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B-1 APPENDIX B â SUGGESTED GUIDANCE TO REPORTERS RECOMMENDED INSTRUCTIONS The Survey of State Funding for Public Transportation report serves as the only comprehensive source of information on state-level funding provided to support public transportation service. The intent of this report is to provide detail on funding provided for general purpose public transportation service by the state. Given that state DOTs often administer state funds, the report relies on responses from transit staff within each of the state DOTs to provide this information. If applicable, reporters should also include in their responses those funds that are distributed directly to transit systems from state revenue sources, even if these funds are not administered by the state DOT. The attached spreadsheet includes data from the most recent submission. Please update this data for the current year. STATE OVERVIEW (TAB 1) Total state transit funding: Provide the total funding provided for general purpose public transportation from state revenue sources. This dollar amount should include funds administered by the state DOT as well as funds distributed directly to transit agencies, if applicable. State funding for state supported Medicaid related transportation should not be included in the total. This total should match the amount reported in the Excel file data submission. Description of state funding sources: Please provide a general description of the state revenue sources for public transportations. Examples might include general fund allocations, a dedicated sales tax, or funding from a Transportation Trust Fund. Description of major changes in state funding: Please provide a description of any major changes that will result in a notable change in total state funding from previous years (e.g., the state eliminated all general fund allocations to transit, the state legislature passed a new dedicated sales tax). Total number of transit systems in the state: Report the total number of public transportation systems operating in the state. This number should include all systems open to the general public supported at some level with public funding. Indicate the number of systems operating as rural, small urban, or urban systems following FTA definitions. Total number of MPOs in the state. Report the total number of MPOs designated in the state, in whole or in part. List of local funding sources used in the state. Please indicate typical sources of local revenue used in the state to support public transportation.
B-2 TOTAL STATE FUNDING (TAB 2) State Funding: Please provide the total state funding support for general purpose public transportation from state revenue sources. This dollar amount should include funds administered by the state DOT as well as funds distributed directly to transit agencies, if applicable. State funding for state supported Medicaid related transportation should not be included in the total. A source is deemed local if the decision to levy a tax for transit funding is made at the local level. As an example, if a locality determines that it will levy a local option sales tax, this is considered a local source even if the sales tax is administered by the state. Source of funds: States should report the source of funds for transit funding. In cases where the funds are sourced from the statewide Transportation Fund, states should report the source based on the original source of these funds. As an example, if revenues for a stateâs Transportation Trust Fund are comprised of 50 percent gas tax and 50 percent vehicle registration fees, the sources of transit funding should assume this proportional distribution. While bond funding is generally considered a financing strategy, please include applied bond funding in your reporting. PROGRAM LEVEL TRANSIT FUNDING (TAB 3) Please provide information for each distinct state transit funding program. For each program provide the following: Total state funding: Please provide the total funding support for the program from state revenue sources. Eligible use of funds: Please indicate the total program funding restricted to capital uses, operating uses, or unrestricted. Operating and capital funds should be defined consistently with the National Transit Database following the Uniform System of Accounts. Method of distribution. Please indicate the dollar amounts of the program distributed by formula or through a discretionary program. Discretionary funds are defined as funds administered with an ability for the state DOT to determine the amount of funding provided to specific agencies. Formula funds are defined as funding provided without an ability by the state DOT to determine an eligible amount based on defined criteria.
