BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1600
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1600 (Torres) 
          As Amended  May 30, 2012
          Majority vote 

           LOCAL GOVERNMENT    9-0         TRANSPORTATION      14-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Smyth, Alejo, Bradford,   |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal,         |
          |     |Campos, Davis, Gordon,    |     |Jeffries, Achadjian,      |
          |     |Hueso, Knight, Norby      |     |Blumenfield, Bonilla,     |
          |     |                          |     |Buchanan, Eng, Furutani,  |
          |     |                          |     |Galgiani, Logue, Miller,  |
          |     |                          |     |Norby, Portantino,        |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio                   |
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           APPROPRIATIONS      17-0                                        
           
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          |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey,          |     |                          |
          |     |Blumenfield, Bradford,    |     |                          |
          |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |     |                          |
          |     |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto,   |     |                          |
          |     |Hall, Hill, Lara,         |     |                          |
          |     |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |     |                          |
          |     |Solorio, Wagner           |     |                          |
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          SUMMARY  :  Extends Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension 
          Construction Authority's (Authority) light rail project to 
          include the City of Montclair, and makes several other changes 
          to the Authority's enabling act.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes the Authority to extend the "Gold Line" light rail 
            project to the City of Montclair and adds the City of 
            Montclair to the list of "extension cities" for purposes of 
            board membership for the Authority.

          2)Revises language that allows the Authority to accept grants, 
            fees, allocations, and transfers of funds from federal, state, 
            and local agencies.  

          3)Adds one nonvoting member, appointed by the president of the 
            board of directors of the San Bernardino Associated 








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            Governments (SANBAG), subject to confirmation by that board, 
            to the governing board of the Authority, thereby increasing 
            the total of nonvoting members from three to four.

          4)Specifies that all contracts approved and awarded by the 
            executive director of the Authority must comply with laws 
            generally applicable to local agency procurements and 
            contracts, subject to provisions of the Authority's enabling 
            act, and requires the Authority to adopt an administrative 
            code that includes laws generally applicable to local agency 
            procurements and contracts.

          5)Requires the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation 
            Authority (LACMTA) to assume responsibility for operating all 
            completed phases of the Gold Line project and provides that 
            LACMTA has the authority to operate the portion of the Gold 
            Line project located in San Bernardino County, which extends 
            approximately one-half mile from the Los Angeles and San 
            Bernardino County line to the Montclair Transit Center.

          6)Specifies, with respect to the portion of the project on 
            right-of-way owned by the SANBAG, that LACMTA's authority to 
            operate the project is contingent upon approval of the board 
            of directors of the SANBAG, acting as the county 
            transportation commission, through approval of an operations 
            and maintenance agreement with LACMTA.

          7)Requires the operations and maintenance agreement to specify 
            that SANBAG will reimburse the LACMTA for the costs of 
            operating that portion of the line located in San Bernardino 
            County.

          8)Requires the Authority to enter into a construction agreement 
            with SANBAG, acting as the county transportation commission, 
            prior to the commencement of construction of the portion of 
            the project located in the County of San Bernardino.

          9)States that nothing in the section of the bill related to 
            LACMTA's authority to operate the light rail project shall be 
            construed to require LACMTA to allocate funds to the project 
            beyond funds that have been allocated as of January 1, 2012.

          10)Provides that no reimbursement is required because the only 
            costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school 
            district are the result of a program for which legislative 








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            authority was requested by that local agency or school 
            district.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, the cost is negligible.

           COMMENTS  :  The Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority, 
          now known as the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction 
          Authority (Authority) was statutorily created (SB 1847 (Schiff), 
          Chapter 1021, Statutes of 1998) to oversee the planning, design, 
          and construction of a light rail line, referred to as the Gold 
          Line (formerly the Blue Line).  Current law provides for the 
          Authority's powers and duties, the membership of the Authority's 
          governing board, and details the process for the construction of 
          the Gold Line.

          According to the author, the Authority has determined that the 
          extension of the Gold Line to the City of Montclair will have 
          beneficial environmental and traffic impacts.  The Authority 
          believes that Montclair, as a regional transportation center, is 
          the logical terminus for the Gold Line, and allows for the 
          maximum intermodal interface points through the corridor.  This 
          bill seeks to authorize the Authority to extend the Gold Line to 
          Montclair, and adds that city to the list of "extension cities" 
          for purposes of board membership.

          This bill contains express authorization for the Authority to 
          accept federal funding, and clarifies that the Authority is 
          required to comply with procurement and contracting laws that 
          are generally applicable to local agencies.  This bill also 
          authorizes LACMTA to operate the light-rail project in San 
          Bernardino County, a change which the author is seeking because 
          approximately 3,050 feet of the Gold Line extension to Montclair 
          is located in San Bernardino County, which is outside the 
          current jurisdiction of LACMTA.

          Additional provisions in this bill specify that no reimbursement 
          is necessary to implement provisions of the bill because the 
          costs incurred by local agencies are the result of a program for 
          which legislative authority was requested by the local agency 
          (in this case, the Authority).

          Support argument:  Supporters believe that a future extension of 
          the Gold Line to Montclair is important for the people who will 
          one day ride the line, adding connections between Los Angeles 








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          and San Bernardino counties by light rail.

          Opposition argument:  None at this time.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 
          319-3958  
           

                                                                FN: 0004011