BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1915
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1915 (Alejo)
As Amended June 26, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-0 |(May 14, 2012) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 22, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS .
SUMMARY : Permits up to 10% of the state's Safe Routes to School
(SR2S) program funds to be used to assist eligible recipients in
making infrastructure improvements (other than school bus
shelters) that create safe routes to schoolbus stops that are
located outside the vicinity of schools.
The Senate amendments clarify that the SR2S funds that may be
used outside the vicinity of schools may be used to create safe
routes to schoolbus stops specifically (rather than bus stops
generally).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides two separate and distinct SR2S programs - one
federally funded and one state funded. The federal program
provides grants for infrastructure and non-infrastructure
projects (such as education and enforcement). The state
program provides grants only for infrastructure projects.
(This bill affects the state SR2S program only; hence, any
further reference to the "SR2S" program will be to the state
program.)
2)Establishes the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) as the multi-modal department responsible for the
statewide mobility of people, goods, and services. Requires
Caltrans to administer an SR2S program for construction of
bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic calming projects.
3)Requires Caltrans to award grants to local governmental
agencies on a statewide, competitive basis using various
factors, as specified, including:
a) Demonstrated need of an applicant;
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b) Potential to reduce child injuries and fatalities;
c) Potential to encourage increased walking and bicycling
among students;
d) Identification of safety hazards;
e) Identification of current and potential walking and
bicycling routes to school;
f) Use of a public participation process; and,
g) Benefits to a low-income school.
4)Requires Caltrans, prior to awarding a construction grant for
construction that encompasses a freeway, highway, or county
road, to consult with and obtain approval from the California
Highway Patrol (CHP) to ensure the proposal complements the
CHP's Pedestrian Corridor Safety Program.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable costs for Caltrans to modify program
guidelines. This bill could result in a reallocation of SR2S
funding, and may alter the proximity of some funded projects
with respect to a school site, but will not change the purpose
of these funds in providing infrastructure improvements along
roadways used by students in their travel to school.
COMMENTS : The goal of the SR2S programs administered by
Caltrans is to increase the number of children that walk or
bicycle to school by funding projects that remove barriers that
prevent or discourage them from doing so. In 1999, California
was the first state in the country to legislate its own state
SR2S program with dedicated funding (from the State Highway
Account) on the premise that encouraging more children to walk
and bicycle to school would result in healthier children,
improved air quality, reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions, and less traffic congestion near schools. This
year, the SR2S program was funded at $24.25 million. Funds are
distributed on a statewide, competitive basis. Typical projects
in these programs include installing curbs, sidewalks, traffic
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signals, crosswalks, warning signs, and bicycle paths.
The author has introduced this bill to serve the safety needs of
low-income rural school children who often depend on buses to
transport them to school, often walking along busy roads with
insufficient or poor quality walking infrastructure.
Supporters of this bill argue that current law does not specify
that the SR2S program can support infrastructure improvements to
increase pedestrian safety for children walking to school bus
stops. As a result, rural communities that must use buses to
get their children to school cannot enjoy the benefits of the
SR2S program. By allowing the SR2S program funds to be used to
support infrastructure improvements that might not necessarily
be in the proximity of a school, the program can more
effectively serve the needs of low-income rural children.
Previous legislation: AB 1475 (Soto), Chapter 663, Statutes of
1999, first enacted the SR2S program until 2002. Subsequent
legislation, SB 10 (Soto), Chapter 600, Statutes of 2001,
extended the program until 2005, and SB 1987 (Soto), Chapter
392, Statutes of 2004, extended again until 2008. Finally, AB
57 (Soto), Chapter 673, Statutes of 2007, eliminated the sunset
date, thereby extending the program indefinitely.
AB 516 (V. Manuel Pérez), Chapter 277, Statutes of 2011,
modified the SR2S program to facilitate increased participation
from socio-economically disadvantaged schools and communities.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0005162