BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 205|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 205
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 4/14/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 7-4, 3/31/09
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley,
Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Harman, Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-4, 4/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Wolk, Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SUBJECT : Vehicle registration fees for congestion
management
programs
SOURCE : Alameda County Congestion Management Agency
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a countywide transportation
planning agency to impose, upon a majority vote of the
electorate, an annual fee of up to $10 on motor vehicles
registered in a county for transportation-related programs
and projects.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law:
1. Requires that county congestion management agencies
(CMA) within urbanized areas prepare and adopt
congestion management programs. CMAs, of which there are
32 in the state, update there programs every two years.
The congestion management program must include all of
the following elements:
A. Traffic level of service standards established
for a system of highways and roadways designated by
the congestion management program agency.
B. Performance elements regarding the movement of
people and goods.
C. Program elements that promote alternative
transportation methods, including carpools,
vanpools, transit, bicycles, and other strategies.
D. Analysis of land use decisions on regional
transportation systems.
E. A seven-year capital improvement program.
2. Establishes a basic vehicle registration fee of $34,
plus a $22 surcharge for additional personnel for the
California Highway Patrol (CHP), and authorizes local
agencies until January 1, 2010 to impose separate
vehicle registration fee surcharges in their respective
jurisdictions for a variety of special programs,
including:
A. One dollar for service authorities for freeway
emergencies.
B. One dollar for deterring and prosecuting vehicle
theft.
C. Up to seven dollar for air quality programs.
D. One dollar for removing abandoned vehicles.
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E. One dollar for fingerprint identification
programs.
3. Distinguishes a fee from a tax in that a fee pays for a
specific service or project and cannot exceed the
reasonable costs of providing the service or projects
that it funds. Unlike a tax, which benefits the general
public, the payer of the fee is the beneficiary. Since
a fee is not a tax, it imposition does not require a
vote of the people and may be imposed by an agency's
governing board. Typically, governing boards require a
study that demonstrates that those paying the fee will
benefit from the services or facilities financed by the
fee. This is referred to as the nexus test.
This bill:
1.Makes legislative findings as to the need to reduce
traffic congestion as it negatively impacts businesses
and commuters, inhibits the efficient movement of goods,
and increases motor vehicle induced pollution.
Moreover, additional legislative findings are made that
improved signal coordination, traveler information
systems, intelligent transportation systems, highway
operational improvements, and the expansion of public
transit services will reduce congestion and contribute
to an improvement of air quality.
2.Authorizes a "countywide transportation planning agency"
to place on the ballot a majority vote local measure
that will impose a fee of up to $10 on each vehicle
registered in that county to fund programs to address
congestion mitigation and motor vehicle induced
pollution.
3.Authorizes the governing boards of countywide
transportation planning agencies to adopt a resolution
containing a finding of fact that projects and programs
to be funded by the fee has a relationship or benefit to
the persons who will be paying the fee and are
consistent with the regional transportation plan. The
finding of fact requires a majority vote of the
governing board.
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4.Requires a countywide transportation planning agency's
governing board to adopt a plan for the expenditure of
fee revenues that finance projects and programs
benefiting the persons paying the fee. These programs
and projects will include, but not be limited to,
providing matching funds for bond-funded transportation
projects and creating or sustaining congestion or
pollution mitigation programs and projects.
5.Defines "congestion mitigations programs and projects"
to include, but not be limited to, "programs and
projects identified in an adopted congestion management
program or county transportation plan; projects and
programs to manage congestion, including, for example,
high-occupancy vehicle or high-occupancy toll lanes;
improved transit services through the use of technology,
bicycle and pedestrian improvements; improved signal
coordination, traveler information systems, highway
operational improvements, and local street and road
rehabilitation; and transit service expansion."
6.Defines "pollution mitigation programs and projects" to
include, but not be limited to, "programs and projects
carried out by a congestion management agency, a
regional water quality control board, an air pollution
control district, an air quality management district, or
another public agency that is carrying out the adopted
plan of a congestion management agency, a regional water
quality control board, an air pollution control
district, or an air quality management district."
7.Authorizes up to five percent of fee revenue to be used
by a countywide transportation planning agency for
administrative costs associated with the programs and
projects.
8.Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), if
requested by a countywide transportation planning
agency, to collect the fee upon the registration or
renewal of the registration of a motor vehicle
registered in the county.
9.Requires a countywide transportation planning agency to
pay for the initial setup and programming costs
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identified by DMV through a direct contract with the DMV
and for any direct contract payment by the CMA to be
repaid from the initial revenues available for
distribution.
10.Requires DMV, after deducting all its costs, to
distribute the net revenues for purposes of congestion
management and pollution mitigation programs projects.
Related legislation
SB 348 (Simitian), Chapter 377, Statutes of 2008 , extends,
from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2013, the authority of
the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo
County to assess an up-to four dollars annual fee on
vehicles registered within San Mateo County for programs to
manage traffic congestion and storm water pollution.
AB 444 (Hancock), of 2008 , would have allowed vehicle
registration fees, up to $10 per vehicle, to be imposed for
congestion management programs in Alameda, Contra Costa,
Marin, Santa Clara, Solano, and Santa Cruz Counties. Held
in Senate Revenue and Taxation.
SB 619 (Simitian), of 2007 , would have allowed the
City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County
to reauthorize, through January 1, 2019, an existing fee of
up to four dollars on motor vehicles registered within the
county for a program for the management of traffic
congestion and storm water pollution. Vetoed.
SB 1611 (Simitian), of 2006 , would have allowed county
transportation CMAs or boards of supervisors to impose,
subject to majority vote approval of county voters, a
maximum $25 surcharge on the annual renewal of vehicles
registered in their respective jurisdictions to fund
transportation-related projects and programs, including
pollution prevention programs carried out by a congestion
management agency, a regional water quality control board,
or a local air district. Held Assembly Appropriations
Suspense.
AB 1623 (Klehs), of 2006 , would have authorized the
designated county transportation agencies in Alameda,
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Contra Costa, Marin and Napa Counties to impose an annual
fee of up to five dollars on motor vehicles registered
within their respective jurisdictions for a program to
manage traffic congestion and mitigate the environmental
impacts of motor vehicles within that county. Vetoed.
SB 680 (Simitian), of 2005 , would have authorized the Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority to adopt an annual
vehicle registration fee of up to five dollars per vehicle
for up to eight years to finance traffic and transportation
improvements in Santa Clara County. Vetoed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-2012
Fund
DMV programming startup costs paid
in advance Local
through contract with authorizing
agency, ongoing costs reimbursed
from fees collected
Local revenues unknown annual
revenue gain for Local
each county that approves the fee
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/28/09)
Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (source)
Alameda-Contra Costa Transportation District
East Bay Municipal Utilities District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission
TransForm
Transportation Authority of Marin
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/28/09)
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Automobile Club of Southern California
AAA for Northern California
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor, alameda County
Congestion Management Agency, states in support "To
maximize the capacity and improve the efficiency of the
transportation network, local transportation agencies are
relying more on intelligent transportation systems (ITS).
These strategies include signal light coordination, and
monitoring real-time traffic conditions at intersections
and on freeways which allow the agency to adjust signal
times and update travel times on freeway message signs.
While Proposition 1B dedicated $250 million for technology
based improvement to local streets and roads and the
Corridor Mobility Improvement Account funds are also being
used to implement intelligent transportation systems, there
is no funding source to pay for the ongoing operations and
maintenance of technology based improvements.
"SB 205 creates an effective means of aligning the
operation and maintenance costs of these systems with those
who will benefit the most.
"Using technology to maximize the capacity of our
transportation system will improve management of congestion
and incidents along these routes, improve mobility, and
provide timely multi-modal transportation information.
Vehicle registration fees are an appropriate funding source
for transportation system programs that directly benefit
motorists."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association states in opposition, "As currently drafted, SB
205 would violate the California Constitution. Under
Propositions 13 and 218, local voters are required to
approve tax increases like this one by a 2/3rds vote
because it would authorize a tax for a special purpose.
Using the Legislature to circumvent citizen's right to vote
on tax increases in these two counties is contrary to the
letter and spirit of the constitutional protections enacted
by taxpayers to prevent un-voted taxes disguised as
"fees.""
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JJA:do 5/27/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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