BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 415
                                                                  Page  1

          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 415 (Price)
          As Amended August 21, 2012
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :Vote not relevant  
           
           TRANSPORTATION      13-0        APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal,         |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey,            |
          |     |Jeffries, Achadjian,      |     |Blumenfield, Bradford,    |
          |     |Blumenfield, Buchanan,    |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
          |     |Eng, Furutani, Galgiani,  |     |Davis, Donnelly, Fuentes, |
          |     |Logue, Miller, Norby      |     |Hall, Hill, Cedillo,      |
          |     |Portantino, Solorio       |     |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio, Wagner           |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Provides for the relinquishment of park-and-ride lots. 
           Specifically,  this bill:

           1)Grants permission to the California Transportation Commission 
            (CTC) to relinquish to a county transportation commission or 
            to a regional transportation planning agency (RTPA) 
            park-and-ride lots within their respective jurisdictions, on 
            terms and conditions that the CTC finds to be within the best 
            interests of the state if the California Department of 
            Transportation (Caltrans) and the county transportation 
            commission or RTPA enter into an agreement providing for the 
            relinquishment.  

          2)Requires that a county transportation commission or an RTPA 
            that requests relinquishment of a park-and-ride lot agree to 
            maintain at least as many parking spaces in the lot as there 
            were when the property was relinquished by Caltrans.  

          3)Provides that the relinquishment will become effective on the 
            date following the county recorder's recordation of the 
            relinquishment resolution containing the CTC's approval of the 
            terms and conditions of the relinquishment.  

           EXISTING LAW  : 









                                                                  SB 415
                                                                  Page  2

          1)Identifies, statutorily, state highway system routes; defines 
            "state highway" as any roadway that is acquired, laid out, 
            constructed, improved, or maintained as a state highway 
            pursuant to constitutional or legislative authorization.  

          2)Provides for the expansion or deletion of the state highway 
            system through a process whereby CTC makes a finding that it 
            is in the best interest of the state to include or delete a 
            specified portion of roadway to the system.  

          3)Provides for the relinquishment of a portion of state highway 
            to a city or county under an agreement between the local 
            jurisdiction and Caltrans when an act of the Legislature has 
            deleted the portion of highway from the state highway system.  


           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, Caltrans indicates that local jurisdictions 
          frequently seek concessions-typically future maintenance funds 
          as well as upfront rehabilitation from the department-as part of 
          relinquishment agreements.  Depending on the number of 
          park-and-ride lots relinquished to local agencies and the 
          condition of those lots, potential one-time special fund costs 
          could exceed $150,000, depending on the outcome of negotiations 
          between Caltrans and local entities and a determination that any 
          relinquishment is in the state's best interest.  Furthermore, 
          the bill could result in ongoing savings to Caltrans from 
          reduced maintenance and rehabilitation costs for relinquished 
          park-and-ride lots.  

           COMMENTS  :  Each session, numerous bills authorizing CTC to 
          relinquish segments of the state highway segments to local 
          jurisdictions are passed by the Legislature and signed by the 
          Governor.  Relinquishment transactions are generally preceded by 
          a negotiation of terms and conditions between the local 
          jurisdiction and Caltrans.  Once an agreement has been 
          established, CTC typically approves the relinquishment and 
          verifies its approval via a resolution.  The final step is for 
          the Legislature to delete these segments from current law.  

          State highway relinquishments provide recipient agencies with 
          greater control over a local transportation segment and relieve 
          Caltrans of any further responsibility to improve, maintain, or 
          repair it.  









                                                                  SB 415
                                                                  Page  3

          This bill, unlike typical relinquishment bills, will allow the 
          state to transfer to county transportation commissions or to an 
          RTPA, park-and-ride lots.  

          This bill is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan 
          Transportation Authority (Metro).  SB 415 will allow Metro to 
          enter into agreements with Caltrans to take ownership of 
          selected state-owned park-and-ride lots, under terms set forth 
          in the bill.  As planned, Metro will assume ownership, as well 
          as maintenance and operations, of the lots as part of its 
          efforts to promote public transit ridership.  Some of its 
          planned improvements include leasing spaces to increase activity 
          in the lots, better advertising and signage to manage parking 
          amongst different lots, and increased security and improved 
          maintenance to encourage greater utilization of the lots.  

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 


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