WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor

Ch. 3

WHEREAS, The federal government has enacted the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 which provides funding and increased flexibility for
developing a balanced transportation system including highways, commuter rail, transit,
and new technologies including high speed rail, transportation management techniques,
and computer-directed vehicles; and

WHEREAS, The State's system of highways is reaching a point of maturation and
emphasis will shift toward multimodal transportation solutions consistent with federal
Clean Air Act requirements and the need to protect Maryland's natural environment and
the Chesapeake Bay; and

WHEREAS, Additional State revenues are necessary in order to maximize federal
funding and to continue to improve and develop Maryland's complex highway, rail, air,
port, and transit facilities; and

WHEREAS, Additional State and federal revenues will enable transportation
projects to be started, thereby creating jobs and revitalizing the construction industry and
the economy of the State: now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article 16 - Montgomery County

87-1.

(A)    The development of a transportation system, composed of transit facilities,
public highways, and other modes of transport, is necessary for the orderly growth and
development of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, for the safety, comfort, and
convenience of their citizens and for the economical utilization of public funds. The
provision of the necessary facilities and services cannot be achieved by the unilateral
action of the counties and the attainment thereof requires planning and action on a
regional basis, conducted cooperatively and on a continuing basis, between
representatives of the counties and the state roads commission. Montgomery and Prince
George's Counties are contiguous to [be] THE District of Columbia and to portions of
Northern Virginia, and together with these areas form a single metropolitan area. The
development of a transportation system adequate for the needs of Montgomery and
Prince George's Counties requires cooperative planning and action with such adjoining
areas. Such planning and action should be conducted in a manner which preserves, to the
extent the necessity for joint action permits, local autonomy over patterns of growth and
development. The requisite joint action may best be achieved through the device of a
transit district having the powers, functions and duties hereinafter set forth in this
chapter. In the provision of improved or expanded transit facilities, it is the policy of this
chapter to make use of private enterprise to the extent reasonably practicable.

(B)    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FINDS THAT, DUE TO THE INTEREST
OF THE STATE IN TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES IN THE WASHINGTON
METROPOLITAN AREA, AND DUE TO THE SUBSTANTIAL LEVEL OF STATE
FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES AND
OPERATIONS PROVIDED TO THE COMMISSION UNDER §§ 10-205 AND 10-207

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