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1. After hearing about the proposed major service cuts for PSTA in their upcoming budget even as ridership returns to what it was pre-Covid, this shows how relying on County funding for transit is not sustainable. Any future state legislation related to the mergers of the various MPOs/TPOs in the Tampa Bay Metro Area should include giving municipalities the right to do transit referendums. If the county governments do not want to pay for more frequent local bus transit, bus rapid transit, and rail transit/passenger rail, then the municipalities should be allowed to fund those projects instead via referendums. In 2016, voters in the City of Atlanta passed a half-penny sales tax to fund rail transit and bus transit improvements and expansions within the City of Atlanta. The City of Atlanta was able to put a half-penny sales tax on the ballot because of legislation that was enacted by the State of Georgia. If cities like Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, and St. Petersburg were allowed to put a half-penny sales tax on the ballot for transit investment, they would easily pass. Then there would be local funding to improve PSTA bus service and HART bus service, build rail transit between Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, and St. Petersburg via the Howard Frankland Bridge, and build a multimodal center at Tampa Union Station for State-Supported Amtrak service and Brightline. Even if it requires state legislation, cities in the Tampa Bay Metro Area should have the right to do transit referendums.

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