BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 57
Author: Soto (D), et al
Amended: 9/4/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
SEN. TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 7-4, 7/10/07
AYES: Lowenthal, Cedillo, Corbett, Kehoe, Simitian,
Torlakson, Yee
NOES: McClintock, Ashburn, Dutton, Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-7, 8/30/07
AYES: Torlakson, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza,
Ridley-Thomas, Simitian, Steinberg, Yee
NOES: Cox, Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Runner,
Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 6/5/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Safe Routes to School Construction Program
SOURCE : Safe Routes to School National Partnership
DIGEST : This bill deletes the sunset date of the Safe
Routes to School program and provides that any annual state
budget allocation shall be in addition to any federal
funding received which is designated for "Safe Routes to
School" projects.
ANALYSIS : AB 1475 (Soto), Chapter 663, Statutes of 1999,
established the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. The
CONTINUED
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program provides grants to local agencies to make
infrastructure improvements around schools and
neighborhoods to improve the environment for school
children to walk and bicycle safety to school. Under
current law, this program will sunset January 1, 2008.
Though a state program, SRTS has been funded with an
approximate share of the state's annual federal safety
funding. The remainder has been divided between the State
Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) and local
safety programs. Of the local funds, approximately $10
million is allocated to the Railroad Grade Separation
Crossing Program with the remainder allocated to the local
Hazard Elimination Safety Program (HES).
The most recent federal transportation reauthorization act
- Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation
Equality Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) - passed in
2005, changed how safety projects are prioritized for
funding (which would negatively affect how state SRTS
projects would be funded) and established a federal SRTS
program, including some federal (non-safety) funding.
This bill:
1.Deletes the sunset date for the SRTS program.
2.Specifies that any budget allocation is in addition to
any federal funding received by the state that is
designated for SRTS projects. The bill also provides
that any federal funding received by the state for SRTS
projects shall be distributed in a competitive process,
consistent with federal requirements.
3.Allows the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to use
the previous framework for encumbering and expending SRTS
programs for any SRTS funds awarded during the 2006-07
and 2007-08 fiscal years. This provision of the bill
sunsets January 1, 2013.
4.States the Legislature's intent that federal safety funds
be allocated in approximately equal amounts between state
highways and local roads.
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5.Deletes obsolete sections and makes conforming changes to
implement SAFETEA-LU.
Background
According to data provided by Caltrans the SRTS program has
completed six cycles, beginning in 2000-01. Through the
2005-06 fiscal year, there were 2,843 applications and 570
projects awarded statewide at a total cost of over $190
million, of which $144 million were SRTS Construction
Program funds. The projects awarded throughout the state,
in all 12 Caltrans districts, and in both urban and rural
areas, have funded five basic types of infrastructure
improvements: sidewalk installation and upgrading, traffic
calming and speed reduction measurers, traffic signal
installation, pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements,
and construction of bicycle paths and other bicycle
facilities. Requests for funding have far exceeded
available resources in each year the program has been
administered.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09
2009-10 Fund
SRTS state funding $24,250
$24,250 Special*
*State Highway Account
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/07)
Safe Routes to School National Partnership (source)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Cancer Society
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
American Heart Association
Automobile Club of Southern California
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Bay Area Bicycle Coalition
Bicycle Commuter Coalition
California Association of Councils of Government
California Bicycle Coalition
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Parks and Recreation Society
California School Employees Association
California State Automobile Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
Cities Counties Schools Partnership
Cities of Bakersfield, Berkeley, Hesperia, Long Beach, Los
Angeles, Monrovia, Oakland, Redlands, San Jose,
Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and
Ventura
Coalition for Sustainable Transportation
Counties of Alameda, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and
Santa Clara
Fresno County Bicycle Coalition
Giant Bicycle
Greenwheels
Kaiser Permanente
League of California Cities
Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Napa County Bicycle Coalition
Petaluma Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee
Peralta Parent Teacheer Group
Public Health Law Program
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
Safe Kids Sonoma County
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Santa Cruz County Cycling Club
Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission
Sierra Club, Santa Barbara Group
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
Transportation and Land Use Coalition
Transportation Authority of Marin
Ventura County Transportation Commission
Walk and Roll Berkeley
WalkSanDiego
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office
and the sponsor, Safe Routes to School National
Partnership, SRTS program fulfills a critical safety,
health, and congestion needs for local areas.
Safety . Analysis of the Statewide Integrated Traffic
Records System, hospital discharge data, and death
certificate among California residents ages 5 to 15, in
2004 provides the following statistics regarding pedestrian
and bicyclists collisions and deaths:
1.44 pedestrian deaths and 760 children hospitalized for
pedestrian injuries.
2.11 bicycle deaths and 1,157 children hospitalized for
bicycle injuries.
3.Of the fatal collisions, eight out of 10 involved a motor
vehicle.
Health . According to 2004 data from the National Center
for Health Statistics provided by the sponsor, during the
past three decades, the prevalence of overweight young
people in the United States tripled among children six to
11 years old and more than doubled among adolescents 12 to
19 years old. In addition, according to the Federal
Highway Administration, in 1969 approximately 50 percent of
children walked or biked to school, whereas by 2001, only
about 15 percent did.
Congestion Relief . Caltrans, as required by law, prepared
an evaluation of the SRTS program. Dates January 2007, the
report found that the program has been effective in
achieving its goals of increasing walking/bicycling and
improving safety and recommended increasing funding for the
program.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
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Garcia, Garrick, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton,
Houston, Huff, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene,
Krekorian, La Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu,
Ma, Maze, Mendoza, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello,
Parra, Plescia, Portantino, Price, Richardson, Sharon
Runner, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio,
Spitzer, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Walters, Wolk, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Soto
JJA:cm 9/4/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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