BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 344|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 344
Author: Caballero (D)
Amended: 9/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/23/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 6/1/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State highways: relinquishment
SOURCE : City of Soledad
City of Newport Beach
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the California
Transportation Commission to relinquish segments of State
Route (SR) 146 to the City of Soledad and the Counties of
Monterey and San Benito respectively, and a segment of SR 1
(Pacific Coast Highway) and a portion of SR 55 to the City
of Newport Beach.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
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1. Identifies the California state highway system through a
description of segments of the state's regional and
interregional roads that are owned and operated by the
Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
2. Defines a "state highway" as any roadway that is
acquired, laid out, constructed, improved, or maintained
as a state highway according to legislative
authorization.
3. Specifies that it is the intent of the Legislature for
the routes of the state highway system to connect the
communities and regions of the state, and that they
serve the state's economy by connecting centers of
commerce, industry, agriculture, mineral wealth, and
recreation.
4. Provides that any expansion or deletion of the state
highway system is through a statutory process requiring
the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to make
findings that it is in the best interest of the state to
include or delete a specified portion of roadway from
the system.
This bill:
1. Authorizes the CTC to relinquish to the City of Soledad
a 1-mile segment of SR 146, upon terms and conditions
CTC finds to be in the best interest of the state. In
addition, this bill authorizes the CTC to relinquish to
the Counties of Monterey and San Benito portions of SR
146 within the limits of each county respectively, upon
terms and conditions the CTC finds to be in the best
interest of the state.
2. Requires the City of Soledad and the Counties of
Monterey and San Benito to provide signage indicating
the continuation of SR 146 through the jurisdictions
until the entire route has been relinguished.
3. Authorizes the CTC to relinquish to the City of Newport
Beach a 4.12-mile portion of SR 1 (Pacific Coast
Highway) from the Santa Ana River Bridge to Jamboree,
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and a .18-mile portion of SR 55 (Newport Boulevard) from
Finley Street to the Newport Channel Bridge.
4. Requires the City of Newport Beach to provide signage
indicating the continuation of SR 1 and SR 55 through
the city.
5. Requires the City of Newport Beach to ensure that
traffic flows on the relinquished segments through the
use of traffic signal synchronization and other means.
6. Provides that the relinquishments will become effective
immediately following the county recordation of the
relinquishment resolutions containing the CTC's approval
of the specified terms and conditions.
7. Specifies that following the effective date of
relinquishment the relinquished segments will no longer
be state highways and may not be considered for future
adoption as state highways.
Background
Purpose . For several years, the City of Soledad has been
planning and implementing various beautification projects
within the city, focused primarily on Front Street. A
segment of SR 146 coincides with of Front Street. Because
the beautification features planned by the city are
inconsistent with state highway design standards, the
relinquishment of SR 146 to the city will allow the city to
implement a consistent design standard for the entire
length of Front Street.
SB 290 (Transportation Committee), Chapter 825, Statutes of
2001, relinquished a portion of SR 1 to the City of Newport
Beach. The relinquishment authorizes by this bill is a
continuation of the earlier relinquishment. The city would
like to take over the ownership of this segment of SR 1 so
that it can maintain the entire length of the highway
through the community to the level that it desires and at
the time of low traffic volumes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
Caltrans improvements, unknown
one-time costs, probably Special*
SR 146 (Soledad) less than $500 prior to relinquishment
Caltrans improvements, unknown
one-time costs, in the range Special*
SR 1 and SR 55 of $500-$1,500 prior to relinquishment
(Newport Beach)
Caltrans maintenance unknown
long-term maintenance and Special*
repair savings following relinquishment
CTC minor, absorbable costs to
reviewSpecial*
Agreements
*State Highway Account
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/09)
City of Soledad (co-source)
City of Newport Beach (co-source)
Soledad Historical Society
Soledad Unified School District
Transportation Agency for Monterey County
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
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Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
JJA:do 8/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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