SB 76 — Transportation.

Summary

(1) Existing law creates the State Transit Assistance program, under which certain revenues in the Public Transportation Account are allocated by formula for public transportation purposes. Under that program, funds may not be allocated to a transit operator for operating purposes unless the operator meets one of 2 specified efficiency standards, subject to certain exceptions. However, existing law suspends those restrictions with respect to allocations for operating purposes made through the 2014–15 fiscal year. This bill would continue the suspension of those restrictions through the 2015–16 fiscal year. (2) Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law requires the authority to establish an independent peer review group for the purpose of reviewing the planning, engineering, financing, and other elements of the authority's plans and issuing an analysis of the appropriateness and accuracy of the authority's assumptions and an analysis of the viability of the authority's funding plan for each corridor. Existing law specifies the required qualifications for the members of the peer review group. This bill would revise the required qualifications for certain members of the peer review group. (3) Existing law, as part of an amendment of the Budget Act of 2012, appropriates $2,609,076,000 from the High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund to the High-Speed Rail Authority for construction of the high-speed rail project and makes that appropriation available for encumbrance until June 30, 2018. Existing law requires the authority to provide a project update report to specified committees of the Legislature by March 1 and November 1 of each year in which that funding is encumbered. This bill would instead require the project update report to be provided to those committees by March 1, 2017, and every 2 years thereafter. (4) Existing law, in connection with the appropriation referenced in (3) , also requires the High-Speed Rail Authority to provide various reports relating to authority staffing and contract management issues with respect to certain contracts to be awarded by the authority. This bill would repeal those reporting requirements. (5) Existing law defines the authorized routes in the State Highway System, including State Route 275, which is defined to be the Tower Bridge from the west side of the Sacramento River near the City of West Sacramento to the east side of the Sacramento River near the City of Sacramento. Existing law authorizes the California Transportation Commission to relinquish any portion of State Route 275 to a city in which it is located with the agreement of that city, pursuant to terms that the commission finds to be in the best interest of the state. This bill would authorize the commission to relinquish the Tower Bridge to one or more cities in which it is located. The bill, until July 1, 2016, would provide that the Tower Bridge shall be deemed to be in a state of good repair for these purposes, provided that it is not structurally deficient and is rated as satisfactory pursuant to the National Bridge Index. (6) Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of all state highways. Existing law, through the year 2020, requires the department to prepare an annual report to the Legislature describing the status of the department's progress in locating, assessing, and remediating barriers to fish passage, as defined. Existing law requires the department also to complete assessments of potential barriers to anadromous fish prior to commencing specified projects using state or federal transportation funds. Existing law requires the department to submit these assessments to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law also requires new projects to be constructed without presenting barriers to fish passage. This bill would require the department to prepare the annual report to the Legislature through the year 2025. The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify the above-described projects that present the most significant barriers to fish passage. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to prioritize and expedite the remediation of barriers to fish passage on those projects and would require the department to include a status report on those projects in each annual report issued after October 31, 2016. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the State Highway Account to the Department of Transportation for the identification and remediation of high-priority fish passages pursuant to these provisions. (7) Existing law provides for apportionment of fuel excise tax revenues to cities and counties pursuant to various formulas. This bill would authorize the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to allocate up to $700,000 from fuel excise tax revenues apportioned to Sacramento County or from other transportation funds available to the county for the purpose of building a soundwall in and around the Walerga Park area adjacent to State Route 80 in Sacramento County. (8) Existing law creates the Transportation Investment Fund, and continuously appropriates the moneys in the fund for various transportation purposes. This bill would require all assets and liabilities of the Transportation Investment Fund to become assets and liabilities of the State Highway Account before June 30, 2016. (9) Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to issue Clean Renewable Energy Bonds for purposes of financing the acquisition and installation of solar energy systems and related appurtenances at facilities of the department. Existing law requires the net proceeds of bonds issued under these provisions to be deposited in the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds Subaccount in the Special Deposit Fund. Existing law provides for the payment of debt service on these bonds from a specified appropriation from the State Highway Account. This bill would require any remaining moneys in the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds Subaccount to be transferred to the State Highway Account by July 1, 2015. (10) Existing law creates the Pedestrian Safety Account in the State Transportation Fund, and provides for the Department of Transportation to award pedestrian safety grants from appropriated funds to local agencies on a competitive basis. This bill would require all assets and liabilities of the Pedestrian Safety Account to become assets and liabilities of the State Highway Account before January 1, 2016. The bill would repeal all provisions relating to the account on January 1, 2016. (11) Existing law provides for the Department of Transportation and certain other agencies to contract for intercity rail passenger service with state funds appropriated for that purpose. This bill, by April 1, 2016, would require the department to prepare a report to the Legislature examining improvements to safety, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and improvements to intercity rail passenger service levels that could be achieved through investments in improvements to grade level crossings or construction of grade separation projects at key intersections along state-sponsored intercity rail routes. (12) Existing federal law, until September 30, 2017, authorizes a state to allow specified labeled vehicles to use lanes designated for high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs) . Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of HOVs. Under existing law, until January 1, 2019, until federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, those lanes may be used by certain vehicles not carrying the requisite number of passengers otherwise required for the use of an HOV lane, if the vehicle displays a valid identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) . Existing law authorizes the DMV to issue no more than 70,000 of those identifiers. This bill would increase the number of those identifiers that the DMV is authorized to issue to 85,000. (13) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

Bill Text

• Amended 06/11/15 - Amended Assembly Current pdf June 11, 2015
• Amended 03/24/15 - Amended Assembly pdf March 24, 2015
• Amended 03/23/15 - Amended Assembly pdf March 23, 2015
• Introduced 01/09/15 - Introduced pdf January 09, 2015
• SB76 View text html

Action History

1. June 11, 2015

   From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.

2. March 24, 2015

   From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.

3. March 23, 2015

   From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.

4. March 23, 2015

   Referred to Com. on BUDGET.

5. March 23, 2015

   In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

6. March 23, 2015

   Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 23. Noes 13. Page 378.) Ordered to the Assembly.

7. March 19, 2015

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

8. March 18, 2015

   From committee: Ordered to second reading.

9. February 05, 2015

   Referred to Com. on RLS.

10. January 12, 2015

    Read first time.

11. January 12, 2015

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 11.

12. January 09, 2015

    Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

• Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review · Primary

Votes

Subjects