BILL NUMBER: AB 289 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 2, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 25, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Galgiani
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles
Calderon, Davis, Eng, Hayashi, Hill, Jones, Lieu, Portantino, Salas,
Solorio, Torres, and Torrico)
FEBRUARY 13, 2009
An act to amend Section 185024 of the Public Utilities Code, and
to add Chapter 20.1 (commencing with Section 2704.25) to Division 3
of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to high-speed rail, making
an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 289, as amended, Galgiani. High-speed rail.
Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail
system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law,
pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the
November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of
$9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and
related purposes. The federal Passenger Rail Investment and
Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) and the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provide funding for allocation
nationally to high-speed rail projects.
This bill would appropriate $221,571,000 from the High-Speed
Passenger Train Bond Fund and federal ARRA funds to the authority for
support of the authority and capital outlay for
high-speed rail purposes , as specified . The bill would
require federal high-speed rail funds received on a reimbursement
basis from ARRA to be deposited in the federal trust fund.
This bill would specify that certain ARRA funds shall be
used, upon appropriation, for planning and engineering for the
high-speed train system and capital costs, as specified, and would
require the authority to ensure that those funds are expended in a
manner that meets federal requirements. The bill would identify
the corridors eligible for additional ARRA and
PRIIA funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and require the
authority to work with the Federal Railroad Administration to create
a plan for expenditure of the ARRA funds. These provisions would not
apply to the portion of ARRA funds awarded to the Transbay Terminal
project in San Francisco.
Existing law provides for appointment of an executive director by
the authority, who is exempt from civil service and serves at the
pleasure of the authority. Under existing law, the salary of the
executive director is established by the authority and approved by
the Department of Personnel Administration.
This bill, for purposes of managing and administering the ongoing
work of the authority in implementing the high-speed rail project,
would authorize the Governor, upon recommendation of the executive
director, to appoint up to 6 additional executive staff exempt from
civil service who would serve in specified positions at the pleasure
of the executive director. The bill would require the authority to
cause a salary survey to be conducted to determine the compensation
for the executive director and additional exempt staff, and would
require the salaries to be approved by the Department of Personnel
Administration.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) With the enactment of the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Public Law 111-5) on February 17, 2009, the
federal government made available a grant program in which states
could apply for up to $8 billion in federal funds for the development
of high-speed rail throughout the nation.
(b) On October 2, 2009, the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA)
submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the United
States Department of Transportation an application for $4.73 billion
in federal funds to further the development of high-speed rail in
California.
(c) On January 28, 2010, the federal government awarded the HSRA
$2.25 billion to advance the development of a high-speed rail system
in this state.
(d) The HSRA estimates that 90,000 jobs will be created or
maintained by the investment of these ARRA funds, along with matching
state bond funds, in the dozens of construction projects along the
eligible corridors throughout California.
(e) It is necessary to provide the HSRA with unambiguous statutory
authority to receive and expend federal funds awarded to the HSRA
for the purposes described in its application of October 2, 2009, and
consistent with the award of those federal funds.
(f) Moreover, it is in the state's interest to obligate and expend
awarded funds as expeditiously as possible and in a manner
consistent with the voters' expectations when they approved the Safe,
Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century
(Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 2704) of Division 3 of the
Streets and Highways Code) in November 2008, in order to expand job
creation and to complete vital infrastructure improvements as soon as
possible.
SEC. 2. Section 185024 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
185024. (a) The authority shall appoint an executive director,
exempt from civil service, who shall serve at the pleasure of the
authority, to administer the affairs of the authority as directed by
the authority.
(b) For purposes of managing and administering the ongoing work
of the authority in implementing the high-speed train project, upon
recommendation of the executive director, the Governor may appoint up
to six additional employees, exempt from civil service, who shall
serve at the pleasure of the executive director. Pursuant to this
subdivision, the Governor may appoint employees only for the
following positions:
(1) Chief program manager.
(2) Regional director.
(3) Chief financial officer.
(4) Director of risk management and project controls.
(c) The compensation of the executive director and the additional
employees authorized by subdivision (b) shall be established by the
authority, and approved by the Department of Personnel
Administration, in an amount that is reasonably necessary, in the
discretion of the authority, to attract and hold a person of superior
qualifications. The authority shall cause to be conducted, through
the use of independent outside advisers, a salary survey to determine
the compensation for the positions under this subdivision. The
Department of Personnel Administration may, in its discretion, accept
a previously completed salary survey that meets the requirements of
this subdivision, and shall review the methodology used in the
survey. The salary survey shall consider both of the following:
(1) Other state, regional, and local transportation agencies that
are most comparable to the authority and its responsibilities.
(2) Other relevant labor pools.
The compensation set by the authority shall not exceed the highest
comparable compensation for a position of that type, as determined
by the salary survey. Based on the salary survey, these positions
shall be paid a salary established by the authority and approved by
the Department of Personnel Administration.
(d) The executive director may, as authorized by the authority,
appoint necessary staff to carry out the provisions of this part.
SEC. 3. Chapter 20.1 (commencing with Section 2704.25) is added to
Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read:
CHAPTER 20.1. HIGH-SPEED RAIL IMPLEMENTATION AND OVERSIGHT
Article 1. General Provisions
2704.25. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "ARRA" means the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
(b) "Authority" means the High-Speed Rail Authority created
pursuant to Section 185020 of the Public Utilities Code, or its
successor.
(c) "Bond act" means the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train
Bond Act for the 21st Century (Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
2704).
Article 2. Implementation of the Safe, Reliable High-Speed
Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century
2704.30. The sum of one hundred forty-four million seventy-one
thousand dollars ($144,071,000) is hereby appropriated from the
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund to the authority for high-speed
rail purposes consistent with the bond act. Of this amount,
fifty-seven million three hundred twenty-one thousand dollars
($57,321,000) shall be for support of the authority and
eighty-six million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($86,750,000)
shall be for capital outlay . Federal funds received on a
reimbursement basis from Title XII of ARRA shall be deposited in the
federal trust fund. The sum of seventy-seven million five hundred
thousand dollars ($77,500,000) of federal funds from ARRA in the
federal trust Fund fund is hereby
appropriated to the authority for high-speed rail purposes consistent
with federal law and regulations and the bond act. This
amount shall be for capital outlay. To the extent funds are
appropriated in the Budget Act of 2010 from these sources to the
authority, that act shall supersede the appropriations in this
section.
Article 3. Federal High-Speed Rail Funds
2704.50. The sum of two billion two hundred fifty million dollars
($2,250,000,000) in federal funds made available to the state for
high-speed rail purposes pursuant to Title XII of Division A of ARRA
shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for (a)
planning and engineering for the high-speed train system and (b)
capital costs, consistent with federal guidelines, rules, and
regulations, and consistent with the bond act and this
chapter this chapter, and subject to the same criteria
as the bond act .
2704.51. The authority shall take those actions necessary to
ensure that federal ARRA funds awarded to the state for high-speed
rail purposes are expended and used in a manner that meets all
applicable federal guidelines, rules, and regulations.
2704.52. (a) The ARRA funds to be appropriated pursuant to
Section 2704.50 shall be available for preliminary engineering,
project-level environmental work, mitigation, final design, and
construction for projects in the authority's ARRA fund application
for the following corridors that were approved by the Federal
Railroad Administration, without reference to any individual corridor
or corridors:
(1) San Francisco to San Jose.
(2) Merced to Fresno.
(3) Fresno to Bakersfield.
(4) Los Angeles to Anaheim.
(b) Funds
2704.52. Funds received from the Passenger
Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA; Public Law
110-432) for 2010-11 shall, upon appropriation, be available for
planning and engineering for any of the following corridors, without
reference to any individual corridor or corridors:
(1)
(a) Merced to Sacramento.
(2)
(b) Los Angeles to San Diego.
(3)
(c) The Altamont Corridor.
2704.53. The authority shall work with the Federal Railroad
Administration to establish priorities among the four
corridors specified in subdivision (a) of Section 2704.52 and to
create a plan Administration to create a plan
for expenditure of ARRA funds to be appropriated pursuant to Section
2704.50. Upon finalizing the expenditure plan, the authority shall
submit a copy of the plan to the Director of Finance and to the
policy committees with jurisdiction over transportation matters and
to the fiscal committees in both houses of the Legislature.
2704.54. This article shall not apply to ARRA high-speed rail
funds awarded to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority for purposes of
constructing the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco.
SEC. 4. 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 ensure that California may secure the maximum amount
of funds available for high-speed rail development and to provide for
necessary staff in that regard as quickly as possible, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.