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Minutes for SB349 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Establishing an intercity passenger rail service program and making transfers annually into the passenger rail service revolving fund.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 7, 2024
Chairperson Petersen called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. and opened the hearing on SB349.
Adam Siebers, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, briefed the Committee on the bill. He said the bill requires the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to implement and administer an intercity passenger rail service program and provide funding to connect Kansas by rail with member states; the bill further requires the Secretary to identify unencumbered funds available for the intercity passenger rail service program and transfer $5 million each fiscal year to the Passenger Rail Service Revolving Fund (Attachment 1).
The following individuals testified as proponents for the bill. There was no opponent or neutral testimony.
Deborah Fischer Stout, President, Northern Flyer Alliance, recounted her positive experiences with rail travel and cited the special value of rail service and infrastructure compared with bus or airplane service. She also noted the economic value of rail service (Attachment 2).
Zack Pistora, Kansas Sierra Club, commented on the energy efficiency of rail service: 34% more efficient that domestic air travel and 46% more efficient than travel by car. He also noted the social benefits of rail travel (Attachment 3) .
Homer Nicholson, Mayor, Ponca City, Oklahoma, commented on the transportation desert in North-Central Oklahoma since the city lost both rail and air service. He said the proposed Heartland Flyer will address this deficit (Attachment 4).
Randy Frazer, Commissioner, Arkansas City, emphasized the importance of rail service to his community and commented that the bill aligns with the city's initiatives to promote tourism (Attachment 5) .
Karen Hiller, Councilwoman, City of Topeka, recounting her lifelong connection with trains, cited the economic benefits and the safety of rail travel; she supported the funding recommendation that would avoid debt service by accumulating funding over 10 years (Attachment 6).
Thomas A. Brown, Mayor, McPherson, stated that rail service is vital for economic development, and he noted its importance for college students and medical/mental-health treatment (Attachment7).
Ty Dragoo, SMART-T, Chairman, Kansas Legislative Board of Directors, briefly referenced his written testimony in support of the bill (Attachment 8).
John Anderson, Citizen, Johnson County, noted the Governor's support for the Heartland Flyer initiative, commented on its economic benefit, and stated that the federal government will cover most of the cost, requiring Kansas only $6.4 million in matching funds (Attachment 9).
Mark Corriston, Board Member, Northern Flyer Alliance, commented that he represents 60 cities, county commissioners and civic organizations. He reviewed the recent Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announcement of the Corridor Identification and Development Program funding to promote intercity passenger rail service and referenced KDOT's inclusion in the program. He stated that the bill is critical for KDOT to fulfill its financial and contractual obligation with the FRA (Attachment 10).
Cory Davis, Director of Multi-modal Transportation, KDOT, explained that by being included in the FRA's Corridor ID program, KDOT received $500,000 from the FRA for initial development (Attachment 11).
Conferees responded to members' questions:
- KDOT will consider all relevant sources for funding the Corridor program. (Mr. Davis)
- The rail line and the rail infrastructure are already in place. All that is needed is appropriate updating of the infrastructure. The new rail service will generate 100-120 jobs. (Ty Dragoo)
- KDOT will monitor three funding sources to assure support for the Heartland Flyer. The budget allocation will need to be done annually. Moving forward immediately is crucial in order to take advantage of the partnership established with the FRA. (Mr. Davis)
The Chair referenced the following written-only proponent testimony:
- Wendi Stark, Legislative Liaison, League of Kansas Municipalities (Attachment 12)
- Daron Hall, City Manager, Pittsburg (Attachment 13)
- Lily Wu, Mayor, City of Wichita (Attachment 14)
- Nickolaus Hernandez, City Manager, Dodge City (Attachment 15)
- J. Derek Sparks, Manager, Governmental Relations, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber (Attachment 16)
- Mickey Sandifer, Mayor, City of Shawnee (Attachment 17)
- Steven J. Gentling, Mayor, City of Guthrie, Oklahoma (Attachment 18)
- Matthew C.Allen, City Manager, Garden City (Attachment 19)
- Southwest Kansas Coalition (Attachment 20)
- David K. Martin, Citizen, Wichita (Attachment 21)
- Ed and Janice Rawlings, Citizens, Overland Park (Attachment 22)
- Dan Wancura, Citizen, Overland Park (Attachment 23)
- Lea and Will Petrie, Citizens, Kansas City, Missouri (Attachment 24)
- Neil and Jessica Corriston, Citizens, Riverside, Missouri (Attachment 25)
- John and Sandy Teeple, Citizens, Leawood (Attachment 26)
- Mike Stieben, Leavenworth County Commissioner, Leavenworth (Attachment 27)
The hearing on SB 349 was closed.
The Chair adjourned the meeting at 9:05 a.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 8, 2024.
