BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1779
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 9, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  AB 1779 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  April 19, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              
          TransportationVote:11-0
                        Local Government                        7-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill provides for the establishment of a joint powers 
          agency (JPA) to administer intercity rail service in the San 
          Joaquin Valley. Specifically, this bill:

          1)Provides that the Secretary of Business, Transportation, and 
            Housing, upon a determination that transferring responsibility 
            for intercity rail service to a JPA would yield cost 
            reductions, should authorize Caltrans to enter into an 
            interagency transfer agreement.

          2)States legislative intent that state funding, for an intercity 
            rail corridor for which administrative responsibility has been 
            transferred to a JPA, should be maintained at least at the 
            current funding level for at least five years.

          3)Establishes the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority Board of up 
            to 11 members, and defines the "San Joaquin Corridor" as 
            covering the Los 
            Angeles-Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-San Francisco 
            Bay Area intercity passenger rail corridor.

          4)Requires that the interagency agreement between Caltrans and 
            the San Joaquin JPA be executed by December 31, 2013.

          5)Prohibits, with respect to the San Joaquin Corridor, use of 
            local resources to offset any reduction or redirection of 
            state resources for intercity rail operations.

           FISCAL EFFECT  








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          1)One-time special fund cost to Caltrans in the range of 
            $150,000 to implement a transfer agreement with the JPA, 
            including supporting the transition of Caltrans' equipment and 
            facilities. Following implementation of the JPA, Caltrans 
            would realize ongoing administrative savings of about 
            $300,000.

          2)Fulfilling legislative intent to maintain current funding 
            state levels to the SJC for at least five years could create 
            cost pressure if overall state funding for intercity rail were 
            to be reduced during this time.

           


          COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . Intercity passenger rail service is a component of 
            the state's overall transportation system and operates between 
            several regions of the state. Intercity services include three 
            state-supported corridor routes and four Amtrak long-distance 
            routes. The three in-state intercity routes were funded, 
            planned and administered by Caltrans until July 1998, when the 
            Capitol Corridor JPA assumed administration of the 
            Auburn-Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose corridor. (The CCJPA was 
            established through SB 457 (Kelley)/Chapter 263 of 1996.) The 
            other two intercity rail passenger services, the Pacific 
            Surfliner and the San Joaquin continue to be administered by 
            Caltrans.


           2)Purpose  . This bill authorizes creation of a regionally-based 
            JPA to assume administrative responsibility from Caltrans for 
            the San Joaquin Corridor via an interagency transfer 
            agreement. The JPA would be initially composed of not more 
            than 11 members (representing public agencies in Sacramento, 
            San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, 
            Tulare, Kern, Contra Costa and Alameda Counties).


            The author contends that the CCJPA has successfully managed 
            the Capitol Corridor. "In addition to more cost effective 
            administration and operations, the CCJPA has shown that there 
            are several other potential benefits to local authority 








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            administration of intercity passenger service including: the 
            ability to have a stronger voice in advocating for service 
            improvements and expansions; local decision-making that is 
            more responsive and adaptive to passenger issues; the ability 
            to take better advantage of joint marketing and partnerships 
            with local agencies; and more engagement by local communities 
            to support the service."

           3)Related Legislation  . SB 1225 (Padilla), pending in Senate 
            Appropriations, similarly authorizes Caltrans to transfer 
            administration of the Pacific Surfliner corridor (San 
            Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo) to a JPA.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081