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APTA COMMITTEE PROFILE |
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State Affairs Committee
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State Affairs Committee
Chair: Lisa Bacot, executive director, Florida Public Transportation Association
Vice Chair: Don Chartock, project delivery manager, Washington State DOT
APTA Staff Advisor: Rich Weaver, director-planning, policy and sustainability
140 Members | Find details here
What is the committee’s role for APTA and the industry as a whole?
 The role of the State Affairs Committee is to provide a forum for state departments of transportation (DOTs), state transit associations and other interested APTA members to promote the importance of state investment and decision making in public transportation and to leverage the tools and resources that APTA provides to support advocacy at the state and local levels.
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In addition, the committee identifies and discusses items of interest that support the interests of the states and the roles that states play in public transportation.
What are the committee’s top priorities for the year?
The development of the annual State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference in partnership with FTA, CTAA [Community Transportation Association of America] and AASHTO is a top priority. The conference provides a space for state associations and state DOTs to talk about issues of mutual interest, including state-level issues, and FTA state program issues.
Networking and coalition building efforts to build state support for transit funding are also priorities each year. Additional areas of focus for the committee include collecting information on different state mobility management approaches related to the rise of shared mobility companies like Uber and Lyft. The committee also works with agencies and state DOTs on implementing changes in the FAST Act, especially as they relate to issues around 5310, 5311, coordinated transportation services and non-emergency medical transportation.
How does the committee engage members in those priorities?
Committee Vice Chair Don Chartock, with the Washington State DOT, and I hold monthly calls or webinars to facilitate networking, best practice sharing and information exchange on various items of interest with the committee.
We also facilitate in-person meetings at the yearly State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference, APTA’s Legislative Conference and the Annual Meeting. We have even held dinners with committee members at other APTA events to stay up-to-date.
APTA’s committees play an important role in fulfilling the association’s commitment to developing industry leaders, especially young professionals. Please share how your committee encourages young professionals to participate in its work.
Because our monthly calls and in-person meetings are open to any APTA member, young professionals have an opportunity to engage with the committee regularly.
The annual State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference also provides an opportunity for young professionals to share their work during one of our roundtable discussions or to participate on a panel. The conference also presents a great opportunity to network with other members of the committee.
Please share how an individual’s service on this committee can add value to his or her career.
Given that the members are primarily state association leaders and state DOT staff, the value individuals will gain is in the information that is shared among committee members. There have been many occasions where ideas, procedures or even documents are shared from one state to another.
The committee evaluates and gives greater attention to items that have particularly high impact at the state and federal levels on the public transportation industry, state DOTs and state associations. These items include, but are not limited to, state legislation and regulations, state administration of federal programs, funding and structure of state programs and organization and operation of state associations.
The information presented at our monthly meetings is vital to each of our organizations and keeps us in the loop of activities.
Please describe the committee’s work to advance the goals in APTA’s strategic plan.
Our committee touches on nearly all aspects of APTA’s strategic plan, as these are issues that each state faces. Members of the committee review and provide key insight on the various legislative, funding and policy initiatives coming from the states and regions and use APTA’s resources to advocate for public transportation as well.
As we all know, state-level actions have an enormous impact on the success and advancement of public transportation across the nation. I firmly believe that the information and knowledge shared at our committee benefits not only those participating, but APTA members as a whole.
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