BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1224| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 CONTINUED AB 1224 Page 2 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 CONTINUED AB 1224 Page 3 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 CONTINUED AB 1224 Page 4 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 CONTINUED AB 1224 Page 5 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, CONTINUED AB 1224 Page 6 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 **** END **** CONTINUED