Bond" means any bond or note issued by the authority pursuant to the provisions of this act or issued by or for an original authority or any predecessor authority thereof, as the case may be.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Transportation.

"Construction" or "construct" means the planning, designing, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, replacement, repair, extension, enlargement, improvement and betterment of expressway projects and transportation projects, and includes the demolition, clearance and removal of buildings or structures on land acquired, held, leased or used for those projects.

"Cost" means all or any part of the expenses incurred in connection with the acquisition, construction and maintenance of any real property, lands, structures, real or personal property rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and interests acquired or used for a project; any financing charges and reserves for the payment of principal and interest on bonds or notes; the expenses of engineering, appraisal, architectural, accounting, financial and legal services; and other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the acquisition, construction and maintenance of a project, the financing thereof and the placing of the project into operation.

"County" means a county in South Jersey.

"Department" means the Department of Transportation.

"Economic development facility" means any area, place, building or other improvement or structure related to, connected with, or in the vicinity of, a transportation project which may serve the users of that project or assist in, enhance or stimulate its operation or development.

"Expressway project" means the acquisition, construction and maintenance of the Atlantic City Expressway as transferred to the authority pursuant to this act and of any express highway, super highway or motorway at the locations and between the termini as may hereafter be established by law and acquired or to be acquired or constructed or to be constructed under the provisions of this act by the authority, over which abutters have no easements or rights of light, air or direct access by reason of the fact that their properties abut thereon, and shall include but not be limited to all bridges, parking facilities, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, traffic circles, grade separations, entrance plazas, approaches, toll houses, service areas, stations and facilities, communications facilities, administration, storage and other buildings, and other structures related to the use of the express highway, superhighway or motorway, intersecting highways and bridges and feeder roads which the authority may deem necessary or desirable for the operation of the project, together with all property rights, easements and interests which may be acquired by the authority for the construction or the operation of the project, and includes any planning necessary for the execution of any expressway project.

"Feeder road" means any road which in the determination of the authority is necessary to create or facilitate access to a project and is not more than five miles in length from the point of its connection with the project.

"Land and improvements" means any area or lands, any interest, right or title in land, including but not limited to, any reversionary right, and any real or personal property, structure, facility, building or equipment.

"Marine passenger service" means any service which involves the carriage of persons for compensation or hire by waterborne craft.

"Motorbus charter service" means subscription, tour and other special motorbus services.

"Motorbus regular route service" means the operation of any motorbus or motorbuses on streets, public highways or other facilities, over a fixed route and between fixed termini on a regular schedule for the purpose of carrying passengers, for hire or otherwise, within South Jersey or between points within South Jersey and points without South Jersey.

"Municipality" means any city, borough, village, town or township in South Jersey but not a county or a school district.

"New Jersey Expressway Authority" means the authority created pursuant to P.L.1962, c.10 (C.27:12C-1 et seq.).

"Original authority" means the New Jersey Expressway Authority or the Atlantic County Transportation Authority.

"Paratransit service" means any transportation service[,] other than motorbus regular route service [and motorbus charter service, including but not limited to, dial-a-ride, non-regular route, jitney or community minibus, and shared-ride services such as vanpools, limousines or taxicabs which are regularly available to the public. Paratransit services shall not include limousine or taxicab service reserved for the private and exclusive use of individual passengers].

"Parking facility" means any area or place, garage, building, or other improvement or structure for the parking or storage of motor or other vehicles, including but not limited to all real property and personal property, driveways, roads and other structures or areas necessary or useful or convenient for access to a facility from a public street, road or highway, or from any transportation project; meters, mechanical equipment necessary or useful or convenient for or in connection with that parking or storage; and any structures, buildings, space or accommodations, whether constructed by an authority or by the lessee, to be leased for any business, commercial or other use, including the sale of gasoline or accessories for, or the repair or other servicing of automobiles and other motor vehicles, if, in the opinion of the authority, the inclusion, provision and leasing is necessary to assist in defraying the expenses of the authority and make possible the operation of the parking facility at reasonable rates, but the authority shall not itself engage in the sale of gasoline or accessories for, or in the repair or other servicing of automobiles or other motor vehicles except in emergency, nor in the sale of any service or commodity of trade or commerce.

"Project" means an expressway project or transportation project and the costs associated therewith.

"Public highway" means any public highway, road or street in South Jersey, including federal aid highways, whether maintained by the State or by a county, municipality or other governmental subdivision in South Jersey.

"Public transportation facility" means, in connection with public transportation service, passenger stations, shelters and terminals, automobile and bus parking facilities, ramps, track connections, signal systems, power systems, information and communication systems, roadbeds, transit lanes or rights-of-way, equipment storage and servicing facilities, bridges, grade crossings, rail cars, locomotives, motorbuses and other motor vehicles, maintenance and garage facilities, revenue handling equipment and any other equipment, facility or property useful or related to the provision of transportation service.

"Public transportation service" means rail passenger service, motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, motorbus charter service and marine passenger service.

"Rail passenger service" means the operation of railroad, subway, or light rail systems including fixed and automated guideway systems for the purpose of carrying passengers in South Jersey or between points within South Jersey and points without South Jersey.

"Real property" means lands within the State, above or below water, and improvements thereof or thereon, or any riparian or other rights or interests therein.

"South Jersey" means the area encompassing the counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem.

"Transfer date" means, with respect to the New Jersey Expressway Authority, the date on which all bonds issued by the New Jersey Expressway Authority cease to be outstanding within the meaning of the resolutions pursuant to which those bonds were issued, as certified by the trustee or trustees thereunder and, with respect to the Atlantic County Transportation Authority, the date on which New Jersey Economic Development Authority first mortgage revenue bonds, series of 1980, dated July 1, 1980, (New York Parking Associates - Parking Authority of Atlantic City project) issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority cease to be outstanding within the meaning of the indenture pursuant to which those bonds were issued, as certified by the trustees thereunder or the date on which the South Jersey Transportation Authority certifies to the Atlantic County Transportation Authority for a predecessor authority to the Atlantic County Transportation Authority and the State Treasurer that it assumes all debts and obligations of the Atlantic County Transportation Authority.

"Transportation facility" means any area, place, building, or other structure designed to provide rail passenger service, motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, motorbus charter service, air passenger and air freight service, or marine passenger service, or any two or more of these services, to the public, and includes passenger stations, shelters and terminals, air passenger terminals, hangars, heliports, docking and launching facilities, parking facilities, ramps, track connections, signal systems, power systems, information and communication systems, roadbeds, transit lanes or rights-of-way, equipment storage and servicing facilities, bridges, grade crossings, rail cars, locomotives, motorbus and other motor vehicles, boats, ferries and other marine vehicles, aircraft, maintenance and garage facilities, revenue handling equipment and any other equipment, facility or property useful for or related to the provision of these services;

"Transportation project" means the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of an airport, public transportation facility or other transportation facility, established by this act or which may be hereafter established by law and may include related facilities and activities which may consist of public transportation services, public transportation facilities, including but not limited to rail and bus stations and terminals, noise abatement projects, parking facilities, public highways and feeder roads related to or connected with the project, and any economic development facilities as defined in this section. Transportation project includes any planning necessary to develop a comprehensive, efficient, convenient or economical transportation system in South Jersey, any planning or marketing necessary or desirable for the execution of any transportation project, and any planning, acquisition, construction or operation of economic development facilities related to, connected with, or in the vicinity of the project.

"Transportation system" means public highways, expressway projects, transportation projects, and all other methods of transportation for the movement of people and goods in South Jersey.

"Transportation Trust Fund Authority" means the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority established by section 4 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-4).

(cf: P.L.1991, c.252, s.3)]¹

¹1. a. As used in this section:

“Department” means the Department of Transportation.

“Limousine” means a motor vehicle registered under the provisions of section 12 of P.L.1979, c.224 (C.39:3-19.5) or registered as a limousine under the laws of another state or the United States and used exclusively in the business of carrying passengers for hire to provide prearranged passenger transportation at a premium fare on a dedicated, nonscheduled, charter basis that is not conducted on a regular route and with a seating capacity in no event of more than 14 passengers, not including the driver, provided, that such a motor vehicle shall not have a seating capacity in excess of four passengers, not including the driver, beyond the maximum passenger seating capacity of the vehicle, not including the driver, at the time of manufacture. “Limousine” shall not include any taxicab, hotel or airport shuttle or bus, or bus employed solely in transporting schoolchildren or teachers to and from school, or any vehicle owned and operated without charge or remuneration by a business entity for its own purposes.

“Medicaid program” or “Medicaid” means the State Medicaid program established pursuant to P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.).

“Medicaid transportation service” means the non-emergency medical transport of a beneficiary of the Medicaid program, which service is provided through the use of a mobility assistance vehicle or livery vehicle, is necessary for the beneficiary to receive covered medical services, and is provided in compliance with Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. s.1396 et seq.), P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.), P.L.1981, c.134 (C.30:4D-6.2 et seq.), and any rules or regulations adopted thereunder.

“Mobility assistance vehicle” means a chauffeured vehicle that is staffed by certified trained personnel, and which is used to transport a non-ambulatory Medicaid beneficiary who is sick, has an infirmity, or has a disability, and is under the care and supervision of a physician, and whose medical condition is not of sufficient magnitude or gravity to require transportation by ambulance, but is of sufficient magnitude or gravity to require transportation from place to place for medical care, and whose use of an alternate form of transportation might create a serious risk to the beneficiary’s life or health.

“Paratransit service” means and includes any transportation service, other than fixed route transportation service, that is provided by the New Jersey Transit Corporation, whether directly or indirectly through contract, to comply with the requirements of the federal “Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990” (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.), by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to P.L.1987, c.455 (C.34:16-51 et seq.), and by counties under the “Senior Citizen and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance Act,” P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.). “Paratransit service” shall include Medicaid transportation service², as delivered through the Medicaid program’s non-emergency medical transportation broker and in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth by the Department of Human Services².

“Taxicab” means an autocab or taxi as defined in R.S.48:16-1, excluding school buses as defined in R.S.39:1-1, omnibuses as defined in R.S.39:1-1, and limousines.

“Transportation network company” means a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other entity that is registered as a business in the State or operates in this State, and uses a digital network to connect a transportation network company rider to a transportation network company driver to provide a prearranged ride. For the purposes of this definition, the terms “digital network,” “prearranged ride,” “transportation network company driver,” and “transportation network company rider” shall have the same meanings as provided in section 2 of P.L.2017, c.26 (C.39:5H-2).

b. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, ²except any law, rule or regulation governing the Medicaid program’s non-emergency medical transportation approval process,² and to the extent permissible under federal law, for a period of two years following the effective date of this act, taxicabs, limousines, and transportation network companies shall be permitted to provide paratransit service within the State.

c. Within 60 days of the termination of the two-year period in which the provision of paratransit services is permitted by taxicabs, limousines, and transportation network companies, each paratransit provider that provided paratransit service by means of a taxicab, limousine, or transportation network company shall prepare and submit a report to the department containing the following information:

(1) information on the number of paratransit service rides provided during the two-year period;

(2) information on any vehicle safety, labor, environmental, or any other applicable violations that occurred during the provision of paratransit services; and

(3) information pertaining to each motor vehicle accident that occurred during the provision of paratransit services and any related injuries or insurance claims that resulted from each motor vehicle accident.

d. Within 90 days of the termination of the two-year period in which the provision of paratransit services is permitted by taxicabs, limousines, and transportation network companies, the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the New Jersey Transit Corporation, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Department of Health, shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature concerning the efficacy of allowing taxicabs, limousines, and transportation network companies to provide paratransit services in the State. The report shall include, at a minimum:

(1) information on the number of contracts entered into with paratransit providers that are taxicabs, limousines, or transportation network companies during the two-year period;

(2) information concerning the advantages and disadvantages of permitting taxicabs, limousines, and transportation network companies to provide paratransit services;

(3) a summary of the information provided to the department by each paratransit service provider pursuant to subsection c. of this section; and

(4) a recommendation of whether the temporary provision of paratransit service by taxicabs, limousines, and transportation network companies should be made permanent.

The department shall publish the report on the department’s Internet website following the submission of the report to the Governor and Legislature.¹

¹[4.] 2.¹ This act shall take effect ¹[immediately] on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Transportation may take anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act, and shall expire following the submission of the department’s report to the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to subsection d. of section 1 of this act¹.