BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 957
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: asm trans
VERSION: 6/28/11
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: July 5, 2011
SUBJECT:
Transportation omnibus bill
DESCRIPTION:
This bill makes non-controversial changes to sections of law
relating to transportation.
ANALYSIS:
According to the Legislative Analyst, the cost of producing a
bill in 2001-02 was $17,890. By combining multiple matters into
one bill, the Legislature can make minor changes to law in a
cost-effective manner.
This bill makes non-controversial changes to sections of law
relating to transportation. Specifically, the bill includes the
following provisions. The requestor of each provision is noted
in brackets.
Expands the Sacramento Regional Transit District (District) to
include the cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Rancho
Cordova, and West Sacramento. ÝDistrict]
Deletes obsolete provisions relating to the transition from
the Sacramento Transit Authority to the District. ÝDistrict]
Conforms the Sacramento Regional Transit District Act to the
State Constitution by prohibiting the District from levying a
property tax unless it has been approved by a two-thirds vote
of the electorate. ÝDistrict]
Authorizes the District to establish trust accounts for its
retirement system. ÝDistrict]
Increases the maximum interest rate on District-issued bonds
from seven percent to eight percent. ÝDistrict]
AB 957 (ASM TRANS) Page 2
Deletes an obsolete provision relating to District authority
to borrow funds to cover expenses prior to its first tax levy.
ÝDistrict]
Deletes the requirement that the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) provide quarterly reports to the Legislature until
completion of seismic retrofit of specified state-owned toll
bridges. ÝAssembly Transportation Committee]
Deletes the requirement that Caltrans provide quarterly
seismic reports to the California Transportation Commission
(CTC) for other seismic retrofit programs. ÝAssembly
Transportation Committee]
Provides for the state to relinquish to the City of Santa
Barbara, upon approval of the CTC, a specified section of
Route 225. ÝAssemblymember Williams]
Requires an impounding agency to release a vehicle that is
impounded for operating as a taxicab or other passenger
vehicle for hire in violation of the licensing requirements
adopted by a local authority, if the vehicle is a rental car.
ÝEnterprise Rent-a-Car]
Exempts a person who, while driving a motor vehicle, uses a
voice-operated, hands-free device to write, send, or read a
text-based communication, from being charged with an
infraction. ÝCalifornia Automobile Alliance]
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . The Assembly Transportation Committee is
authoring this bill as a means of combining multiple,
non-controversial changes to statutes in one bill, so that the
Legislature can make minor amendments in a cost-effective
manner. There is no known opposition to any item in the bill,
and if concerns arise that cannot be resolved, the provision
of concern will be deleted from the bill.
2.Caltrans reporting requirements . State statute requires
Caltrans to submit quarterly reports to the CTC and/or the
Legislature on several seismic retrofit programs: Phase 2
Seismic Retrofit, which covers state-owned, non-toll bridges;
the Local Agency Bridges Seismic Retrofit, which covers
AB 957 (ASM TRANS) Page 3
local-owned and Department of Water Resources Bridges; and
Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit, which covers state-owned toll
bridges. AB 1717 (Assembly Transportation Committee), Chapter
525, Statutes of 2003, modified reporting requirements for the
then-existing seismic toll bridges report. AB 1717 also added
provisions to cover all other seismic programs, including
Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the non-toll bridge program and the
local bridge program. Subsequently, AB 144 (Hancock), Chapter
71, Statutes of 2005, created an entirely new reporting
requirement for the toll bridge program under a different
section of the Streets and Highways Code. This bill
eliminates the original, now obsolete, reporting requirement
on the Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit, because Caltrans now
files its report pursuant to the code section cited in AB 144.
This bill also eliminates the reporting requirements on Phase
2 Seismic Retrofit and Local Bridge Seismic Retrofit, as they
are effectively complete. (Phase 1 was completed in 2000.)
3.Amendments . The author will accept amendments at the hearing
to delete the provision in the bill that relates to using a
voice-operated, hands-free device while driving. These
amendments remove conflicts with SB 28 (Simitian), which
passed the Assembly Transportation Committee on June 13, 2011.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 70-0
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 12-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 29,
2011)
SUPPORT: None received.
OPPOSED: None received.