BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 845
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        ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
        AB 845 (Ma)
        As Amended  May 10, 2011
        Majority vote 

         TRANSPORTATION      14-0        APPROPRIATIONS      17-0         
         
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        |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal,         |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey,          |
        |     |Jeffries, Achadjian,      |     |Blumenfield, Bradford,    |
        |     |Blumenfield, Bonilla,     |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
        |     |Buchanan, Eng, Furutani,  |     |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto,   |
        |     |Galgiani, Logue, Miller,  |     |Hall, Hill, Lara,         |
        |     |Norby, Portantino,        |     |Mitchell, Nielsen, Smyth, |
        |     |Solorio                   |     |Solorio, Wagner           |
        |     |                          |     |                          |
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         SUMMARY  :  Sets forth provisions to govern the distribution of $950 
        million in bond funds authorized in the Safe, Reliable High-Speed 
        Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (Bond Act) for 
        intercity, commuter, and urban rail lines.  Specifically,  this bill  : 
         

        1)Requires the distribution of the funds to be based on data in the 
          National Transit Database of the Federal Transit Administration.  

        2)Directs the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to accept 
          from each eligible recipient of the funds a priority list of 
          projects; projects must meet criteria set forth in the Bond Act.  

        3)Directs the CTC to require that matching funds are to be provided 
          from non-state funds, as defined.  

        4)Provides that the required match for commuter and urban rail 
          projects begins with expenditures made subsequent to the adoption 
          of the program by the CTC.  

         EXISTING LAW  : 

        1)Provides $9.95 billion in general obligation bond authority to 
          fund the planning and construction of a high-speed passenger train 
          system and complementary improvements to other specified rail 
          systems in the state.  









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        2)Authorizes $9.95 million in bonds, of the $9.95 billion provided 
          for in the Bond Act, to be allocated to eligible recipients for 
          capital improvements to intercity rail lines, commuter rail lines, 
          and urban rail systems that:  a) provide direct connectivity to 
          the high-speed train system and its facilities; b) are a part of 
          the construction of the high-speed train system; or, c) provide 
          capacity enhancements and safety improvements.  

        3)Allocates $190 million of this amount to intercity rail lines and 
          the $760 million is to be allocated to other eligible recipients.  


        4)Defines "eligible recipients" to mean public agencies and joint 
          powers authorities that operate regularly scheduled passenger rail 
          service in commuter, light, and heavy rail and cable cars.  

        5)Directs the CTC to allocate the bond funds to eligible recipients 
          and to develop related guidelines, in consultation with the 
          High-Speed Rail Authority.  

        6)Prescribes that funds are to be distributed by a formula based on 
          track miles, annual vehicle miles, and passenger trips.  

        7)Provides, specifically, that bond funds are to be used for 
          projects to provide or improve connectivity with the high-speed 
          train system or for the rehabilitation or modernization of, or 
          safety improvements to tracks utilized for public passenger rail 
          service, signals, structures, facilities, and rolling stock; 
          explicitly provides that eligible recipients may use the funds for 
          any one of these elements.  

        8)Requires eligible recipients to match bond dollars 1:1.  

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, 
        negligible fiscal impact, as the bill codifies existing guidelines 
        already adopted by the CTC for allocation of bond funds.  

         COMMENTS  :  In 2008, California voters approved the Bond Act via 
        Proposition 1A, a $9.95 billion bond measure to build the country's 
        first high-speed rail train system.  Within Proposition 1A, voters 
        supported $950 million to be used for local capital modernization 
        and improvement projects on existing rail facilities in California 
        to provide a tight web of connectivity to high-speed rail and to 
        assure that our existing rail properties were in an adequate state 








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        of repair to accommodate the additional capacity necessary for 
        providing connecting services to high-speed rail.  

        In February 2010, the CTC adopted guidelines to implement both the 
        Intercity Rail Program (for the $190 million in bond proceeds) and 
        the Commuter and Urban Rail Program (for the remaining $760 million 
        in bond proceeds).  In its guidelines for the Commuter and Urban 
        Rail Program, the CTC provided that it will give priority to those 
        projects that provide direct connectivity to the high-speed train 
        system.  

        The CTC adopted its initial three-year program of projects for these 
        two programs in May 2010, and last year's budget included 
        appropriations of bond funds to begin funding the programs.  
        However, the Governor apparently did not agree with the program 
        adopted by the CTC and vetoed roughly $133 million in bond act 
        appropriations, stating:  "The High-Speed Rail Authority, the 
        Department of Transportation, and local jurisdictions should work 
        together to develop a statewide strategy and an associated list of 
        projects that will best accomplish the goal of moving passengers 
        between destinations around the state in the quickest, most 
        efficient and cost effective way, by utilizing these funds to 
        advance the construction of facilities for joint use where possible 
        and by providing better connectivity to the future high-speed rail 
        system."  

        This bill codifies a portion of the CTC guidelines.  Specifically, 
        this bill codifies elements of the guidelines relating to 
        distribution of funds for the Commuter and Urban Rail Program for 
        the modernization of intercity, commuter, and urban rail transit 
        systems.  This bill requires that the distribution of funds be based 
        on the 2007 data tables of the National Transit Database of the 
        Federal Transportation Administration.  This data was the basis of 
        CTC's original program of projects.  
         

        Analysis Prepared by  :    Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 


                                                                 FN:  0000697












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