On February 12, Associate Policy Director Sarah Sample submitted written testimony to the Government, Labor, and Elections Committee in opposition to HB 394 – Counties – Construction of Sidewalks and Crosswalks – Safe Alternative Routes to Public Schools.
This bill would mandate county boards of education to, each year, identify and publish safe walking routes for students who do not qualify for transportation services. It also mandates that county governments review these reports and construct the necessary sidewalks and crosswalks to ensure those students have a safe path to school. If improvements are unable to be made the county has to provide transportation, but could also redistrict to reach the same end.
MACo does not raise policy objections to the bill’s goal of ensuring safe routes for students – county concerns are merely practical and cost-driven. While well-intentioned, this bill would place a costly mandate on county governments to carry out new state policies to create sidewalks and crosswalks as alternative routes for all public-school students.
As a rule, MACo resists state policies that result in costly or burdensome
local implementation. HB 394 would implement a costly, logistically difficult mandate for counties to implement. The prior year fiscal notes highlighted several counties in which this proposal would be extremely costly to execute. That feedback highlights construction and renovation costs rising to multiple millions of dollars. Others anticipate the need to purchase additional buses and hire bus drivers to meet the requirements of the bill. Redistricting is also an acknowledged means to compliance in the bill, which is a significant barrier to cross in order to comply – and notably, county government lacks the ability to make such changes.
More on MACo’s Advocacy:
