BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1224
Author: Eng (D)
Amended: 4/27/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/15/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe,
Pavley, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-0, 1/27/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : High-occupancy toll lanes: Los Angeles
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset and reporting dates
for the high-occupancy toll lane facilities under
development on State Highway Routes 10 and 110 in Los
Angeles, by two years, from January 2013 to January 2015.
ANALYSIS : In 2008, the Legislature passed and the
Governor signed SB 1422 (Ridley-Thomas), Chapter 547, to
allow the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (LACMTA), in cooperation with the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), to operate a value- pricing and
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transit development demonstration program. Under this
program, which LACMTA refers to as "ExpressLanes," the
high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on portions of
Interstate 10 and Interstate 110 in Los Angeles County will
be converted to HOT lanes whereby single-occupant vehicles
may access the HOV lane for a fee.
HOT lanes typically employ a pricing method known as value
pricing or congestion pricing. Under this scheme, the
amount of the fee (toll) varies in accordance with traffic
congestion levels such that as congestion on the HOT lanes
increases so too will the toll amount. As the price to use
the facility goes up, fewer people will choose to use it
thereby reducing demand for the facility and maintaining
free-flow travel conditions.
SB 1422 established the conditions under which LACMTA may
implement the program, including the following:
1. LACMTA may not change the minimum vehicle occupancy
standard for access to the HOV lane during the
demonstration period.
2. Each proposed HOT lane shall have non-tolled
alternatives available for public use in the same
corridor.
3. Toll revenues generated from the program may be used for
the direct expenses related to the maintenance,
administration, and operation, including collection and
enforcement, of the demonstration program.
Administrative expenses are capped at three percent of
toll revenues.
4. All revenues in excess of those necessary for the
implementation of the program shall be used in the
corridor from which the revenue was generated
exclusively for preconstruction, construction, and
related costs of HOV facilities and the improvement of
transit service in the corridor, pursuant to an
expenditure plan adopted by LACMTA.
In addition, LACMTA is required to conduct a public
outreach plan to solicit input in the development of the
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demonstration program. It is also required to identify the
affected communities and work with those communities to
identify impacts and develop measures to mitigate those
impacts.
Under existing law, LACMTA and Caltrans shall, by December
31, 2012, provide a report to the Legislature on the
impacts of the program. The authority to operate the
value-pricing and transit development program expires on
January 15, 2013.
This bill:
1. Extends, by two years, the sunset date on the
value-pricing and transit development program in Los
Angeles from January 15, 2013 to January 15, 2015.
2. Extends, by two years, the date that a report on the
program is due to the Legislature from December 31, 2012
to December 31, 2014.
Comments
Why the delay ? According to Caltrans and LACMTA, there are
several reasons for the delay. First, when LACMTA
initially applied for the federal funds, it assumed the
environmental document would be a Finding of No Significant
Impact and that only nominal construction would be needed
as the project would be converting existing HOV lane
facilities into HOT lanes. Because LACMTA Board of
Directors raised concerns about bottlenecks on State Route
(SR) 110 and SB 1422 prohibited Metro from increasing
occupancy standards on the HOV/HOT lanes during the
demonstration period, increasing operational efficiency on
the HOV/HOT lanes on both SR 10 and SR 110 prior to
implementing the demonstration program became a priority.
LACMTA identified several physical improvements to both.
The work on SR 110, however, is being coordinated with that
which is occurring on the Expo Line Light Rail project in
the same area. The work on SR 10 conflicts with a
rehabilitation project that is currently underway (and
behind schedule). Finally, LACMTA opted to complete a full
Environmental Impact Report for the demonstration program,
which requires more time to complete than if LACMTA had
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made a finding of no significant impact.
Description of LACMTA's ExpressLanes project . The intent
of the ExpressLanes project is to test innovative
strategies to alleviate congestion, maximize freeway
capacity, and enhance transit alternatives in the I-10 and
I-110 corridors. A large component of the program is to
convert certain segments of HOV lanes into HOT lanes
whereby single-occupant vehicles may access the lane for a
fee. In addition to allowing single-occupant vehicles to
use the lanes for a fee, Metro intends to increase bus
service that currently operates in those HOV lanes and make
a variety of improvements to transit facilities in the
region.
I-110 currently has two HOV lanes in each direction.
LACMTA's proposal involves converting the 11-mile segment
of the HOV lane that extends in both directions from 182nd
Street/Artesia Transit Center to Adams Boulevard into a HOT
lane. The minimum occupancy standard for this facility is
two-plus persons per vehicle.
The I-10 HOV lane is a single lane in each direction.
LACMTA will convert a14-mile segment extending from Alameda
Street/Union Station to I-605 into a HOT lane. Under the
demonstration program, a buffer zone that currently exists
within that 14-mile segment will be removed in order to
establish a second HOT lane. This second lane will extend
for nine of the 14 miles. The minimum occupancy standard
for this facility is two-plus per vehicle except for during
peak commute hours at which time the minimum is increased
to three.
Both facilities will involve electronic tolling using
technology similar to FasTrak utilized on other toll
facilities in the state. There will be no tollbooths where
motorists may pay their toll in cash. The HOT lanes will
utilize dynamic pricing whereby the price of tolls may
change as frequently as once every five minutes to manage
demand for use of the facility. The HOT lanes had been
expected to become operational in January 2011 with
conclude January 2013.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10)
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
LACMTA received $210 million from the United States
Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) to develop and
operate the Express Lanes project. The project is governed
by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between it,
Caltrans, and the U.S. DOT. The MOU originally indicated
that the ExpressLanes would be operational by December
2010, however, Metro and Caltrans believe the ExpressLanes
would operate more efficiently if some critical
infrastructure projects were completed in advance of
starting operations. U.S. DOT agreed and, with the
understanding that certain infrastructure projects would be
completed, the ExpressLanes are now expected to begin
operating in 2012. While opening the lanes in 2012 would
still allow the demonstration program to operate for a
portion of time (less than a year), LACMTA would like the
additional time to allow for a fair evaluation of
congesting pricing in Los Angeles. The author's office
contends that the $210 million in federal funding is at
risk if LACMTA obtains less than 12 months of data from the
demonstration program. In order to ensure a fair
evaluation of congestion pricing in Los Angeles County and
remain eligible for the full amount of federal funding,
LACMTA would like to complete critical road improvements
that enhance capacity and relieve bottlenecks in the
corridors.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Chesbro, Cook, Coto, De La Torre, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
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Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, John A. Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Saldana,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Carter, Conway, Davis, De Leon, DeVore,
Hall, V. Manuel Perez, Salas, Torlakson, Bass
JJA:mw 6/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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