BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 481|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 481
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 6/12/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-2, 6/11/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso, Lara, Liu,
Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-2, 7/1/13
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-21, 5/23/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : High-speed rail rights-of-way management
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill grants the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA)
similar property management authority as that granted to the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
ANALYSIS : Existing law grants the California Department of
General Services (DGS) broad real estate acquisition and
management authority for state-owned property. For example, the
DGS Director may acquire easements deemed necessary for the
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proper utilization of state-owned real estate, as well as grant
easements across state-owned property. Further, the DGS
Director can negotiate the lease of access to state-owned
property, for example, for telecommunication companies to run
buried cable. DGS' property management authority does not
generally include highway rights-of-way, which are instead
managed by Caltrans.
In managing state highway rights-of-way, existing law provides
Caltrans a number of options related to the use or disposal of
excess property. For example, Caltrans can lease to public
agencies or private entities the airspace above or ground below
highway rights-of-way as long as the lease does not impact road
safety. In addition, Caltrans can classify portions of highway
rights-of-way as non-operating and can lease those areas to
local governments for public purposes such as for parks or other
recreational facilities. Finally, Caltrans can sell excess
rights-of-way through a competitive process, or without seeking
competitive bids under the following conditions:
1.To adjacent landowners if not doing so would deprive the
landowner of an existing right of access, or if the parcel is
less valuable as a separate sale than it would be in
conjunction with the neighboring parcel;
2.To local governments at their request; or
3.To a former owner or long-time residential tenant who
continues to reside on the parcel.
Caltrans deposits all revenues from managing the highway
rights-of-way in the state highway account.
Existing law created the HSRA in 1996 to direct development and
implementation of intercity high-speed rail service that is
fully coordinated with other public transportation services. In
2008, voters approved Proposition 1A (Prop 1A) authorizing $9.95
billion in general obligation bonds for the high-speed rail
project. Prop 1A authorizes HSRA to use bond funds for, among
other things, acquisition of interests in real property and
rights-of-way. Prop 1A also authorizes HSRA to either contract
with Caltrans for right-of-way activities or otherwise use DGS
processes for right-of-way acquisition pursuant to the state's
public acquisition law.
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This bill grants HSRA similar property management authority as
that granted to Caltrans. Specifically, this bill:
1.Excludes high-speed rail rights-of-way from DGS' property
management authority and instead provides for HSRA to manage
the property;
2.Enables the Chief Executive Director of HSRA to lease to
public agencies or private entities the airspace above or area
below high-speed rail rights-of-way as long as these leases do
not impact safety;
3.Allows HSRA to sell excess high-speed rail rights-of-way
through a competitive process, or without seeking competitive
bids under the same conditions as Caltrans;
4.Requires HSRA to deposit revenues from the lease or sale of
high-speed rail rights-of-way, or revenues from the sale of
real property no longer necessary for high-speed rail
purposes, into the High-Speed Rail Property Fund; and
5.Restricts the use of these revenues to the development,
improvement, and maintenance of the high-speed rail system,
upon appropriation by the Legislature.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill allows HSRA to
address the high-speed rail project's short and long-term needs
by granting HSRA authority to manage property related to the
project. This bill mirrors provisions of existing law,
regulation, and policy governing Caltrans' authority to manage
its properties and to sell its excess land. The author's office
contends that this bill will enable HSRA to more effectively
manage property acquired for the high-speed rail project by
allowing it to negotiate with impacted landowners for continued
access, exchange property between adjoining landowners to help
mitigate impacts to existing uses, sell excess property no
longer required for the project, and lease property to
interested parties as a means of creating additional revenue
sources for the project.
Why exempt HSRA rights-of-way from DGS management ? Generally,
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it is more efficient to consolidate property management
responsibilities in one state department than to let every
department manage its own properties. There are a couple of
good reasons, however, for why the Legislature exempted Caltrans
from DGS' property management authority and granted Caltrans its
own managing abilities. DGS manages much of the state's real
estate, including mostly "vertical" properties like office
buildings and the surrounding grounds. These properties provide
different challenges and opportunities than the "horizontal"
rights-of-way managed by Caltrans, and presumably require
different skillsets to manage. For example, purchasing or
selling portions of numerous contiguous parcels adjacent to
miles of highway is a very different task than negotiating the
purchase or sale of one full parcel occupied by an existing
building or other structure. In addition, Caltrans has the
ability to deal with disputed deals in a public forum at
regularly-scheduled meetings of the California Transportation
Commission and therefore does not need to go through the typical
state acquisition process involving the California Public Works
Board.
The HSRA will experience similar challenges and opportunities as
Caltrans with the high-speed rail rights-of-way. Caltrans has
indicated that it does not have the capacity to manage HSRA's
properties, and, because DGS doesn't deal with many
rights-of-way, DGS is not well-suited for the management of
horizontal properties. In addition, HSRA has the similar
ability as Caltrans to deal with land disputes in a public forum
at the HSRA board meetings.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential overall high-speed rail project savings, to the
extent that DGS would be relieved of administrative oversight
duties related to HSRA property management functions
(High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund). While the bill would
increase costs to HSRA staff to handle property management
duties, these costs would likely be more than offset by
savings related to removing these additional administrative
requirements, and the revenue gains noted below.
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Unknown revenue gains related to the authority granted to HSRA
to sell, exchange, and lease specified property to public and
private entities (High-Speed Rail Property Fund). These funds
would be used for future development, improvement, and
maintenance of the high-speed rail system.
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/13)
California High-Speed Rail Authority
California State Association of Electrical Workers
California State Pipe Trades Council
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-21, 5/23/13
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hall,
Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina,
Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Harkey, Linder, Logue, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Salas,
Wagner, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fox, Grove, Hagman, Holden, Jones, Waldron,
Vacancy, Vacancy
JA:ej 7/1/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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