BILL NUMBER: AB 2615	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Houston
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Anderson, Benoit, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Gaines, Garcia, Garrick, Horton, Jeffries, Keene,
La Malfa, Maze, Niello, Plescia, Silva, Smyth, Tran, and Villines)
   (Coauthors: Senators Dutton and Wyland)

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

   An act to amend Section 8879.65 of the Government Code, relating
to transportation funding, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2615, as introduced, Houston. Transportation funding: City of
Berkeley: United States Marine Corps.
   Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality,
and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, authorizes the issuance of
$19.925 billion in general obligation bonds for specified
transportation purposes, including $2 billion to be deposited in the
Local Street and Road Improvement, Congestion Relief, and Traffic
Safety Account of 2006. The funds in the account are to be allocated,
by formula, to cities and counties for certain road purposes under
specified procedures administered by the Controller and other
agencies.
   This bill would prohibit the Controller from allocating any funds
under these provisions to the City of Berkeley until the Controller
determines that the Berkeley City Council has revoked and withdrawn
certain items approved by the council on January 29, 2008, relating
to the United States Marine Corps and the group "Code Pink".
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 8879.65 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   8879.65.  (a) Funds appropriated from the Local Street and Road
Improvement, Congestion Relief, and Traffic Safety Account of 2006,
established by subdivision (l) of Section 8879.23, shall be made
available to the Controller for allocation to cities, counties, and a
city and county. From bond funds appropriated in the 2007-08 fiscal
year for cities, including a city and county, each city, and city and
county, shall receive at least a minimum allocation of four hundred
thousand dollars ($400,000), as described in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (l) of Section 8879.23. The remainder of
the funds appropriated for cities, including a city and county,
shall be allocated in the proportion described in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (l) of Section 8879.23. In no case
shall a city, or a city and county, receive an allocation in excess
of its total share, as described in subdivision (l) of Section
8879.23, except as described in subdivision (d).
   (b) Prior to receiving an allocation of funds from the Controller
in a fiscal year, an eligible local agency shall submit to the
Department of Finance a list of projects expected to be funded with
bond funds pursuant to an adopted city, county, or city and county
budget. All projects proposed to be funded with funds from the
account shall be included in a city, county, or city and county
budget that is adopted by the applicable city council or board of
supervisors at a regular public meeting. The list of projects
expected to be funded with bond funds shall include a description and
the location of the proposed project, a proposed schedule for the
project's completion, and the estimated useful life of the
improvement. The project list shall not limit the flexibility of an
eligible local agency to fund projects in accordance with local needs
and priorities so long as the projects are consistent with
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (l) of Section
8879.23.
   (1) The Department of Finance shall report monthly to the
Controller the eligible local agencies that have submitted a list of
projects as described in this subdivision.
   (2) Upon receipt of the information described in paragraph (1),
the Controller shall allocate funds to those agencies that have
submitted a list of projects, as reported by the Department of
Finance.
   (c) Each fiscal year upon expending funds from the account, a
city, county, or city and county shall submit documentation to the
Department of Finance which includes a description and location of
each completed project, the amount of funds expended on the project,
the completion date, and the project's estimated useful life. The
documentation shall be forwarded to the department, in a manner and
form approved by the department, at the end of each fiscal year until
the funds in the account are exhausted. The department may post the
information contained in the documentation on the department's
official Web site.
   (d) A city, county, or city and county receiving funds pursuant to
this section shall have three fiscal years to expend the funds
following the fiscal year in which the allocation was made by the
Controller, and any funds not expended within that period shall be
returned to the Controller and be reallocated to other cities,
counties, or a city and county, as applicable, pursuant to the
allocation formulas set forth in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (l) of Section 8879.23, but excluding the
requirement for a minimum city allocation as described in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of that subdivision and section.
   (e) Subject to the requirements and conditions of this section, it
is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds from the
account so that the Controller may allocate the balance of these
funds to eligible local agencies over the next four years, following
the 2007-08 fiscal year. Nothing in this section shall prevent the
Legislature from appropriating funds on a more expedited basis based
on local agency need.
   (f) The sum of three hundred fifty million dollars ($350,000,000)
is hereby appropriated from funds in the Local Street and Road
Improvement, Congestion Relief, and Traffic Safety Account of 2006
created pursuant to subdivision (l) of Section 8879.23, for
allocation pursuant to this article, as an augmentation to the amount
appropriated in Item 9350-104-6065 of the Budget Act of 2007. The
total 2007-08 fiscal year appropriation of nine hundred fifty million
dollars ($950,000,000) shall be allocated as follows: four hundred
million dollars ($400,000,000) to counties and five hundred fifty
million dollars ($550,000,000) to cities. 
   (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Controller
shall not allocate any funds under this section to the City of
Berkeley until the Controller determines that the Berkeley City
Council has revoked and withdrawn the items approved by the council
on January 29, 2008, that (1) directed the city clerk to send a
letter to the United States Marine Corps advising them that they are
unwelcome in the City of Berkeley, and (2) granted to the group "Code
Pink" a parking space in front of the Marine recruiting office on
Shattuck Avenue and permitted the operation of a loudspeaker. 
  SEC. 2.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to provide directions to the Controller regarding the
allocation of transportation funds to the City of Berkeley as quickly
as possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.