BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 528
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 528 (Lowenthal)
As Amended April 25, 2013
Majority vote
TRANSPORTATION 14-2 APPROPRIATIONS 13-4
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|Ayes:|Lowenthal, Linder, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Achadjian, Ammiano, | |Bradford, |
| |Blumenfield, Bonta, | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Buchanan, Daly, Frazier, | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| |Gatto, Holden, Logue, | |Ammiano, Linder, Pan, |
| |Nazarian, | |Quirk, Weber |
| |Quirk-Silva | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Morrell, Patterson |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| | | |Donnelly, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Deletes, recasts, and modifies the requirements of the
State Rail Plan (rail plan) and clarifies requirements of the
California High-Speed Rail Business Plan (business plan).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations recognizing the federal
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA)
requirements for states to develop rail plans in order to be
eligible for federal rail capital grants.
2)Establishes that the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) is responsible for the preparation of the rail plan
and is designated as the responsible agency for the
development of the federally required rail plan.
3)Requires Caltrans to prepare the rail plan and, pursuant to
PRIIA, designates it as the state rail transportation
authority to prepare, maintain, coordinate, and administer the
rail plan.
4)Specifies the requirements for the passenger rail element to
include the following:
a) A statement of compliance with PRIIA;
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b) 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;
c) A review of all high-speed rail routes, the rail freight
system, conventional intercity and commuter rail systems,
and urban rail system connections to high-speed rail and
conventional intercity and commuter rail systems, including
a statement of the state's passenger rail objectives for
routes in the state;
d) An identification of the improvements that have utility
to both rail freight and passenger rail services in the
state, performed in consultation with the freight railroad
industry; and,
e) 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.
1)Requires the freight rail element to discuss all of the
following:
a) Environmental impacts that include air quality, land
use, and community impacts;
b) Financing issues that include the planned means to
obtain federal and state funding;
c) Rail issues that include regional, intrastate, and
interstate issues;
d) Intermodal connections that include seaports and
intermodal terminals;
e) A statement of current system deficiencies;
f) Service objectives that improve efficiency,
accessibility, and safety;
g) New technology that includes logistics and process
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improvement; and,
h) Light density rail line analyses that include traffic
density, track characteristics, project selection criteria,
and benefit-cost criteria.
2)Requires the final rail plan to be submitted to the
Transportation Agency for approval and requires the approved
plan be submitted, on or before March 1, 2017, to the
Legislature, the Governor, the Public Utilities Commission,
the California High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), and the
California Transportation Commission.
3)Requires the rail plan to be updated every five years
thereafter, at a minimum.
4)Deletes requirements for obsolete elements of the rail plan
relative to decrepit rail passenger stations and special
amenities for service on the San Joaquin intercity rail
passenger service.
5)Revises, for clarification and elimination of redundancies,
the elements of the HSRA business plan.
6)Requires the business plan to be submitted to the Legislature
by May 1, 2014, and every two years thereafter.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, absorbable costs to Caltrans, indicating that the
bill is consistent with its current efforts to meet the planning
requirements of PRIIA and with current requirements of the
HSRA's business plan.
COMMENTS : Successful rail development depends on the
integration of various modes of transportation-including
intercity, commuter and urban rail transit, as well as the state
and local roadway network. According to the author, the rail
plan prepared by Caltrans and the business plan prepared by HSRA
are in need of revision to reflect new requirements as proposed
by federal law, as well to modify them to be more streamlined
and efficient.
State Rail Plan : Since 1995, Caltrans has prepared a 10-year
intercity rail transportation plan, which it updates biennially.
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Caltrans submits the plan to the California Transportation
Commission for its "advice and consent" and then forwards it the
Governor, Legislature, and the California Public Utilities
Commission.
PRIIA establishes requirements for state rail plans, including
the requirement for updates every five years. PRIIA also
conditions submittal of federal capital grant applications upon
completed state rail plans.
This bill would align the policies and schedules for the state
plan with the federal requirements. Additionally, obsolete rail
plan reporting requirements are to be deleted in reference to
decrepit rail stations and extra amenities for the San Joaquin
Amtrak intercity rail passenger services.
HSRA Business Plan : Under current law, HSRA is required to
prepare and submit their business plan to the Legislature by
January 1, 2012. Further, the law specifies the required
elements of the business plan, several of which are redundant
and overlapping. This bill establishes a reporting deadline of
May 1, 2014 for the biennial submission of the business plan and
also cleans up some of its reporting elements to eliminate
redundancies.
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0000427