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Bill: SR 22: The Public Transportation Accesibility Act
Details
Submitted by[?]: Labour Party
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: December 3076
Description[?]:
| ***SR 22: The Public Transportation Accessibility Act*** Sponsored by: Senator Ryan Fay (SDP) Cosponsored by: Senator Joseph Augutis, Shadow Finance Minister (SPD) and Senator Michael Gardner, Shadow Infrastructure and Transport Minister (SPD) ______________________________________________ Be it resolved by the majority of the Senate assembled, that: Article I: Public transportation is partially subsidized with the remainder "user-pays". ______________________________________________ The population of Solentia continues to grow at a steady pace. With this rise comes the inevitable congestion from large volumes of traffic, among other things. By taking the initiative with this bill, traffic congestion can be partially alleviated, which will lead to lower commute times, more efficiency in the workplace, more free time at home, less consumer spending on fuel, and less pollution from car emissions. Since the bill only partially subsidizes public transportation rather than fully subsidizing it, we expect that it will stimulate demand for public transportation moderately, but enough to make a noticeable difference in traffic congestion and other scenarios. Because "user-pays" is part of the bill, we expect government revenues to increase as ridership increases, greatly offsetting the cost of this bill to the treasury. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Funding of public transport (where applicable).
Old value:: Local governments decide upon the funding policy.
Current: Public transport is fully user-pays.
Proposed: Public transport is partially subsidised with the remainder "user-pays".
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 18:22:27, February 14, 2011 CET | From |  Labour Party | To | Debating the SR 22: The Public Transportation Accesibility Act |
| Message | *from the floor of the Senate* I was asked by Senator Fay to speak to you all on behalf of this bill. I wish to make only brief remarks to inform you why this bill would be a great boost to our infrastructure. We estimate that the population of Solentia could reach one billion souls within fifty years, and we must be ready to accommodate the future demands for transportation. By investing in public transportation, we can develop a system that is inexpensive to use, efficient and sustainable. Lowering the volume of cars on the road will lower traffic congestion, thereby reducing commute times and pollution and increasing efficiency. This is a bill that should be tolerable and favorable to all parties, regardless of ideology. Vote affirmative, and I yield the balance of my time back to Senator Fay. Senator Michael Gardner Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport (SPD) ______________________________________________________________________ I now yield to my colleague, Senator Augutis. Senator Fay Social Democratic Chancellor ______________________________________________________________________ Thank you, Senator Fay. My colleagues, I am here simply to report on the bill's finances. As Shadow Finance Minister, I have extensively looked at the bill's costs and analyzed it accordingly. According to our calculations, the bill is likely to pay for itself and should be seen as an investment, rather than an entitlement. This is NOT an entitlement. The partial subsidizing of rider costs are to stimulate demand, not for any other purpose. Since the rest of the cost is "user-pays", and since we expect a large increase in ridership nationwide, the government stands to see an increase in revenue from increased ridership. The increase in revenue from "user-pay" will almost entirely cover the cost of the bill, and this does not even compute the gains from increased efficiency and lower commute times, which will surely be a boost to the business community and industry. In short, this bill is deficit neutral and will be a huge boost to consumers, businesses and industry. There is something for everyone in this bill, and I urge an affirmative vote, and I yield back. Senator Joseph Augutis Shadow Finance Minister (SDP) |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 168 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 257 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Moderation will not approve a Cultural Protocol request within the first 48 hours of it being requested. This is in order to give other players a chance to query the proposed changes, if they wish to do so. Moderation may be approached for advice on a proposed change, but any advice proffered should always be understood under the provisio that no final decision will be made until at least 48 hours after the request has been formally submitted for approval. |
| Random quote: "I consider myself a citizen of the world!" - Charlie Chaplin |