BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1164
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Date of Hearing: April 25, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1164 (Gordon) - As Amended: April 7, 2011
SUBJECT : California High-Speed Rail Authority: members:
Senate confirmation
SUMMARY : Requires Senate confirmation of the five members of
the High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) who are appointed by
the Governor.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Enacts the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
for the 21st Century (High-Speed Rail Bond Act). The
High-Speed Rail Bond Act, approved as Proposition 1A in
November 2008, 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.
2)Establishes the Authority and charges it with the planning,
designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining a
state-of-the-art high-speed train system for California.
3)Prescribes the membership of the Authority as follows: five
members appointed by the Governor, two members appointed by
the Senate Rules Committee, and two members appointed by the
Speaker of the Assembly. The appointments are not subject to
Senate confirmation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The Authority was created by SB 1420 (Kopp) Chapter
796, Statutes of 1996, which vested it with the responsibility
to direct the development and implementation of intercity
high-speed rail service. SB 1420 directed the Authority to
prepare a plan for the construction and operation of a
high-speed train network for the state and to submit that plan
to the Legislature and the Governor, or to the voters of the
state, for approval. That bill prescribed various powers of the
Authority relative to planning and contracting for the
construction, financing, and operation of a high-speed rail
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system.
In 1996, the Authority's chief responsibility was to plan for a
high-speed train network. Today, the Authority's chief
responsibility is to implement the plan. The current cost
estimate for the initial phase of the 800-mile network is $43
billion. To complete the project, the Authority will initially
oversee consultant contracts amounting to hundreds of millions
of dollars, with billions of dollars in right of way acquisition
and construction contracts to follow. The ramifications of the
Authority's decisions will reverberate throughout the state's
transportation programs, the state General Fund and even the
federal rail program for years to come.
Despite the enormity of their responsibilities, however,
existing law prescribes that the membership of the Authority
meet one criterion only-geographical diversity. Members of the
Authority are not required, for example, to be elected officials
(and, therefore, accountable to voters) nor have any particular
expertise or credentials (and, therefore, accountable to, for
example, a code of conduct or professional standards).
Furthermore, because members serve prescribed terms, individual
members are not necessarily accountable to their appointing
power, which may or may not still be in office.
Subjecting gubernatorial appointees to Senate confirmation is an
established means of creating an appropriate balance of power
and accountability. Other state boards and commissions (for
example, the Energy Commission, the California State Lottery
Commission, the California Transportation Commission, the
Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, etc.) have legislative
appointees along with gubernatorial appointees whose appointment
requires confirmation by the Senate. This model is frequently
used at the federal level as well.
This bill does not require the existing members to vacate their
current appointments. The bill is prospective and relates only
to future gubernatorial appointees.
Given the magnitude of the high-speed rail project, AB 1164 is
an appropriate step toward ensuring membership on the Authority
is fair and balanced.
Previous legislation : SB 455 (Lowenthal) of 2009 included
provisions identical to this bill. That bill passed the
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Legislature but was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger based on
the following veto message: "Current law provides that the five
members of the High-Speed Rail Board appointed by the Governor
are not subject to Senate confirmation. I see no reason to
change this. I might be persuaded to change my mind if the
Legislature were to allow the Executive Branch to confirm its
four appointments to the Board."
Related legislation: SB 517 (Lowenthal) reconstitutes the
Authority membership. SB 517 will be heard in Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee on April 26, 2011.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
Californians for High Speed Rail
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093