BILL NUMBER: SB 346 CHAPTERED 10/01/01 CHAPTER 404 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 1, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 19, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 24, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senator Perata FEBRUARY 20, 2001 An act to amend Sections 66540.20 and 66540.22 of the Government Code, relating to transportation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 346, Perata. Transportation: San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. Existing law establishes the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority in state government and specifies the membership of the authority's governing board and the powers and duties of the authority, including a requirement that the authority prepare and adopt a San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Implementation and Operations Plan, to be submitted to the Legislature on an unspecified date. This bill would require the specified implementation and operations plan to be submitted to the Legislature for statutory approval, in accordance with a specified procedure. The bill would specify the types of alternative fuels that may be included in a feasibility analysis and proposal required under the plan. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 66540.20 of the Government Code is amended to read: 66540.20. (a) The authority shall prepare and adopt a San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Implementation and Operations Plan. The plan shall include all appropriate landside, vessel, and support elements, operational and performance standards, and policies. In preparing the plan, the authority shall review and consider, in addition to other materials and information, the findings presented in the document entitled "San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Initiative," dated February 1999, and prepared by the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum, and shall include, but need not be limited to, all environmental standards and conditions set forth in that initiative. The adoption of the plan shall be subject to public hearings in all nine San Francisco Bay area counties, and shall be reviewed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. After that review, the procedure regarding the plan shall continue as follows: (1) On or before December 12, 2002, the authority shall submit a preliminary draft of the final plan to the Legislature for review. (2) On or after the date of completion of all programmatic environmental impact reports in connection with adoption of the final plan, the authority shall submit the final plan to the Legislature for review and statutory approval. (3) The authority may implement the final plan only after the Legislature has approved it by statute. (b) The plan shall investigate and provide for terminal locations throughout the San Francisco Bay area. (c) The authority shall consult with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in preparation of the plan. The commission shall provide input and data in response to the authority's requests in a responsive and timely manner. The authority shall submit the plan to the commission for review and comment not later than 90 days prior to the date the plan is submitted to the Legislature. The commission shall prepare and transmit comments on the plan to the authority not later than 90 days after the date the plan is submitted to the commission for review. The authority shall include any comments received from the commission when submitting the plan to the Legislature. (d) In compliance with subdivision (c), the Metropolitan Transportation Commission shall do all of the following: (1) Provide the authority with relevant data and analytical criteria for the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of alternative forms of transit, high-occupancy vehicle lane expansion, or other transportation investments in the corridors that potentially would be served by the authority. (2) Collaborate with the authority in updating the water transit demand model to include travel forecasting on each of the proposed water transit corridors. (3) Collaborate with the authority in the development of feeder system proposals. (4) Identify all necessary and appropriate steps required to coordinate the water transit system with other elements of the San Francisco Bay area transportation network. (e) The primary focus of the authority and the plan shall be to provide new or expanded water transit services and related ground transportation terminal access services that were not in operation as of June 30, 1999. The authority shall seek to cooperatively involve in the implementation, planning, and operations all existing water transit services and related ground transportation agencies in whose jurisdictions existing or planned water transit terminals are located. The authority shall operate in good faith to avoid negatively impacting water transit services and related ground transportation terminal access services in existence as of June 30, 1999. The authority may not request an allocation of any funds that were available to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for allocation on June 30, 1999, including the revenues dedicated from state-owned bridges to ferry services as of June 30, 1999, and revenues derived continuously from sources in the amounts and manner as specified in law in effect as of June 30, 1999. (f) The authority may not operate water transit services that are scheduled at the same time, from the same origin, and to the same destination as publicly sponsored services, if those public services were in operation as of June 30, 1999. The authority shall provide ferry services at only those terminals in which docking rights have been obtained with the consent of the owner of those rights. (g) Following approval by the Legislature, by statute, of the plan, the authority shall negotiate in good faith, as described below, with public sponsors of existing water transit services and related ground transportation terminal access services to provide services in the approved plan that would expand or augment existing services in their service district, as defined by law, or in plans of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that existed and were in effect as of June 30, 1999. Good faith negotiations shall include all of the following steps: (1) Notification by certified mail from the authority to the public sponsor of existing water transit services or related ground transportation terminal access services, hereafter referred to as the notified agency, setting forth the specific services to be negotiated, including performance standards and conditions and cost reimbursement available according to the plan approved by the Legislature. (2) A period of 30 days from receipt of the notification required under paragraph (1) for the notified agency to declare in writing to the authority by certified mail their intent to negotiate in good faith. If the notified agency does not so declare in writing to the authority within 30 days, the notified agency shall be deemed not interested in negotiating for the service and the authority may announce a competitive bid process or take actions to directly operate the service if the board of directors of the authority makes a public finding that the action is in the public interest. (3) A period of 90 days from declaration of intent to negotiate by the notified agency for the authority and notified agency to negotiate in good faith to reach agreement. (4) The authority and notified agency, by mutual agreement, may extend the period for good faith negotiations. (5) Notwithstanding the procedure described in subdivision (h), if at the end of 90 days or the mutually agreed-upon extension period for negotiations, the authority and the notified agency have not reached agreement for operation of the service, the authority may announce a competitive bid process. The notified agency may participate in that competitive bid process. (h) If at the conclusion of the good faith negotiations process there is a dispute between the authority and the notified agency as to the impact of proposed new services on existing services, the matter shall be submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for resolution pursuant to Section 66516.5 of the Government Code. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission shall make a determination based on the demand model adopted by the authority as to whether the proposed new service will have a minor or major impact on services existing as of June 30, 1999. A minor impact means an impact that reasonably and potentially diverts less than 15 percent of the passengers using services that were in existence as of June 30, 1999. A major impact means an impact that reasonably and potentially diverts 15 percent or more of the passengers using services that were in existence as of June 30, 1999. If the proposed new service will have a major impact, the authority may not operate a water transit service in that location without mutual agreement between the authority and the notified agency. If the proposed new service will have a minor impact, the authority may initiate service according to the procedures contained in subdivision (g). SEC. 2. Section 66540.22 of the Government Code is amended to read: 66540.22. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Implementation and Operations Plan shall include all of the following: (a) A detailed description of the high-speed water transit system, including, but not limited to, all routes to be operated and terminals to be served during the 10-year period following funding of the authority. The description may include phasing of the routes to be served and terminals to be constructed. (b) An adopted demand model based upon ridership surveys conducted throughout the region and an updated demand model developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. (c) A water transit demand analysis, based upon the demand model, of the demand forecast and cost-effectiveness for the water transit system as a whole and for each corridor to be served. (d) Architectural design criteria and standards for terminals and landside facilities to meet the performance objectives and operational criteria. The architectural design criteria and standards for terminals shall be developed in cooperation with the community advisory committee and in consultation with local jurisdictions that are prospective hosts of terminals for the water transit system. (e) An intermodal plan to connect water transit services with other modes of transportation and public transit, including, but not limited to, cooperative arrangements with existing public transit services and new intermodal services. The intermodal plan shall be developed in cooperation with the community advisory committee, the technical advisory committee, and existing ground transportation agencies. (f) A feasibility analysis and proposal for the use of new technologies and alternative fuels in marine engines and ground transportation intermodal services, to the extent feasible, to minimize air emission and water pollution impacts from the system operations. The new technologies and alternative fuels studied in the feasibility analysis and proposal for use in marine engines shall include, but need not be limited to, natural gas, 100 percent biodiesel, hybrid solar in combination with electric or wind power, and hybrid solar in combination with both solar and wind power. The analysis shall be conducted in cooperation with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission. (g) A plan for monitoring air emissions and water impacts that is mutually agreed upon by the authority and the entities listed in subdivision (f). (h) Design specifications for vessels, consistent with the architectural design criteria and standards for the terminals and landside facilities and the feasibility analysis to minimize air emission impacts. (i) A plan for acquiring the requisite vessels, including, but not limited to, a proposed request for proposals, that incorporates the design specifications and seeks to support shipbuilding and fleet maintenance within the region to the extent possible. (j) A plan for ensuring safety of vessel operations traveling on the San Francisco Bay. The plan shall be developed in cooperation with the California Maritime Academy and the United States Coast Guard. (k) A systemwide regional programmatic environmental impact report and study of the plan, consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) , and consistent with the substantive requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.). The report shall include an independent evaluation conducted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to assess the air quality impacts of the complete water transit system, as set forth in the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Implementation and Operations Plan, in comparison to transporting the same number of people over the same distance by motor vehicles and other modes of transportation. (l) An overall funding and financing plan based upon the detailed description of the water transit system and demand analysis, including, but not limited to, acquisition and construction phasing. (m) A projection of capital and cash-flow requirements, including, but not limited to, costs for vessels and associated maintenance facilities, terminals and associated land use costs, and costs for feeder vehicles and associated maintenance facilities. (n) A projection of operating costs and revenues, including, but not limited to, projected patronage, fare structure, and fare revenues for water transit and feeder services. (o) A proposal for ongoing operating financial support. (p) An analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the water transit system in comparison to other options for mobility and disaster relief and recovery. The analysis shall be prepared in cooperation with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.