(a) The transportation planning agency shall ensure the establishment and implementation of a citizen participation process appropriate for each county, or counties if operating under a joint powers agreement, utilizing the social services transportation advisory council as a mechanism to solicit the input of transit dependent and transit disadvantaged persons, including the elderly, disabled, and persons of limited means. The process shall include provisions for at least one public hearing in the jurisdiction represented by the social services transportation advisory council. Hearings shall be scheduled to ensure broad community participation and, if possible, the location of the hearings shall be rotated among the various communities within the advisory council’s jurisdiction. Notice of the hearing, including the date, place, and specific purpose of the hearing shall be given at least 30 days in advance through publication in a newspaper of general circulation. The transportation planning agency shall also send written notification to those persons and organizations which have indicated, through its citizen participation or any other source of information, an interest in the subject of the hearing.
(b) In addition to public hearings, the transportation planning agency shall consider other methods of obtaining public feedback on public transportation needs. Those methods may include, but are not limited to, teleconferencing, questionnaires, telecanvassing, and electronic mail.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 769, Sec. 12. (AB 2679) Effective January 1, 2013.)