BILL NUMBER: AB 713 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 44
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 27, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JUNE 27, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 26, 2006
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JUNE 26, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 18, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torrico
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
An act to amend Section 2704.13 and 2704.16 of the Streets and
Highways Code, and to amend Sections 3 and 4 of Chapter 697 of the
Statutes of 2002, relating to transportation, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 713, Torrico Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond
Act for the 21st Century.
Existing law provides for submission of the Safe, Reliable
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century to the
voters for approval at the November 7, 2006, general election.
Subject to voter approval, the act would provide for the issuance of
$9.95 billion of general obligation bonds, $9 billion of which would
be available in conjunction with any available federal funds for
planning and construction of a high-speed train system pursuant to
the business plan of the High-Speed Rail Authority, and $950 million
of which would be available for capital projects on other passenger
rail lines to provide connectivity to the high-speed train system and
for capacity enhancements and safety improvements to those lines.
This bill would instead provide for submission of the Safe,
Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century to
the voters for approval at the November 4, 2008, general election.
The bill would make other related changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2704.13 of the Streets and Highways Code, as
amended by Section 2 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004, is
amended to read:
2704.13. The committee shall determine whether or not it is
necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this
chapter in order to carry out the actions specified in Sections
2704.06 and 2704.095 and, if so, the amount of bonds to be issued and
sold. Successive issues of bonds may be issued and sold to carry out
those actions progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the
bonds authorized be issued and sold at any one time. The committee
shall consider program funding needs, revenue projections, financial
market conditions, and other necessary factors in determining the
shortest feasible term for the bonds to be issued.
SEC. 2. Section 2704.16 of the Streets and Highways Code, as
amended by Section 3 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004, is
amended to read:
2704.16. The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board
to make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account, in
accordance with Section 16312 of the Government Code, for purposes of
this chapter. The amount of the request shall not exceed the amount
of the unsold bonds which the committee has, by resolution,
authorized to be sold for the purpose of this chapter, less any
amount borrowed pursuant to Section 2701.17. The board shall execute
such documents as required by the Pooled Money Investment Board to
obtain and repay the loan. Any amount loaned shall be deposited in
the fund to be allocated by the board in accordance with this
chapter.
SEC. 3. Section 3 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as
amended by Section 4 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004, is
amended to read:
Sec. 3. Section 2 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as
amended by Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004,
and as further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of the act amending this
section in the 2005-06 Regular Session, shall take effect upon the
adoption by the voters of the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger
Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, as set forth in Section 2 of
Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as amended by Sections 2 and 3
of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004, and as further amended by
Sections 1 and 2 of the act amending this section in the 2005-06
Regular Session.
SEC. 4. Section 4 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as
amended by Section 5 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004, is
amended to read:
Sec. 4. (a) Section 2 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2003, as
amended by Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004,
and as further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of the act amending this
section in the 2005-06 Regular Session, shall be submitted to the
voters at the November 4, 2008, general election in accordance with
provisions of the Government Code and the Elections Code governing
the submission of statewide measures to the voters.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all ballots of the
November 4, 2008, general election shall have printed thereon and in
a square thereof, exclusively, the words "Safe, Reliable High-Speed
Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century" and in the same square
under those words, the following in 8-point type: "This act provides
for the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the
21st Century. For the purpose of reducing traffic on the state's
highways and roadways, upgrading commuter transportation, improving
people's ability to get safely from city to city, alleviating
congestion at airports, reducing air pollution, and providing for
California's growing population, shall the state build a high-speed
train system and improve existing passenger rail lines serving the
state's major population centers by creating a rail trust fund that
will issue bonds totaling $9.95 billion, paid from existing state
funds at an average cost of ____ dollars ($____) per year over the
30-year life of the bonds, with all expenditures subject to an
independent audit " The blank space in the question to appear on the
ballot pursuant to this subdivision shall be filled in by the
Attorney General with the appropriate figure provided by the
Legislative Analyst relative to the annual average cost of the bonds.
Opposite the square, there shall be left spaces in which the voters
may place a cross in the manner required by law to indicate whether
they vote for or against the measure.
(c) Notwithstanding Sections 13247 and 13281 of the Elections
Code, the language in subdivision (b) shall be the only language
included in the ballot label for the condensed statement of the
ballot title, and the Attorney General shall not supplement, subtract
from, or revise that language, except that the Attorney General may
include the financial impact summary prepared pursuant to Section
9087 of the Elections Code and Section 88003 of the Government Code.
The ballot label is the condensed statement of the ballot title and
the financial impact summary.
(d) Where the voting in the election is done by means of voting
machines used pursuant to law in the manner that carries out the
intent of this section, the use of the voting machines and the
expression of the voters' choice by means thereof are in compliance
with this section.
SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train
Bond Act for the 21st Century from the November 7, 2006, general
election and to instead submit it to the voters at the November 4,
2008, general election, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.