BILL NUMBER: SB 733	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Price

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to high-speed rail.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 733, as introduced, Price. High-speed rail: business plan:
contracts: small business participation.
   Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail
system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law,
pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the
November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of
$9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and
related purposes. Under federal law, funding is made available for
allocation nationally to high-speed rail and other related projects.
Existing law requires the authority to prepare, publish, adopt, and
submit to the Legislature a business plan containing specified
elements beginning January 1, 2012, and every 2 years thereafter.
   This bill would require the authority to include in the business
plan to be submitted on January 1, 2012, or as an addendum to that
plan to be submitted as soon as possible after that date, a strategy
for ensuring the participation of small business enterprises in
contracts awarded by the authority with state or federal funds during
all phases of the project.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
   185033.  (a) The authority shall prepare, publish, adopt, and
submit to the Legislature, not later than January 1, 2012, and every
two years thereafter, a business plan. At least 60 days prior to the
publication of the plan, the authority shall publish a draft business
plan for public review and comment. The draft plan shall also be
submitted to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing, the
Assembly Committee on Transportation, the Senate Committee on Budget
and Fiscal Review, and the Assembly Committee on Budget. The business
plan shall identify all of the following: the type of service the
authority anticipates it will develop, such as local, express,
commuter, regional, or interregional; a description of the primary
benefits the system will provide; a forecast of the anticipated
patronage, operating and maintenance costs, and capital costs for the
system; an estimate and description of the total anticipated
federal, state, local, and other funds the authority intends to
access to fund the construction and operation of the system; and the
proposed chronology for the construction of the eligible corridors of
the statewide high-speed train system. The business plan shall also
include a discussion of all reasonably foreseeable risks the project
may encounter, including, but not limited to, risks associated with
the project's finances, patronage, right-of-way acquisition,
environmental clearances, construction, equipment, and technology,
and other risks associated with the project's development. The plan
shall describe the authority's strategies, processes, or other
actions it intends to utilize to manage those risks.
   (b) (1) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), the
business plan shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the
following elements:
   (A) Using the most recent patronage forecast for the system,
develop a forecast of the expected patronage and service levels for
the Phase 1 corridor as identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b) of Section 2704.04 of the Streets and Highways Code and by each
segment or combination of segments for which a project level
environmental analysis is being prepared for Phase 1. The forecast
shall assume a high, medium, and low level of patronage and a
realistic operating planning scenario for each level of service.
Alternative fare structures shall be considered when determining the
level of patronage.
   (B) Based on the patronage forecast in subparagraph (A), develop
alternative financial pro formas for the different levels of service,
and identify the operating break-even points for each alternative.
Each pro forma shall assume the terms of subparagraph (J) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 2704.08 of the Streets
and Highways Code.
   (C) Identify the expected schedule for completing environmental
review, and initiating and completing construction for each segment
of Phase 1.
   (D) Identify the source of federal, state, and local funds
available for the project that will augment funds from the bond act
and the level of confidence for obtaining each type of funding.
   (E) Identify written agreements with public or private entities to
fund components of the high-speed rail system, including stations
and terminals, any impediments to the completion of the system, such
as the inability to gain access to existing railroad rights-of-way.
   (F) Identify alternative public-private development strategies for
the implementation of Phase 1.
   (2) To the extent feasible, the business plan should draw upon
information and material developed according to other requirements,
including, but not limited to, the preappropriation review process
and the preexpenditure review process in the Safe, Reliable
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century pursuant to
Section 2704.08 of the Streets and Highways Code. The authority shall
hold at least one public hearing on the business plan and shall
adopt the plan at a regularly scheduled meeting. When adopting the
plan, the authority shall take into consideration comments from the
public hearing and written comments that it receives in that regard,
and any hearings that the Legislature may hold prior to adoption of
the plan. 
   (c) In the business plan to be submitted on January 1, 2012, or as
an addendum to that plan to be submitted as soon as possible after
that date, the authority shall include a strategy for ensuring the
participation of small business enterprises in contracts awarded by
the authority with state or federal funds during all phases of the
project.