BILL ANALYSIS AB 1550 Page 1 Date of Hearing: January 9, 2006 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Jenny Oropeza, Chair AB 1550 (Arambula) - As Amended: January 4, 2006 SUBJECT : California Transportation Commission (CTC): membership criteria SUMMARY : Requires that an effort be made to appoint CTC members from the Central Valley of California (Valley) and that they have relevant experience. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires the Governor, when making appointments to the CTC, to make every effort to assure that the membership is geographically balanced, including having members from the Valley. 2)Requires that efforts be made to assure that the members have a demonstrated background in the field of transportation, including but not limited to road construction, transportation planning, project design, and budget oversight. EXISTING LAW : Requires the Governor, in making CTC appointments, to seek a geographic balance, including representation from the northern and southern, and urban and rural, areas of the state. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : According to the author, current law regarding CTC membership, which requires representation from the northern, southern, urban and rural areas of the state, "ignores the significant and unique transportation needs of the Central Valley, through which two major highway arteries run." (One of those highways, State Route 99, has recently been proposed by Valley boosters for eventual upgrading to Interstate Highway status, which would require a major investment in capital funding.) Additionally, with the CTC having ongoing responsibility for the allocation of billions of dollars in transportation expenditures, the author believes the Governor should be encouraged to appoint individuals with an appropriate level of relevant experience. At the present time, one of the eight members of the CTC hails AB 1550 Page 2 from Riverbank (Stanislaus County) in the Valley region. All of the others are from urban or suburban areas but none are from rural areas, as specified in the existing statute. In regard to their relevant expertise, one current member is from the construction industry, one is in real estate development, two are former legislators, one is from labor, one is from a trucking company, one is in insurance, and one is an attorney. (The chairs of the Senate and Assembly Transportation Committees also serve on the CTC as ex-officio, nonvoting members.) REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support None received Opposition None received Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093