Friends,

Our friends at the Transportation and Livable Communities Coalition have asked us to send out the following information about a proposed elimination of the Local Transportation Assistance Funds (LTAF I and II) in the state budget proposal currently being considered at the Legislature. The LTAF I and II monies are funded by the Arizona State Lottery and make up the only statewide dedicated funding source for transit. Please see the information below and the attached fact sheet for more information.

Begin forwarded message:

A budget proposal yesterday would repeal LTAF. LTAF is the only statewide dedicated pot of money for transit. It is used for two purposes and the two funding pots are known as LTAF I and II. The money comes from lottery ticket sales:

Generally, the two purposes are: 1. what we think of as traditional transit - bus routes, express, etc.; 2. Paratransit. Paratransit dollars fund specialized transit capital and operations to help seniors and the disabled access medical care, and food. Without it, many homebound vulnerable adults will be stranded or left with one option - institutionalization or nursing homes. Rural transit operators in particular rely on this one source of money and won't survive. The cuts are immediate and permanent and will wipe out paratransit and transit in most parts of Arizona.

Click here to download the attached .pdf file

Teresa Brice, Executive Director
LISC Phoenix
101 N. First Ave., Suite 990
Phoenix, AZ 85003