BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 907 (Evans)
Hearing Date: 05/26/2011 Amended: 05/03/2011
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: G&F 6-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 907 would establish the Master Plan for
Infrastructure Financing and Development Commission, if funds
are appropriated for this purpose, to develop and recommend a
plan to the Governor and Legislature by December 31, 2013 that
provides for financing, building, and maintaining the
infrastructure necessary to meet California's social, economic,
and resource needs through 2050. This bill would:
Specify the 11 members of the commission, including the
treasurer, six members appointed by the governor, two
members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and two
members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
Require the appointment of a full-time chair of the
commission and authorize a salary for the chair of up to
$150,000 annually.
Require the appointment of an executive director, with a
salary of up to $150,000 annually, and authorize the
loaning of staff with relevant experience from other state
agencies, local government, and private nonprofit
organizations.
Specify numerous administrative and governance
requirements of the commission, including the establishment
of task forces on planning and finance, transportation,
housing, natural resources, and education to provide
analysis and recommendations to the commission.
Require the commission to develop long-term guidelines
for state infrastructure needs and a prioritized plan that
meets those needs. Key components would include
projections of population and economic trends, assessments
of capital needs for various areas, and development of a
recommended financing plan.
Require the commission to submit its final report to the
Governor and Legislature by December 1, 2013, and to
dissolve 30 days thereafter.
Make the bill's requirements contingent upon a Budget
Act appropriation from the California Debt and Investment
Advisory Commission (CDIAC) Fund.
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SB 907 (Evans)
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
New Commission $650 $350 Special*
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* California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission Fund
(specified in the bill).
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Existing law requires the governor to annually submit a
five-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature. The plan must
contain Identification of infrastructure requested by agencies;
aggregate funding for transportation; infrastructure needs for
K-12 education; instructional facility needs for UC, CSU, and
the Community Colleges; and the cost of providing the
infrastructure, sources of funding, and impact on the state's
debt position. The last five-year infrastructure report was
issued in 2008, and the current Administration indicates that it
will issue an updated report in 2012. Governor Schwarzenegger
issued the California Strategic Growth Plan in 2007 and 2008,
which outlined the state's infrastructure needs over the next
two decades. Existing law also requires the Governor's Office
of Planning and Research to prepare a State Environmental Goals
and Policy Report every four years, which looks at state growth
and development over the next 20 to 30 years and includes
approved environmental goals and policies. The last
Environmental Goals and Policy Report that a Governor approved,
however, was An Urban Strategy for California (1978).
SB 907 is intended to provide a more dynamic mechanism for
studying the state's infrastructure needs with a broader view
and for a longer planning window than existing efforts. The
bill requires the plan to include a process for periodical
adjustments of the type, distribution, and priority of
infrastructure projects to meet changing circumstances.
In addition to the full-time chair and executive positions
identified in the bill, the commission would likely need
additional full-time staff, which may include contracts for
outside experts, as specified. The bill also authorizes staff
SB 907 (Evans)
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to be loaned from other relevant state agencies. The borrowing
of staff whose core function may be dedicated to other state
services may be infeasible, resulting in loss of productivity in
departments that are currently undergoing staff reductions. To
the extent staff are redirected from other state departments to
the commission, those affected departments would experience
staff cost pressures. Staff estimates that total costs for
dedicated staff, contracts for consultants, and ongoing
operations would be in the range of $1 million over the life of
the commission. Costs could be higher to the extent that the
commission is unable to borrow staff from other agencies. Since
the bill requires an appropriation from the CDIAC fund prior to
implementing any of the bill's requirements, these costs would
likely not be incurred until a budget is approved for the
2012-13 fiscal year.
Staff notes that this bill is substantially similar to AB 2579
(Evans), which was held under submission in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee last year.