BILL NUMBER: AB 528 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lowenthal
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to repeal Sections 14036.2 and 14036.3 of, and to repeal
and add Section 14036 of, the Government Code, and to amend Section
185033 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 528, as amended, Lowenthal. State Rail Plan:
Plan and High-Speed Rail Authority business plan.
(1) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to
prepare a 10-year State Rail Plan biennially for submission
to the Legislature, Governor, and specified entities ,
and requires the department to submit the State Rail Plan to the
California Transportation Commission for its advice and consent on or
before October 1 of each odd-numbered year prior to submitting the
State Rail Plan to the Legislature, the Governor, and other entities
by the following March . Existing law requires the plan to
consist of 2 elements, a passenger rail element and a freight rail
element, and sets forth various items that are required to be
included in each element. Existing law separately requires the
High-Speed Rail Authority to prepare, publish, adopt, and submit to
the Legislature, not later than January 1, 2012, and every 2 years
thereafter, a specified business plan,
with that includes specified elements, and to
publish, at least 60 days prior to the publication of the plan, a
draft business plan for public review and comment, as specified.
This bill would revise and recast the items
required to be included in the 2 elements of the
State Rail Plan and in the elements of the
business plan , and would eliminate the 10-year timeframe
for the State Rail Plan . The bill would require the
State Rail Plan to be submitted to the commission for advice 6 months
prior to submitting the final State Rail Plan to the Transportation
Agency for approval, and, on or before March 1, 2017, would require
the approved State Rail Plan to be submitted to the Legislature, the
Governor, and other specified entities. The bill would require the
state rail plan to be updated, at a minimum, every 5 years. The
bill would change, from January 1 to May 1 of each even-numbered
year, the date by which the High-Speed Rail Authority is required to
prepare, publish, adopt, and submit the business plan to the
Legislature.
(2) Existing law requires the department to identify in the rail
passenger development plan the 3 most decrepit intercity rail
passenger stations in the state used by trains operated by the
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK) and those rail
passenger stations that require upgraded parking facilities, as
specified. Existing law requires the department to consider and
estimate the cost of specified types of rail service improvements to
the San Joaquin Amtrak route, and to report its findings in the rail
passenger development plan submitted in 1991 pursuant to the
provisions governing the preparation of the State Rail Plan.
This bill would repeal these requirements.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Passage of the federal Passenger Rail Investment and
Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. Sec. 22701 et seq.).
seq.) requires comprehensive rail plans in order
for states to be eligible for new federal rail capital grants. To
comply with federal law, the state rail plan must include, at a
minimum, all of the following:
(1) An inventory of the existing rail transportation system and
rail services and facilities within the state, and an analysis of the
role of rail transportation within the state's surface
transportation system.
(2) A review of all rail lines within the state, including
proposed high-speed rail corridors.
(3) A statement of the state's passenger rail objectives.
(4) A general analysis of the transportation, economic, and
environmental impacts of rail in the state, including congestion
mitigation, trade and economic development, air quality, land use,
energy use, and community impacts.
(5) A long-range investment program for current and future freight
and passenger rail infrastructure in the state.
(b) The Department of Transportation, pursuant to Section 14036 of
the Government Code, is responsible for the preparation of a state
rail plan. Furthermore, the department has been designated by the
Federal Railroad Administration as the responsible agency for
development of the federally required state rail plan.
(c) Implementation of any recommended passenger rail services
identified in the plan is contingent upon a negotiated agreement
between a freight rail operator and the passenger service sponsor or
operator.
(d) Used and unused capacity of freight railroads is important to
the economic well-being of the state as it supports the state's role
as the nation's gateway for international trade, provides an
environmentally preferred alternative for the movement of goods, and
supports employment opportunities in the goods movement logistics
industry.
SEC. 2. Section 14036 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 14036 is added to the Government Code, to read:
14036. (a) The department shall prepare a State Rail Plan.
The plan shall be submitted to the California Transportation
Commission for its advice six months prior to the submission of the
plan pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d). Pursuant to Section
22702 of Title 49 of the United States Code, the department is
designated as the state rail transportation authority to prepare,
maintain, coordinate, and administer the plan.
(b) The passenger rail element plan
shall contain all of the following:
(1) A statement of compliance with the requirements set forth in
the federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008
(Public Law 110-432; 49 U.S.C. Sec. 22701 et seq.).
(2) Plans for a comprehensive and integrated statewide passenger
rail system, including high-speed rail, conventional intercity and
commuter rail, and connections to urban rail systems. Related to
the conventional intercity passenger rail program, these plans shall
include all of the following:
(A) Recommendations for service levels of, and a capital program
for, existing and proposed intercity passenger rail services over a
10-year period, including a list of service enhancements on existing
and additional routes, with recommendations regarding funding and
priority. The plans shall explain how the recommended service levels
support the comprehensive and integrated passenger rail system.
(B) All actual capital and operating expenditures over the prior
five years.
(C) All proposed capital and operating expenditures for the next
five years.
(D) A performance evaluation for the prior five years for each
existing route.
(E) A discussion of fare policies and practices.
(3) A review of all high-speed rail routes, the rail freight
system, conventional intercity and commuter passenger rail
systems, and urban rail system connections to high-speed rail and
conventional intercity and commuter passenger rail
systems, including a statement of the state's passenger rail
objectives for routes in the state.
(4) In consultation with the freight railroad industry, an
identification of the improvements that have utility to both rail
freight and passenger rail services in the state.
(5) An inventory of the existing rail transportation system and
rail services and facilities in the state, and an analysis of the
role of rail transportation within the state's overall transportation
system.
(c) The freight rail element shall contain discussions of all of
the following:
(6) A freight rail element that contains all of the following:
(1)
(A) Environmental impacts that include air quality,
land use, and community impacts.
(2)
(B) Financing issues that include the planned means to
obtain federal and state funding.
(3)
(C) Rail issues that include regional, intrastate, and
interstate issues.
(4)
(D) Intermodal connections that include seaports and
intermodal terminals.
(5)
(E) A statement of current system deficiencies.
(6)
(F) Service objectives that improve efficiency,
accessibility, and safety.
(7)
(G) New technology that includes logistics and process
improvement.
(8)
(H) Light density rail line analyses that include
traffic density, track characteristics, project selection criteria,
and benefit-cost criteria.
(d)
(c) The final plan shall be submitted to the
Transportation Agency for approval pursuant to Section 22702 of Title
49 of the United States Code. On or before March 1, 2017, the
approved plan shall be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to
Section 9795, the Governor, the Public Utilities Commission, the
High-Speed Rail Authority, and the commission.
(e)
(d) The plan shall be updated, at a minimum, every five
years thereafter.
SEC. 4. Section 14036.2 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 5. Section 14036.3 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 6. 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 May 1, 2014, 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.
(b) (1) The business plan shall include, but need not be limited
to, all of the following elements:
(A) The A description of the type of
service the authority is developing and the proposed chronology for
the construction of the statewide high-speed rail system, and the
estimated capital costs for each segment or combination of segments.
(B) Using the most recent patronage forecast for the
system, develop a A forecast of the expected
patronage, service levels, and operating and maintenance costs 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.
(C) Based on the patronage forecast in subparagraph (A),
develop alternative Alternative financial
scenarios for the different levels of service,
based on the patronage forecast in subparagraph (B), and
identify the operating break-even points for each
alternative. Each scenario shall assume the terms of subparagraph (J)
of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 2704.08 of the
Streets and Highways Code.
(D) Identify the The expected
schedule for completing environmental review, and initiating and
completing construction for each segment or combination of segments
of Phase 1.
(E) 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 level of
confidence for obtaining each type of funding.
(F) Identify Any written agreements
with public or private entities to fund components of the high-speed
rail system, including stations and terminals, and identify
any impediments to the completion of the system.
(G) Identify alternative Alternative
public-private development strategies for the implementation of
Phase 1.
(H) 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.
(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.