BILL NUMBER: AB 1228 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Solorio
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to amend Sections 2704.04 and 2704.09 of the Streets and
Highways Code, and to amend Sections 1, 3, and 4 of Chapter 697 of
the Statutes of 2002, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1228, as introduced, Solorio. 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 4, 2008, statewide 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. Existing law specifies that the initial segment of the
high-speed train system to be constructed is San Francisco to Los
Angeles, and also specifies certain maximum express service travel
times to be achieved for this and future corridors.
This bill would instead provide that Anaheim is to be the southern
terminus of the initial segment of the high-speed train system. For
the Anaheim-Irvine segment, the bill would provide that no general
obligation bond funds shall be available for construction, but that
those funds shall be available only for eligible planning,
environmental, and engineering costs. The bill would make other
related changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2704.04 of the Streets and Highways Code, as
added by Section 2 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, is amended
to read:
2704.04. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature by enacting this
chapter and of the people of California by approving the bond
measure pursuant to this chapter to initiate the construction of a
high-speed train network consistent with the authority's Final
Business Plan of June 2000.
(b) (1) Nine billion dollars ($9,000,000,000) of the proceeds of
bonds authorized pursuant to this chapter, as well as federal funds
and other revenues made available to the authority, to the extent
consistent with federal and other fund source conditions, shall be
used for planning and eligible capital costs, as defined in
subdivision (c), for the segment of the high-speed train system
between San Francisco Transbay Terminal and Los Angeles
Union Station the Anaheim Regional Transportation
Intermodal Center . Once construction of the San
Francisco- Los Angeles San
Francisco- Anaheim segment is fully funded, all
remaining funds described in this subdivision shall be used for
planning and eligible capital costs, as defined in subdivision (c),
for the following additional high-speed train segments without
preference to order:
(A) Oakland-San Jose.
(B) Sacramento-Merced.
(C) Los Angeles-Inland Empire.
(D) Inland Empire-San Diego.
(E) Los Angeles-Irvine Anaheim-Irvine
.
(2) For the Anaheim-Irvine initial operating segment, no general
obligation bond funds shall be used for the actual construction of
the segment. Those bond funds shall only be used for eligible
planning, environmental, and engineering costs.
(2)
(3) Revenues generated by operations above and beyond
operating and maintenance costs shall be used to fund construction of
the high-speed train system.
(c) Capital costs eligible to be paid from proceeds of bonds
authorized for high-speed train purposes pursuant to this chapter
include all activities necessary for acquisition of right-of-way,
construction of tracks, structures, power systems, and stations,
purchase of rolling stock and related equipment, and other related
capital facilities and equipment.
(d) Proceeds of bonds authorized pursuant to this chapter shall
not be used for any operating or maintenance costs of trains or
facilities.
(e) The State Auditor shall perform periodic audits of the
authority's use of proceeds of bonds authorized pursuant to this
chapter for consistency with the requirements of this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 2704.09 of the Streets and Highways Code, as added
by Section 2 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, is amended to
read:
2704.09. The high-speed train system to be constructed pursuant
to this chapter shall have the following characteristics:
(a) Electric trains that are capable of sustained maximum revenue
operating speeds of no less than 200 miles per hour.
(b) Maximum express service travel times for each corridor that
shall not exceed the following:
(1) San Francisco-Los Angeles Union Station
San Francisco-Anaheim : two hours, 42 minutes.
(2) Oakland-Los Angeles Union Station: two hours, 42 minutes.
(3) San Francisco-San Jose: 31 minutes.
(4) San Jose-Los Angeles: two hours, 14 minutes.
(5) San Diego-Los Angeles: one hour.
(6) Inland Empire-Los Angeles: 29 minutes.
(7) Sacramento-Los Angeles: two hours, 22 minutes.
(8) Sacramento-San Jose: one hour, 12 minutes.
The travel time in this subdivision may be appropriately adjusted
by the authority to reflect the amendments to this section extending
the southern terminal of the initial corridor from Los Angeles to
Anaheim.
(c) Achievable operating headway (time between successive trains)
shall be five minutes or less.
(d) The total number of stations to be served by high-speed trains
for all of the segments described in subdivision (b) of Section
2704.04 shall not exceed 24.
(e) Trains shall have the capability to transition intermediate
stations, or to bypass those stations, at mainline operating speed.
(f) For each corridor described in subdivision (b), passengers
shall have the capability of traveling from any station on that
corridor to any other station on that corridor without being required
to change trains.
(g) In order to reduce impacts on communities and the environment,
the alignment for the high-speed train system shall follow existing
transportation or utility corridors to the extent possible.
(h) Stations shall be located in areas with good access to local
mass transit or other modes of transportation.
(i) The high-speed train system shall be planned and constructed
in a manner that minimizes urban sprawl and impacts on the natural
environment.
(j) Preserving wildlife corridors and mitigating impacts to
wildlife movement where feasible in order to limit the extent to
which the system may present an additional barrier to wildlife's
natural movement.
SEC. 3. Section 1 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as
amended by Section 1 of Chapter 71 of the Statutes of 2004, is
amended to read:
Section 1. (a) In light of the events of September 11, 2001, it is
very clear that a high-speed passenger train network as described in
the High-Speed Rail Authority's Business Plan is essential for the
transportation needs of the growing population and economic activity
of this state.
(b) The initial high-speed train network linking San Francisco and
the bay area Bay Area to Los
Angeles Anaheim will serve as the backbone of
what will become an extensive 700-mile system that will link all of
the state's major population centers, including Sacramento, the
bay area Bay Area , the Central Valley,
Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County, and San Diego, and
address the needs of the state.
(c) The high-speed passenger train bond funds are intended to
encourage the federal government and the private sector to make a
significant contribution toward the construction of the high-speed
train network.
(d) The initial segments shall be built in a manner that yields
maximum benefit consistent with available revenues.
(e) After the initial investment from the state, operating
revenues from the initial segments and funds from the federal
government and the private sector will be used to pay for expansion
of the system. It is the intent of the Legislature that the entire
high-speed train system shall be constructed as quickly as possible
in order to maximize ridership and the mobility of Californians.
(f) At a minimum, the entire 700-mile system described in the
High-Speed Rail Authority's Business Plan should be constructed and
in revenue service by 2020.
SEC. 4. Section 3 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as
amended by Section 3 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2006 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,
as further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 44 of the
Statutes of 2006, and as further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of
the act amending this section in the 2005-06
2007- 08 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, as further amended by
Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2006, and as
further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of the act amending this section
in the 2005-06 2007-08 Regular Session.
SEC. 5. Section 4 of Chapter 697 of the Statutes of 2002, as
amended by Section 4 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2006, 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,
as further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 44 of the
Statutes of 2006, and as further amended by Sections 1 and 2 of
the act amending this section in the 2005-06
2007- 08 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.