BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1779| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1779 Author: Galgiani (D), et al. Amended: 8/21/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/3/12 AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 8/16/12 AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price, Steinberg NOES: Walters ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 64-11, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Intercity rail agreements SOURCE : Central Valley Rail Working Group Sacramento Regional Transit District San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to enter into a transfer of services agreement with a joint powers authority to administer the state-contracted Amtrak service operating between the San Joaquin Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Sacramento. CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 2 ANALYSIS : Since 1979, Caltrans has been contracting with Amtrak for providing intercity passenger rail service between Bakersfield, Sacramento, and Emeryville, with bus connections to San Francisco and other communities. Currently, there are four round trips daily to Emeryville and two to Sacramento. Approximately one million persons use the service annually. Existing law: 1. Authorizes Caltrans to: A. Contract with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail service. B. Program in the State Transportation Improvement Program 15% of the funds available for interregional transportation improvements to intercity passenger rail and grade separations. C. Enter into contracts with motor coach operators to provide feeder bus service to intercity passenger rail service, provided the service does not require an operating subsidy. D. Provide marketing services for the intercity passenger rail program, acquire passenger cars and locomotives, and take other actions to facilitate the operation of the service. E. Prepare a 10-year intercity passenger rail plan updated every two years that the California Transportation Commission (CTC) adopts. 2. Authorizes Caltrans, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Business and Transportation Agency (Secretary), to enter into an agreement with a joint powers board transferring responsibility for administering intercity passenger rail service in a corridor. 3. Assigns Caltrans responsibility for operating intercity passenger service for trains operating up to 125 miles per hour. CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 3 4. Requires a joint powers board to submit an annual business plan to the state, which is the basis of a budget request for service. 5. Authorizes the Secretary to do the following: A. Establish the level of state funding available for operation of intercity passenger rail service available in each corridor in which service operates. B. Allocate funds to a joint powers board consistent with an interagency agreement that includes among other things the level of service to be operated. 6. Authorizes joint powers agencies to augment state funds at their discretion to expand service, address funding shortfalls, or achieve agreed upon performance standards. Existing federal law authorizes states or state-created entities to contract with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail service. Federal law requires states, according to a national cost allocation process adopted by the Service Transportation Board, to pay the full operating and capital costs for intercity passenger rail service in which the service is less than 750 miles in length. Federal law exempts Interstate service from this provision. This bill: 1. Defines the San Joaquin Corridor as the Los Angeles-Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-Oakland intercity passenger rail corridor. 2. Creates the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority Board (JPA) (Board) consisting of the following members: One member from the Sacramento Regional Transit District One member from the San Joaquin Regional Rail CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 4 Commission, who shall be a resident of San Joaquin County One member from the Stanislaus Council of Governments One member of the Merced County Association of Governments One member from the Madera County Transportation Commission One member from the Fresno Council of Governments One member of the Kings county Association of Governments One member of the Tulare County Association of Governments One member of the Kern Council of Governments One member of the board of directors of a regional transportation agency or rail transit operator that serves Contra Costa County One member of a regional transportation agency or rail transit operator that serves Alameda County that the Alameda Board of Supervisors appoints and who must be a resident of that county 3. Deems the Board organized if six of the agencies elect to appoint a member prior to December 31, 2013. 4. Authorizes the JPA to enter into an interagency transfer agreement with Caltrans for assuming all responsibility for administering state- funded intercity passenger rail service in the corridor on or before December 31, 2014. Requires the transfer agreement cover the initial three year period after the transfer, and authorizes, upon mutual agreement, for it to be extended thereafter. 5. Authorizers the JPA, with regard to the San Joaquin CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 5 Corridor, to identify and secure new supplemental sources of funding for the purpose of expanding or maintaining intercity rail passenger service levels, which may include state and federal intercity rail resources. 6. Requires the cost for categories of service be controlled by the cost allocation procedures established by Amtrak in accordance with the federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, and prohibits the use of local funds for expenditure to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification of state resources for operating intercity passenger rail services in the corridor. 7. Authorizes the JPA to contract with Amtrak to provide service, contract with other operators to operate the service, and contract with rail corporations to use tracks and other facilities. 8. Prohibits the termination of feeder bus service for intercity rail passengers unless the bus service fails to meet specified cost effectiveness standards. 9. Requires the JPA protects existing services and facilities and seek to expand service as warranted. Background The state funds three intercity passenger rail routes in California. Two routes, the San Joaquin route and the Pacific Surfliner route, serving the LOSSAN Corridor (Los Angeles-San Diego-Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo) are administered by Caltrans and the third route, the Capitol Corridor (traveling from San Jose-Oakland-Sacramento/Auburn) is administered by the Capitol Corridor JPA. Amtrak operates all three routes under contract with Caltrans. Nationally, the Pacific Surfliner is the second most patronized after the Northeast Corridor service; the Capitol Corridor the fourth; and the San Joaquin the fifth. California has the largest and most successful state-supported intercity passenger rail program in the country. CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 6 Comments This author introduced this bill to enable the transfer of administrative responsibility of the San Joaquin intercity passenger rail service from Caltrans to a new joint powers authority, following the model of the Capitol Corridor JPA. It is hoped that the JPA will bring a greater local perspective to the operation of the service. This bill is permissive legislation, which enables regional governance and management of the existing San Joaquin intercity passenger rail service between Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-Oakland. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: One-time costs to Caltrans of approximately $200,000 (Public Transportation Account) to administer the transition of operations and management to the JPA. Cost pressures to maintain current levels of service for three years due to expected reductions in federal funding for intercity rail (Public Transportation Account). Although those federal reductions would be related to service in the San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo intercity rail corridor (LOSSAN corridor), this bill reduces flexibility to address shortfalls statewide. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/12) Central Valley Rail Working Group (co-source) Sacramento Regional Transit District (co-source) San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (co-source) San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council (co-source) California Central Valley Economic Development Corporation California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley California Transit Association Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Cities of Corcoran, Elk Grove, Fowler, Huron, Kingsburg, Lodi, Mendota, Merced, Modesto, Sacramento, Selma, Stockton, Turlock, Visalia CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 7 City of Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Contra Costa Transportation Authority County of Fresno Fresno Council of Governments Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency Madera County Transportation Commission Merced County of Association of Governments Sacramento Area Council of Governments San Joaquin Council of Governments San Joaquin Regional Transit District San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Stanislaus Council of Governments Steve Cohn, Sacramento City Councilmember and Board Member of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, Sacramento Regional Transit and Sacramento Area Council of Governments Tulare County Association of Governments OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/12) City of Bakersfield ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 64-11, 5/30/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Harkey, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Morrell, Nielsen, Silva, Wagner NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Fletcher, Garrick, Gorell, Valadao JJA:dk 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses CONTINUED AB 1779 Page 8 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED