BILL NUMBER: SB 783 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Ashburn
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to high-speed rail , and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 783, as amended, Ashburn. High-speed rail.
Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority with specified
powers and duties relating to the development and implementation of
an intercity high-speed rail system. Existing law requires the
authority to prepare and to submit to the Legislature a revised
business plan containing specified elements by September 1, 2008.
This bill would require the authority to prepare an
expanded , publish, adopt, and submit to the
Legislature a business plan addressing specified elements
prior to seeking bond funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year
pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
for the 21st Century, which was approved as Proposition 1A by the
voters at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election
no later than March 1, 2010, and every 2 years thereafter, with
a draft of the business plan to be available at least 60 days in
advance for public review and comment, followed by a public hearing
. The bill would require the authority to submit a
draft of the expanded business plan to the Legislature by September
1, 2009, and to adopt the plan at its January 2010 regularly
scheduled meeting, following at least one public hearing.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3 majority . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
185033. (a) The authority shall prepare, publish, adopt,
and submit to the Legislature, not later than
September 1, 2008, a revised March 1, 2010, and every
two years thereafter, a business plan. At least 60 days prior to the
publication of the plan, the authority shall publish a draft business
plan for public review and comment. The draft plan shall also be
submitted to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing and
the Assembly Comm ittee on Transportation. The
business plan that identifies shall identify
all of the following: the type of service it
the authority anticipates it will develop, such as local,
express, commuter, regional, or interregional; a description of the
primary benefits the system will provide; a forecast of the
anticipated patronage, operating costs, and capital costs for the
system; an estimate and description of the total anticipated federal,
state, local, and other funds the authority intends to access to
fund the construction and operation of the system; and the proposed
chronology for the construction of the eligible corridors of the
statewide high-speed train system. The revised
business plan shall also include a discussion of all reasonably
foreseeable risks the project may encounter, including, but not
limited to, risks associated with the project's finances, patronage,
construction, equipment, and technology, and other risks associated
with the project's development. The plan shall describe the authority'
s strategies, processes, or other actions it intends to utilize to
manage those risks.
(b) (1) Prior to seeking an allocation of bond funding pursuant to
the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st
Century (Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 2704) of Division 3 of
the Streets and Highways Code) for the 2009-10 fiscal year, the
authority shall prepare an expanded business plan that includes, but
is not
(b) (1) In
addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), the business plan
shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following
elements:
(A) Using the most recent patronage forecast for the system,
develop a forecast of the expected patronage and service levels for
the Phase 1 corridor as identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b) of Section 2704.04 of the Streets and Highways Code and by each
segment or combination of segments for which a project
level environmental analysis is being prepared for Phase 1. The
forecast shall assume a high, medium, and low level of patronage and
a realistic operating planning scenario for each level of service.
Alternative fare structures shall be considered when determining the
level of patronage.
(B) Based on the patronage forecast in subparagraph (A), develop
alternative financial pro formas for the different levels of service,
and identify the operating break-even points for each alternative.
Each pro forma shall assume the terms of subparagraph (J) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 2704.08 of the Streets
and Highways Code.
(C) Identify the expected schedule for completing environmental
review, and initiating and completing construction for each segment
of Phase 1.
(D) Identify the source of federal, state, and local funds
available for the project that will augment funds from the bond act
and the level of confidence for obtaining each type of funding.
(E) Identify written agreements with public or private entities to
fund components of the high-speed rail system, including stations
and terminals, any impediments to the completion of the system, such
as the inability to gain access to existing railroad rights-of-way.
(F) Identify alternative public-private development strategies for
the implementation of Phase 1.
(2) A draft of the expanded business plan shall be submitted to
the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing and the Assembly
Committee on Transportation on or before September 1, 2009.
(3)
(2) The authority shall hold at least one public
hearing on the expanded business plan and shall
adopt the expanded plan at its
a regularly scheduled meeting in January 2010
. When adopting the plan, the authority shall take into
consideration comments from the public hearing and written comments
that it receives in that regard, and any hearings that the
Legislature may hold prior to adoption of the expanded
plan.
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and
shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity
are:
In order to provide for the expeditious development of an expanded
business plan to govern the implementation of a high-speed rail
system for the state, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.