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<title>State Tax Credit For Transit? And, APT Bus Ride Classes </title>
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<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <span
style='color:blue'><img width=399 height=123 id="Picture_x0020_3"
src="cid:image001.png@01C99C13.B51BCEE0"
alt="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Picture"></span> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:green'> </span>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Symbol;
color:blue'>·</span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:blue'> </span><b> </b><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue'>HB 2034
Transit Credit Vote Expected This Week!</span></b> <br>
<span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Symbol;color:blue'>·</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:blue'> </span><b>
</b><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>Learn to Ride the Bus on 3/10, 4/14, 5/12 </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Symbol;color:blue'>·</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:blue'> </span><b>
</b><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:blue'>HB 2034 Transit Credit Vote Expected This Week!</span></b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>There could
be a House floor vote on HB 2034 (authored by Rep. R.C. Pruett, D-Antlers)
Wednesday or Thursday at the State Capitol. State funding is<u> one</u> way to
help public transportation, but<u> another</u> is to give private businesses an
incentive to fund transit the way HB 2034 would. It may surprise some to
learn that no companies in Oklahoma County, for example, help fund a public
transit route.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Oklahoma
Transit Association (OTA) has let some<b><span style='color:green'> Oklahoma
Alliance for Public Transportation</span></b></span><b> </b><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:green'>(APT)</span></b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> members know this
week that HB 2034 this Session could change that. HB 2034 would change
the tax code in a small but crucial way. You may want to learn more and
help educate others, perhaps including your State Representative. </span><b><u>
</u></b><b><u><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:green'>The APT helped originate this idea.</span></u></b><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:green'> Three
out of the ten table groups suggested starting a state transit tax credit at
the APT’s transit “<u>IdeaRaiser”</u> attended by about 50 on September 5, 2007
at METRO Tech in OKC. </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>HB 2034
would provide a tax credit for private sector investment in public transit,
maybe as much as $20,000 per public transit system. There is no transit
credit allowed today. An <span style='color:black'>investment from a
private company could help sustain current routes in the state and could sow
the seed for expanded or more frequent day service in areas without public
transit service. Or, for example, maybe that investment by a hospital or a call
center could fill a transit “gap” to workers during non-traditional
hours. That “gap” might be the need to get to an 11:00 pm start of a
night hospital shift or to leave a night shift at midnight from a call
center. Once it starts, though, the route is then open to the
public so that it benefits even more people. </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The title of
the HB 2034 would be struck and that is normal; it is a parliamentary maneuver
allowing the committee and/or the full House to see the bill once again late in
session. Striking the title also allows for further honing the bill language
later in session. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The main
telephone number for the state House is 405.521.2711 but all office direct
lines are listed on the member pages at </span><a href="http://www.okhouse.gov"><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#FF6600'>www.okhouse.gov</span></a><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>. Click on a
combination of “House Membership” and “Information” to learn who the
representative of an area might be. Please tell your colleagues or maybe your
State Representative about HB 2034.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Symbol;
color:blue'>·</span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:blue'> </span><b><i> </i></b><b><i><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue'>Second
Tuesday Bus Ride Field Training: 5:10 pm on 3/10, 4/14 and
5/12 </span></i></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Here is an
idea to get you ready for Earth Day or April 25 “tax day” (money savings)… The
Oklahoma Alliance for Public Transportation (APT) is conducting free training
on second Tuesdays. Its volunteers will accompany people at that time who
want to learn how to catch and ride METRO Transit buses. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Yes, it’s
free and just one 75 minute training should be enough to help most people learn
how to hail a bus, transfer to another bus route, understand the paper bus
route schedules, to park-and-ride, by visiting the Downtown Transit Center
(DTC), and more. A lesson takes about an hour.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Learners
will meet at the Walgreen parking lot at NW 23<sup>rd</sup> and Classen in
Oklahoma City and should look for an APT with an umbrella! All this plus
the APT volunteers will tell the trainees useful facts about transit, about the
APT, concerning transit’s need for dedicated local funding, and answer the
learners’ questions. </span><b> </b><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:green'>ABOVE ALL, MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND
BRING A FRIEND OR COLLEAGUE! </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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