BILL NUMBER: SB 1587 CHAPTERED 09/29/06 CHAPTER 673 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2006 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2006 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 2006 INTRODUCED BY Senator Lowenthal FEBRUARY 24, 2006 An act to amend Sections 65080 and 66513 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 182.7 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1587, Lowenthal Transportation planning: federal funds. (1) Existing law requires transportation planning agencies to adopt and submit an updated regional transportation plan to the California Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation every 3 years, except that a transportation planning agency that does not contain an urbanized area may, at its option, submit an updated plan every 4 years. This bill would instead require a transportation planning agency to submit an updated regional transportation plan every 4 years, except that a transportation planning agency located in a federally designated air quality attainment area or that does not contain an urbanized area could, at its option, submit an updated plan every 5 years. (2) Existing federal law provides appropriations of congestion mitigation and air quality program funds for certain transportation purposes. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to apportion these funds by federal formula to metropolitan planning organizations or transportation planning agencies for expenditure on eligible projects, and these funds are available for expenditure during 3 federal fiscal years, including the year of apportionment. This bill would require the department to provide specific apportionments for the 2007 and 2008 federal fiscal years for the Monterey Bay and Santa Barbara regions. (3) The bill would make other related changes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 65080 of the Government Code is amended to read: 65080. (a) Each transportation planning agency designated under Section 29532 or 29532.1 shall prepare and adopt a regional transportation plan directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system, including, but not limited to, mass transportation, highway, railroad, maritime, bicycle, pedestrian, goods movement, and aviation facilities and services. The plan shall be action-oriented and pragmatic, considering both the short-term and long-term future, and shall present clear, concise policy guidance to local and state officials. The regional transportation plan shall consider factors specified in Section 134 of Title 23 of the United States Code. Each transportation planning agency shall consider and incorporate, as appropriate, the transportation plans of cities, counties, districts, private organizations, and state and federal agencies. (b) The regional transportation plan shall include all of the following: (1) A policy element that describes the transportation issues in the region, identifies and quantifies regional needs, and describes the desired short-range and long-range transportation goals, and pragmatic objective and policy statements. The objective and policy statements shall be consistent with the funding estimates of the financial element. The policy element of transportation planning agencies with populations that exceed 200,000 persons may quantify a set of indicators including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) Measures of mobility and traffic congestion, including, but not limited to, vehicle hours of delay per capita and vehicle miles traveled per capita. (B) Measures of road and bridge maintenance and rehabilitation needs, including, but not limited to, roadway pavement and bridge conditions. (C) Measures of means of travel, including, but not limited to, percentage share of all trips (work and nonwork) made by all of the following: (i) Single occupant vehicle. (ii) Multiple occupant vehicle or carpool. (iii) Public transit including commuter rail and intercity rail. (iv) Walking. (v) Bicycling. (D) Measures of safety and security, including, but not limited to, total injuries and fatalities assigned to each of the modes set forth in subparagraph (C). (E) Measures of equity and accessibility, including, but not limited to, percentage of the population served by frequent and reliable public transit, with a breakdown by income bracket, and percentage of all jobs accessible by frequent and reliable public transit service, with a breakdown by income bracket. (F) The requirements of this section may be met utilizing existing sources of information. No additional traffic counts, household surveys, or other sources of data shall be required. (2) An action element that describes the programs and actions necessary to implement the plan and assigns implementation responsibilities. The action element may describe all projects proposed for development during the 20-year life of the plan. The action element shall consider congestion management programming activities carried out within the region. (3) (A) A financial element that summarizes the cost of plan implementation constrained by a realistic projection of available revenues. The financial element shall also contain recommendations for allocation of funds. A county transportation commission created pursuant to Section 130000 of the Public Utilities Code shall be responsible for recommending projects to be funded with regional improvement funds, if the project is consistent with the regional transportation plan. The first five years of the financial element shall be based on the five-year estimate of funds developed pursuant to Section 14524. The financial element may recommend the development of specified new sources of revenue, consistent with the policy element and action element. (B) The financial element of transportation planning agencies with populations that exceed 200,000 persons may include a project cost breakdown for all projects proposed for development during the 20-year life of the plan that includes total expenditures and related percentages of total expenditures for all of the following: (i) State highway expansion. (ii) State highway rehabilitation, maintenance, and operations. (iii) Local road and street expansion. (iv) Local road and street rehabilitation, maintenance, and operation. (v) Mass transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail expansion. (vi) Mass transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail rehabilitation, maintenance, and operations. (vii) Pedestrian and bicycle facilities. (viii) Environmental enhancements and mitigation. (ix) Research and planning. (x) Other categories. (c) Each transportation planning agency may also include other factors of local significance as an element of the regional transportation plan, including, but not limited to, issues of mobility for specific sectors of the community, including, but not limited to, senior citizens. (d) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, each transportation planning agency shall adopt and submit, every four years, an updated regional transportation plan to the California Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation. A transportation planning agency located in a federally designated air quality attainment area or that does not contain an urbanized area may at its option adopt and submit a regional transportation plan every five years. When applicable, the plan shall be consistent with federal planning and programming requirements and shall conform to the regional transportation plan guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission. Prior to adoption of the regional transportation plan, a public hearing shall be held after the giving of notice of the hearing by publication in the affected county or counties pursuant to Section 6061. SEC. 2. Section 66513 of the Government Code is amended to read: 66513. The regional transportation plan shall be subjected to continuous review by the commission, with revisions prepared as the need may arise. The commission shall adopt revisions to the plan, consistent with Section 65080. SEC. 3. Section 182.7 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read: 182.7. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 182 and 182.5, Sections 188, 188.8, and 825 do not apply to the expenditure of an amount of federal funds equal to the amount of federal funds apportioned to the state pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of Section 104 of Title 23 of the United States Code. These funds shall be known as the congestion mitigation and air quality program funds and shall be expended in accordance with Section 149 of Title 23 of the United States Code. The department, the transportation planning agencies, and the metropolitan planning organizations may do all things necessary in their jurisdictions to secure and expend those federal funds in accordance with the intent of federal law and this chapter. (b) The congestion mitigation and air quality program funds, including any funds to which subsection (c) of Section 110 of Title 23 of the United States Code, as added by subdivision (a) of Section 1310 of Public Law 105-178, applies, shall be apportioned by the department to the metropolitan planning organizations designated pursuant to Section 134 of Title 23 of the United States Code and, in areas where none has been designated, to the transportation planning agency established by Section 29532 of the Government Code. The funds shall be apportioned to metropolitan planning organizations and transportation planning agencies responsible for air quality conformity determinations in federally designated air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas within the state in the manner and in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection (b)(2) of Section 104 of Title 23 of the United States Code. Funds apportioned under this subdivision shall remain available for three federal fiscal years, including the federal fiscal year apportioned. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the formula for distributing apportionments made to metropolitan planning organizations and transportation planning agencies eligible for funding according to subsection (b)(2) of Section 104 of Title 23 of the United States Code shall, for the 2007 and 2008 federal fiscal years, provide apportionments for the Monterey Bay and Santa Barbara regions such that each shall receive 50 percent of its 2005 apportionment in federal fiscal year 2007 and 25 percent of its 2005 apportionment in federal fiscal year 2008. (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), where county transportation commissions have been created by Division 12 (commencing with Section 130000) of the Public Utilities Code, all congestion mitigation and air quality program funds shall be further apportioned by the metropolitan planning organization to the county transportation commission on the basis of relative population within the federally designated air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas after first apportioning to the nonattainment and maintenance areas in the manner and in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection (b) (2) of Section 104 of Title 23 of the United States Code. In the Monterey Bay region, all congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program funds shall be further apportioned, on the basis of relative population, by the metropolitan planning organization to the regional transportation planning agencies designated under subdivision (b) of Section 29532 of the Government Code. (d) The department shall notify each metropolitan planning organization, transportation planning agency, and county transportation commission receiving an apportionment under this section, as soon as possible each year, of the amount of obligational authority estimated to be available for expenditure from the federal apportionment. The metropolitan planning organizations, transportation planning agencies, and county transportation commissions, in cooperation with the department, congestion management agencies, cities and counties, and affected transit operators, shall select and program projects in conformance with federal law. Each metropolitan planning organization and transportation planning agency shall, not later than August 1 of each even-numbered year beginning in 1994, submit its transportation improvement program prepared pursuant to Section 134 of Title 23 of the United States Code to the department for incorporation into the state transportation improvement program. (e) Not later than July 1 of each year, the metropolitan planning organizations and the regional transportation planning agencies receiving obligational authority under this section, shall notify the department of the projected amount of obligational authority that each entity intends to use during the remainder of the current federal fiscal year, including, but not limited to, a list of projects that will use the obligational authority. Any federal obligational authority that will not be used shall be redistributed by the department to other projects in a manner that ensures that the state will continue to compete for and receive increased obligational authority during the federal redistribution of obligational authority. If the department does not have sufficient federal apportionments to fully use excess obligational authority, the metropolitan planning organization or transportation planning agency relinquishing obligational authority shall make sufficient apportionments available to the department to fund alternate projects, when practical, within the geographical areas relinquishing the obligational authority. Notwithstanding this subdivision, the department shall comply with subsection (f) of Section 133 of Title 23 of the United States Code. (f) The department shall be responsible for closely monitoring the use of federal transportation funds, including congestion management and air quality funds to assure full and timely use. The department shall prepare a quarterly report for submission to the commission regarding the progress in use of all federal transportation funds. The department shall notify the commission and the appropriate implementation agency whenever there is a failure to use federal funds within the three-year apportionment period established under subdivision (b). (g) The department shall provide written notice to implementing agencies when there is one year remaining within the three-year apportionment period established under subdivision (b). (h) Within six months of the date of notification required under subdivision (g), the implementing agency shall provide to the department a plan to obligate funds that includes, but need not be limited to, a list of projects and milestones. (i) If the implementing agency has not met the milestones established in the implementation plan required under subdivision (h), prior to the end of the three-year apportionment period established under subdivision (b), the commission shall redirect those funds for use on other transportation projects in the state. (j) Congestion mitigation and air quality program funds available under this section exchanged pursuant to Section 182.8 may be loaned to and expended by the department. The department shall repay from the State Highway Account to the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund all funds received as federal reimbursements for funds exchanged under Section 182.8 as they are received from the Federal Highway Administration, except that those repayments are not required to be made more frequently than on a quarterly basis.