SB 909 Summary

• Establishes the Regional Transit Authority Act to create regional public transit authorities in qualified regions consisting of a county with the largest population and its three most populous contiguous counties.

• Creates a governance board appointed by county executives and mayors, with one non-voting governor's representative as chair, to direct authority operations and approve transit planning, federal funding applications, and service coordination.

• Authorizes authorities to levy assessments and motor vehicle registration taxes (subject to voter approval), issue bonds and notes, and raise revenue to fund public transportation systems including rolling rapid transit on up to 4 corridors in the Detroit area region.

• Requires authorities to serve as designated recipients for federal transit grants, review and approve public transportation provider applications, and ensure at least 85% of locally-raised revenue is spent on services in the jurisdiction where collected.

• Appropriates $250,000 from the comprehensive transportation fund to each authority for initial implementation and repeals competing provisions from the 1967 Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act.