OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill – State Rep. Al Riley, Chair of the House Mass Transit Committee, announces that Governor Quinn signed HB3672. Sponsored by Rep. Riley, HB3672 is one of the many mass transit measures passed this year to add transparency to transit board operations.
HB3672 would mandate the transit agencies in the Chicago region to live stream their board meetings. CTA, PACE, METRA and the RTA are required to also archive their board meetings online.
In designing the bill, Representative Riley stated that the general public is not always able to attend most transit board meetings, which are held at 9:00 a.m. when most board meetings are being held. At times, CTA and RTA board meetings have been scheduled on the same date. With millions in state funds going to the regional transit agencies, Representative Riley believes that important transit policy decisions and budget information should be readily available to the riding public.
The RTA Board recently approved an FY 2015 budget of nearly $3.0 billion. The breakdown of operating expenses are $1.44 billion for the CTA, $753.1 million for Metra, $223.2 million to PACE and $172.2 million for ADA paratransit. The operating budget for the RTA is $42.2 million.
Compliance with the provisions of the new law does not relieve the transit agencies of its obligations under the Open Meetings Act.
The RTA recently started live streaming their board meetings beginning in December 2014.
For more information, please contact Riley by email at [email protected] or by phone at (708) 799-4364.
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For a PDF version of the press release, click HERE.