BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1203| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1203 Author: Ma (D), et al Amended: As introduced Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM. : 10-0, 7/7/09 AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 80-0, 5/28/09 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Transportation bond funds: transit system safety SOURCE : San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority DIGEST : This bill requires the California Emergency Management Agency, by February 1 of each fiscal year, to select eligible applicants for transit system safety projects from the Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account established by the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, Proposition 1B, and provide the Controller with a list of the projects and sponsoring agencies eligible to receive an allocation. ANALYSIS : Proposition 1B authorized $19.925 billion in CONTINUED AB 1203 Page 2 bonds for various transportation programs, including $1 billion for the Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account for capital projects that provide increased protection against a security and safety threat and for capital expenditures to increase the capacity of transit operators to develop disaster response transportation systems that can move people, goods, and emergency personnel and equipment in the aftermath of a disaster. Existing law: 1.Requires the allocation of 25 percent of the funds in the account for capital expenditures to regional public waterborne transit agencies authorized to operate a regional public water transit system. 2.Requires the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), to administer a grant application and award program for transit agencies eligible to receive the funds. 3.Existing law authorizes the Controller to make payments of funds from the account to a regional public waterborne transit agency on a reimbursable basis only. 4.Authorizes Cal EMA to select eligible projects to receive those grants by February 1 of each fiscal year in which funds are appropriated for that purpose. This bill requires the Controller, upon receiving a list of eligible projects from Cal EMA, to allocate funds to the regional water borne public transit agency directly and not on a reimbursement basis. Comments Typically, the state makes bond funds made available to recipient agencies on a reimbursable basis. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority, the bill's sponsor, is a new agency without a sufficient cashflow to "front end" the cost of projects and then wait for reimbursement from Proposition 1B funds. The bill provides AB 1203 Page 3 clarifying language that allows the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority to proceed with its bond funded projects and receive funding directly, rather than on a reimbursement basis. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/21/09) San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (source) California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union California Conference of Machinists California Labor Federation California Teamsters Public Affairs Council International Longshore and Warehouse Union San Francisco Chamber of Commerce San Mateo County Transportation Authority ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, 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, 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 JA:nl 7/22/09 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****