The bill legislates the creation of a permanent Board that would develop a ten-year statewide transportation strategy as its first task by January 2002. In addition, the bill defines five Transportation Investment Areas and appropriates roughly $40 million for a variety of transit and highway studies, as well as bus service expansions in the I-95 corridor and Hartford area.

However, unless amended, the bill runs the risk of promoting yet another toothless advisory committee. The bill does not assign the Strategy Board any substantive role in review of ConnDOT's annual operating and capital budget or in the appointment of a Commissioner of Transportation. Neither does it provide the Board with the $10 million budget for staffing and operations requested by the current Strategy Board. Equally as important, the bill does not require that the environmental community, commuter advocates, and labor organizations be represented on the Board. These concerns will be aired by members of the Transportation Choices Coalition and others at a public hearing scheduled for Monday, March 19th (see calendar).