BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1149 HEARING: 5/9/12
AUTHOR: DeSaulnier FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 5/1/12 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Weinberger
BAY AREA REGIONAL PLANNING
Creates the Bay Area Regional Commission.
Background and Existing Law
With nine counties and 101 cities, the San Francisco Bay
Area is home to several single-purpose regional agencies,
including the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG),
the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
(BCDC), and the San Francisco Bay Region Regional Water
Quality Control Board.
ABAG is a voluntary "council of governments" (COG) created
by cities and counties with a joint powers agreement. Like
other COGs, ABAG prepares long-term regional plans and
creates the regional housing needs analysis that local
officials use in preparing their general plans' housing
elements. ABAG also has other statutory planning duties.
The federal government designates a metropolitan planning
organization (MPO) to coordinate transportation planning in
each urban region. Most of California's MPOs are COGs,
organized by the cities and counties in their own regions.
The Bay Area is an exception. The Legislature created MTC
to coordinate the Bay Area's transportation planning. ABAG
is the COG, but MTC is the MPO.
The MTC also functions as the Bay Area Toll Authority
(BATA). In 1997, the Legislature created the BATA, which
is responsible for managing and investing toll revenues
from the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges, funding
the day-to-day bridge operations, facilities maintenance,
administration, and long-term capital improvement and
rehabilitation of the bridges (SB 226, Kopp, 1997).
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 2
Created by the Legislature in 1955 as the first regional
air pollution control agency in the country, the BAAQMD is
the public agency entrusted with regulating stationary
sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround
San Francisco Bay.
Created by the Legislature in 1965, the San Francisco Bay
Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) is a state
commission which plans and regulates land uses under and
around San Francisco Bay and the Suisun Marsh.
In 2003, ABAG and MTC formed a regional Joint Policy
Committee (JPC) to coordinate their regional planning
efforts. At the direction of the Legislature, the JPC
subsequently added the BAAQMD and the BCDC as represented
agencies (SB 849, Torlakson, 2004 and AB 2094, DeSaulnier,
2008). State law requires the JPC to coordinate the
development and drafting of major planning documents
prepared by ABAG, MTC, BAAQMD, and BCDC, including:
The regional transportation plan prepared by MTC.
The ABAG housing element planning process for
regional housing needs.
The BAAQMD's Ozone Attainment Plan and Clean Air
Plan.
The BCDC's San Francisco Bay Plan and related
documents.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle
miles travelled, the Legislature linked transportation
planning and land use planning by state, regional, and
local agencies (SB 375, Steinberg, 2008). Metropolitan
planning organizations and their constituent counties and
cities are preparing sustainable communities strategies ro
alternative planning strategies.
Despite the JPC's efforts to integrate Bay Area regional
planning activities, it lacks the authority to make binding
policy decisions or override its member agencies'
decisions. As a result, some Bay Area elected officials
worry that the JPC will be unable to achieve the close
integration of transportation planning, land use planning,
and air quality regulation that is necessary to achieve SB
375's goals. They want the Legislature to restructure
regional governance in the Bay Area by creating a
regionally-elected planning commission to improve
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 3
coordination among regional agencies, increase the
agencies' public transparency and accountability, and make
the regional planning process more efficient.
Proposed Law
Senate Bill 1149 establishes the Bay Area Regional
Commission (BARC), which succeeds to and is vested with all
the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and
jurisdiction of the JPC, as well as any additional duties,
powers, purposes, responsibilities and jurisdiction
specified in the bill.
SB 1149 declares that its provisions prevail over any
conflicting statute governing any of the regional entities.
The bill defines "region" as the area encompassed by the
counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San
Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. SB
1149 defines "regional entities" as the MTC, including any
joint exercise of powers agencies that include the MTC as a
member agency, the BATA, the BAAQMD, the BCDC, and ABAG.
SB 1149 contains provisions governing:
Elections.
Administration and reorganization of regional
entities.
Budget and fiscal authority.
Outreach and transparency.
Regional planning functions.
Economic planning functions.
Use of toll revenues.
I. Elections . SB 1149 requires the BARC to draw the
boundaries for 15 districts from which candidates for
commissioners must be elected. The BARC must ensure
compliance with all applicable state and federal laws
regarding the apportionment of population among the
districts.
SB 1149 requires that initial BARC elections, including
primary and general elections, must take place in 2014.
Commissioners elected in 2014 take office on Monday,
January 5, 2015. The bill requires the commissioners to
draw lots, no later than January 15, 2015, to determine
initial terms of office by district. Seven commissioners
must serve an initial term of two years and eight
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 4
commissioners must serve an initial term of four years.
Commissioners elected in subsequent elections will each
serve a four year term of office.
SB 1149 requires the BARC to undertake a study to determine
the feasibility of publicly financing the elections of
commissioners.
II. Administration and reorganization . SB 1149 requires
the JPC to employ an interim executive director for the
BARC to serve until June 30, 2015, or until elected
commissioners appoint his or her successor, whichever
occurs first. The interim executive director may act on
behalf of the BARC until commissioners are elected and take
office.
SB 1149 requires the BARC to appoint, by June 30, 2015, an
executive director, a chief legal counsel, and a chief
financial officer. These officers serve at the pleasure of
the BARC. The executive director may appoint additional
staff.
SB 1149 requires the BARC to authorize its executive
director to prepare a regional reorganization plan. The
BARC must adopt goals and policies to govern the
preparation of the plan, which must include a statement as
to the expected reduction in the cost of overhead and in
the operation and management of the regional entities.
The bill requires all cost saving to be directed to the
BARC's general fund. In addition, the BARC must adopt
goals for integrating the regional planning requirements
for the regional plans of each regional entity into a
comprehensive regional plan.
SB 1149 requires the executive director, when preparing the
regional reorganization plan, to include a plan for
consolidating specified functions that are common to the
regional entities. The bill requires the executive
director to give consideration to ensuring that there are
common personnel classifications where appropriate among
the regional entities, and to the consolidation of other
functions or activities, as deemed feasible, that will
further the mission of the BARC and reduce redundancy.
SB 1149 requires the executive director to submit a draft
regional reorganization plan to the BARC on or before
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 5
December 31, 2015. The BARC must hold at least one public
hearing in each county of the region to receive public
comment and adopt a final plan for implementation on or
before June 30, 2016. The plan must be updated as
determined by the BARC.
SB 1149 requires the BARC's executive director to integrate
the management of the BARC with that of the regional
entities by:
Organizing the regional entities as divisions of
the BARC, with each regional entity to continue to be
governed by any applicable statute pertaining to that
entity, except for resource allocation and as
otherwise provided by the bill.
Recommending a candidate for the executive director
of each regional entity as positions become vacant.
III. Budget and fiscal authority . SB 1149 requires the
BARC to be the fiscal agent for the regional entities,
responsible for preparing the annual budget and managing
the financial resources for each entity. The bill requires
the BARC's executive director, in consultation with the
regional entities, to prepare and submit to the governing
board of each regional entity a recommended integrated
budget for the BARC and the regional entities for the
subsequent fiscal year. In 2015, and in each following
year, the recommended budget must be submitted by April 1
and the BARC must adopt the integrated budget by June 30.
SB 1149 requires the executive director, before developing
the integrated budget, to submit to the BARC, for adoption,
proposed performance criteria to govern budgetary
priorities. After the BARC adopts the initial integrated
budget, the executive director must report in subsequent
annual budgets the extent to which the performance criteria
for the previous fiscal year were met. A new set of
performance criteria may be proposed and adopted for
subsequent fiscal years.
SB 1149 requires the regional entities that fund the JPC to
provide the same level of funding to the BARC. Each
regional entity must provide at least the amount of funding
provided to the JPC in 2012-13, adjusted annually for
inflation. The BARC may seek, and the regional entities
may provide, additional funding.
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SB 1149 requires the BATA to contribute to the BARC in
furtherance of the exercise of the authority's powers under
state law including contributions in the form of personnel
services, office space, and funding. BATA must also make
contributions to the BARC on a reimbursement-for-cost
basis. Reimbursement is not required to the extent that
the BARC determines that the contributions provided are in
furtherance of the exercise of the authority's powers under
state law.
SB 1149 requires that federal and state funds made
available to the MTC for purposes of transportation
planning must be budgeted to the BARC.
IV. Outreach and transparency . SB 1149 requires the BARC
to develop and adopt, on or before October 31, 2015, public
and community outreach policies to govern the scheduling of
BARC meetings, the meetings of regional entities, the
meetings of standing committees, and meetings of ad hoc or
other temporary committees. The BARC must:
Ensure that outreach programs will utilize all
available communication technologies, including
webcasting and social media, print, radio, and
television.
Establish policies for the holding workshops of the
BARC and the regional entities in the cities and
counties of the region.
Provide an opportunity for the public to comment on
the draft and the final recommended policies.
Maintain an Internet web site containing relevant
information pertaining to its activities.
Comply with state laws governing open meetings.
V. Regional Planning . SB 1149 requires the BARC, during a
transition period, until January 1, 2017, to review and
comment on draft plans and proposed final plans for the
regional transportation system, the sustainable communities
strategy, and other plans and regulations.
Beginning on January 1, 2017, the BARC must review each
regional entity's policies and plans, and associated
regulations. The review must include an assessment of the
consistency of the policies, plans, and regulations with
the requirements of SB 375 (Steinberg, 2008). The BARC
must issue a consistency report describing the findings of
this review. The BARC must hold public and community
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 7
hearings in accordance with its public outreach policies
regarding the draft consistency findings. The consistency
review's findings must be used in fulfilling the BARC's
regional planning responsibilities.
SB 1149 requires the BARC to establish a process to develop
and implement its own policies, goals, and regulations.
The BARC must develop a schedule for implementing this
process.
SB 1149 requires each regional entity's governing board,
consistent with policies adopted by the BARC, to submit its
functional regional plan to the BARC for adoption. If the
BARC determines not to adopt a recommended functional
regional plan, it must submit findings underlying its
decision to the applicable regional entity. The findings
may include references to BARC policies, goals, and
performance measures, the goals of the BARC's economic
development strategy, and any inconsistency with SB 375
(Steinberg, 2008). The regional entity must redraft its
functional regional plan in response to the BARC's findings
and resubmit the plan.
SB 1149 requires the BARC to ensure that the sustainable
communities strategy for the region integrates
transportation, land use, and air quality management
consistent with the requirements of Senate Bill 375
(Steinberg, 2008).
VI. Economic Development Planning . SB 1149 requires the
BARC to prepare a 20-year regional economic development
strategy for the region. The economic development
strategy's goal must be to ensure that the regional economy
is capable of adapting to changes in technology, market
demand, and direction of the national and international
economy. The strategy must include specified elements,
including a discussion of socioeconomic data, firm
clusters, economic sectors, employment, public and private
investment, social equity issues, and environmental,
social, and cultural amenities.
SB 1149 requires the BARC to appoint an advisory committee
with members from the business community, including
representatives of small businesses, technology and
manufacturing sectors, community colleges, public and
private universities, labor, local governments, and other
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 8
organizations involved with the private economy. The BARC
must coordinate the preparation of the strategy with the
advisory committee and with the regional entities. The
bill requires the BARC, consistent with its public outreach
plan, to hold public and community outreach as it deems
appropriate for both draft and final economic development
strategies. The BARC may hold other public outreach
sessions as appropriate during the course of preparing the
economic development strategy. The BARC must adopt the
first economic development strategy plan by December 31,
2015, and an updated strategy every four years thereafter.
SB 1149 requires the BARC, in consultation with the
regional entities, to adopt goals and policies related to
the inclusion of economic development opportunities in the
plans of the regional entities and in its own plans. The
goals and policies also shall promote amenities that are
special to the region and contribute to the region's
quality of life.
VII. Toll revenues . SB 1149 requires that changes
proposed by the BARC in policies related to tolls and the
management of the seven state-owned toll bridges within the
jurisdiction of the BATA must be consistent with and
conform with the terms and conditions of any covenants and
agreements related to the use of toll revenues and the
financing and refinancing of any associated debt.
SB 1149 requires toll revenues managed by the BATA to be
used only to acquire, construct, manage, maintain, lease,
operate, or construct facilities required for the
management of the state-owned toll bridges within its
jurisdiction, for improvements to the toll bridges, to
provide access to the toll bridges within its jurisdiction,
or for associated transportation projects specifically
authorized to be undertaken with bridge toll revenues
pursuant to the relevant provisions of state law.
SB 1149 prohibits revenues in any reserve funds established
pursuant to bond covenants or other related agreements from
being invested in real property.
SB 1149 requires that no more than five percent of the toll
revenues be used for administration and planning of the
transportation system that serves the travel corridors that
are served by the toll bridges.
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 9
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Since 1970, when the MTC was
created, the Bay Area's population has grown by 63%, the
state has regionalized transportation funding and project
prioritization, climate change has created a need to adapt
to a changing shoreline, and the Legislature has required
the integration of land use and transportation planning to
address greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these dramatic
transformations, the Bay Area's regional governance
structure has not changed much during the last four
decades. At recent informational hearings held by the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing to evaluate
regional governance in the Bay Area, several witnesses
argued that important planning decisions should be made
more transparent, that transportation and land use planning
need to be better integrated, and that economic development
should be incorporated into the regional planning process.
In particular, some observers argue that dividing regional
governance among four regional entities with different
functional specialties and separate part-time governing
boards prevents the region from addressing
cross-jurisdictional issues, like greenhouse gas emissions
and climate change. To address this deficiency, SB 1149
creates a new, powerful, directly elected regional body
that is responsible for ensuring that regional policies are
developed within a consistent framework. The 15-member
BARC will reduce regional planning costs, increase the
planning process' transparency, and ensure the integration
of regional entities' planning activities.
2. Doing the regional two-step . The history of Bay Area
regional governance shows that legislators typically use a
two-step political process. First they commission studies,
then they create new agencies based on the results. The
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
(BCDC) is an early example of converting a study's results
into a new regional agency. Legislators followed the same
two-step model when they created the Delta Protection
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 10
Commission. MTC grew out of a seven-year effort called the
Bay Area Transportation Study Commission (BATS). SB 1149
skips the first step, creating a new regional entity
without basing the new entity's structure and powers on the
results of any study. In January, the Senate passed SB 878
(DeSaulnier), which requires the JPC to submit a report to
the Legislature that includes:
Methods and strategies for developing a regional
sustainable communities strategy, including public
participation and transparency.
Strategies for improving regional coordination
among member agencies.
Recommendations on organizational reform that
effectuates regional coordination.
A work plan for a nine-county economic development
strategy.
The Committee may wish to consider whether decisions about
restructuring Bay Area governance should continue to follow
the pattern of requiring a study first and creating a new
agency later.
3. Drawing the lines . ABAG, MTC, BAAQMD, and BCDC all
have governing boards that include at least one member from
each of the nine Bay Area counties. Each of the BARC's 15
commissioners would represent a district with more than
476,000 residents, a population that is slightly larger
than the population of a State Assembly district. It is
likely that only two BARC districts will lie entirely
within the boundaries of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano
counties, which have a combined population of 1,286,115.
Parts of Marin and Solano counties may be included in
districts that are centered on larger population centers in
San Francisco and the East Bay. The Committee may wish to
consider whether the BARC's electoral districts will dilute
the four less-populated North Bay counties' influence over
Bay Area regional planning efforts.
4. Mismatched jurisdictions ? Unlike ABAG and MTC, BAAQMD
and BCDC do not exercise authority in every part of the Bay
Area's nine counties. BAAQMD's jurisdiction excludes
northern Sonoma County and northeastern Solano County.
BCDC's jurisdiction covers the water, marshes and mudflats
of greater San Francisco Bay, the first 100 feet inland
from the shoreline around San Francisco Bay, specified
portion of the Suisun Marsh, and portions of creeks,
rivers, sloughs and other tributaries that flow into San
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 11
Francisco Bay. SB 1149 lets voters in every part of the
nine Bay Area counties elect commissioners who would govern
BAAQMD and BCDC. Should a voter in Gilroy have as much say
as a voter in Foster City regarding policies governing
development along the shore of San Francisco Bay? Should a
voter in Cloverdale have as much say as a voter in Clayton
over the enforcement of the Bay Area's air quality
regulations? The Committee may wish to consider whether
voters who live in areas that are not subject to a
regulatory body's authority should elect officials who
determine that regulatory body's policies.
5. Mixing governmental roles and structures . The four
regional entities that SB 1149 integrates as subsidiary
divisions of the BARC have different roles and structures
that may complicate their integration. Unlike ABAG and
MTC, which are planning entities, BAAQMD and BCDC exercise
regulatory powers. While MTC and BAAQMD are local entities
governed by special act statutes, BCDC is a state
commission, and ABAG is a joint powers authority. Can BCDC
function both as a state commission and as a division of
regional government under the direction of locally elected
officials? Should directly-elected regional officials
control BAAQMD's regulatory activities in addition to its
role in the regional planning process? The Committee may
wish to consider what unintended consequences may result
from merging regional governments with such diverse forms
and functions.
6. Functional regional plans . SB 1149 requires each
regional entity's governing body to submit a "functional
regional plan" to the BARC for adoption. If the BARC does
not adopt an entity's functional regional plan, the entity
must redraft the plan and resubmit it. The bill does not
define the phrase "functional regional plan," which appears
nowhere else in statute. The Committee may wish to
consider amending SB 1149 to clarify what a functional
regional plan is, what form it should take, and what
information it should contain.
7. Bonds . State law authorizes BATA to issue revenue
bonds to finance regional bridge and transportation
projects. BATA has $7 billion of bonds outstanding. Some
stakeholders worry that placing BATA under a new regional
governance structure could generate legal claims that the
bill impairs both an obligation of contract and statutory
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 12
covenants with bondholders. They suggest that changes to
BATA's governance structure may lower BATA's credit rating
and imperil the tax-exempt status of BATA's bonds. To
avoid potential legal claims and increased borrowing costs,
the Committee may wish to consider amending SB 1149 to
limit the changes the bill makes to BATA's current
governance structure.
8. Technical amendment . To clarify SB 1149's provisions,
the committee may wish to consider making the following
technical amendment:
On page 10, line 11, strike out "function" and
insert: "functional"
9. Not the first time . Legislative debates over how to
organize Bay Area regional governance stretch deep into the
last century. The debate over regional transportation
planning emerged from the Bay Area Transportation Study
(BATS) Commission (SB 371, McAteer, 1963). A 1968 bill
required BATS to finish its report (AB 911, Knox, 1968).
One result was the statutory creation of MTC (AB 363,
Foran, 1970). A citizens' group called Action for Regional
Environmental Agency (AREA) pushed to consolidate regional
governments in the early 1970s. BayVision 2020 advocated
improved regional governance in the 1990s. In 2002,
legislation to merge ABAG and the MTC passed the Senate,
but died in the Assembly (SB 1243, Torlakson, 2002). For
the last 40 years the region's institutions have been
stable while the Bay Area's population and economy have
changed. SB 1149 presents legislators with an opportunity
take another look at this perennial problem.
10. Related legislation . SB 878 (DeSaulnier) requires the
JPC to submit a report to the Legislature January 31, 2013
describing, among other things, policies and strategies for
a regional sustainable communities program, for the
development of a regional economic development strategy,
and for public participation in regional programs. AB 57
(Beall) increases the membership of MTC from 19 to 21
members.
11. Double referral ? The Senate Transportation & Housing
Committee will consider SB 1149 at its May 8th hearing. If
the Committee passes SB 1149, the bill will go to the
Senate Rules Committee, which will decide whether to refer
it to the Senate Governance & Finance Committee, which
SB 1149 -- 5/1/12 -- Page 13
would consider the bill at its hearing on May 9.
Support and Opposition (5/7/12)
Support : Unknown.
Opposition : Unknown.