BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 493
Author: Daly (D)
Amended: 4/17/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/4/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Roth, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 4/25/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Electronic toll collection interoperability
SOURCE : Transportation Corridor Agencies of Orange County
DIGEST : This bill permits toll facility operators in the
state to implement technologies or business practices that
provide for nationwide interoperability of electronic toll
collection (ETC) programs.
ANALYSIS : Toll agencies may employ an automatic vehicle
identification system to facilitate toll operations, such as the
FasTrak transponder that is commonly used in California. These
systems allow subscribers to prepay tolls thereby eliminating
the need to stop and pay at a toll plaza.
In 2012, Congress passed, and the President signed, the surface
transportation reauthorization bill, the Moving Ahead for
Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Among MAP-21's many
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provisions is the requirement that all highway toll facilities
that were constructed with federal funds implement technologies
or business practices that provide for the nationwide
interoperability of ETCs by October 1, 2016. The goal of
interoperability is that pre-paid toll customers are able to pay
tolls on any participating toll facility in the country using a
single account. Currently, there are roughly 10 different ETC
system standards in use around the country with varying degrees
of interoperability between states.
Existing law requires that the California Department of
Transportation and toll operators develop functional
specifications and standards for ETC systems to ensure
interoperability between systems in the state. While state toll
operators have achieved interoperability between toll facilities
within the state, California toll collection devices are not
currently interoperable with out-of-state toll facilities.
In 2010, the Legislature passed SB 1268 (Simitian, Chapter 489,
Statutes of 2010), which established privacy protections for
subscribers to ETC systems and anyone else using toll
facilities. Specifically, SB 1268 prohibited transportation
agencies from selling or otherwise providing personally
identifiable information about their subscribers, with some
minor exceptions such as for law enforcement purposes or to
comply with the state's interoperability efforts.
This bill permits toll facility operators in the state to
implement technologies or business practices that provide for
nationwide interoperability of electronic toll collection
programs. Further, this bill restricts toll operators in the
state from sharing any information with other toll facility
operators beyond:
A. A vehicle's license plate number;
B. Transponder identification number;
C. Date and time of transaction; and
D. Identity of the toll facility operating agency.
Comments
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According to the author, this bill grants California
transportation agencies the authority to implement technologies
or business practices necessary to successfully comply with
federal interoperability requirements without undermining the
privacy protections in existing law. California toll operators
currently cannot participate in interstate interoperability
programs because existing law does not allow them to share
information with out-of-state agencies. This bill makes minimal
exceptions to existing privacy protections in order to enable
toll operators to takes steps toward complying with federal
requirements.
Complying with the MAP-21 interoperability mandate . As
mentioned above, the federal government requires that all ETC
systems in the country be interoperable by 2016. Due to the
many challenges involved with achieving interoperability,
however, industry groups suggest that it may be difficult to
comply with this mandate. The Federal Highway Administration
has not released guidance on the mandate, and it is unclear if
and how states will meet the mandate and what the ramifications
may be for states that do not. In some instances, a state's
non-compliance with federal law can lead to a reduction in
federal aid highway funds. This bill changes existing law to
allow toll operators to comply with federal law and therefore
limit the risk of losing federal aid highway funds.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/5/13)
Transportation Corridor Agencies of Orange County (source)
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 4/25/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
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Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fox, Lowenthal, Nazarian, Waldron, Vacancy
JA:ej 6/3/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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