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
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          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