Transportation (Public Transit)

SB 185 allows transit authorities in Alabama counties with populations of 600,000 or more to join business organizations focused on transit operations, land acquisitions, and related activities. It authorizes these authorities to create subsidiaries and arrange loans for such business ventures. Crucially, the bill specifies that these business organizations cannot exercise eminent domain powers. The changes update Alabama law to better support transit authority partnerships while maintaining legal safeguards.

HB 215 amends Alabama law to allow transit authorities in counties with 600,000 or more residents to form business organizations and subsidiaries for transit operations, land acquisitions, and related activities. The bill authorizes these authorities to arrange loans for such organizations but explicitly prohibits these entities from exercising eminent domain. This change provides transit authorities with greater flexibility to manage operations through business partnerships while maintaining existing restrictions on eminent domain for the authorities themselves. The bill updates the legal framework without altering core transit authority powers or funding mechanisms.