Amended in Assembly April 15, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 574

Introduced by Assembly Member Lowenthal

February 20, 2013

An act to begin delete amend Section 73 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to highways end delete begin insert add Part 9 (commencing with Section 38800) to Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 574, as amended, Lowenthal. begin delete State highways: relinquishment. end delete begin insert California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: sustainable communities strategies. end insert

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The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

end insert begin insert

Existing law requires designated regional transportation planning agencies to perform certain transportation planning activities, including the development of a regional transportation plan. Certain of these agencies are designated by federal law as metropolitan planning organizations. Existing law requires a metropolitan planning organization to adopt a sustainable communities strategy, subject to specified requirements, as part of a regional transportation plan, which is to be designed to achieve certain targets established by the state board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks in the region.

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This bill would require the state board, in consultation with the California Transportation Commission and the Strategic Growth Council, to establish standards for the use of moneys allocated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for sustainable communities projects, as specified. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with the California Transportation Commission and the Strategic Growth Council, to establish the criteria for the development and implementation of regional grant programs, as specified. The bill would require the California Transportation Commission, in consultation with the state board, to designate the regional granting authority within each region of the state to administer the allocated moneys for regional grant programs, as specified.

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Existing law gives the Department of Transportation full possession and control of all state highways. Existing law describes the authorized routes in the state highway system and establishes a process for adoption of a highway on an authorized route by the California Transportation Commission. Existing law also provides for the commission to relinquish state highway segments to local agencies that have been deleted from the state highway system by legislative enactment, and in certain other cases.

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This bill would generally authorize the California Transportation Commission to relinquish any portion of a state highway or related facility within a county or city to that county or city, subject to an agreement between the department and the local agency, without requiring a legislative enactment deleting the state highway segment from the state highway system. The bill would also require the department to expeditiously consider and respond to each request it receives from a city or county relative to an agreement relating to the proposed relinquishment of a state highway segment within the jurisdiction of the entity making the request, and would require the department, from time to time, to recommend to the Legislature any revisions to the statutory descriptions of state highway routes occasioned by relinquishments approved by the commission. The bill would make other related changes.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(1) The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state
is the transportation sector and implementation of the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 depends on achieving
significant emissions reductions from that sector.

end insert begin insert

(2) A key method to reduce transportation emissions is the
development of sustainable communities strategies and other
regional plans that encourage more compact development and
investment in alternatives to the automobile, thereby reducing the
total amount of driving necessary to meet mobility needs.

end insert begin insert

(3) Local governments tasked with implementing sustainable
community strategies, and other greenhouse gas emissions
reducing regional plans, lack the funds for the infrastructure
necessary to accommodate patterns of growth consistent with the
state’s climate goals.

end insert begin insert

(4) Integrating transportation and public infrastructure
investments with changes in land use provide significantly greater
greenhouse gas emissions reductions than single purpose
investment strategies and contribute to making communities more
livable.

end insert begin insert

(5) Without changed land use patterns and improved
transportation investments, the state will not be able to achieve
the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

end insert begin insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that revenues from
market-based compliance mechanisms related to motor vehicle
fuels should be allocated to projects, programs, and policies that
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Part 9 (commencing with Section 38800) is added to
Division 25.5 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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PART  begin insert 9. end insert   Sustainable Communities Infrastructure
Program

 

begin insert 38800. end insert   

Moneys appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund pursuant to Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section
39710) of Part 2 of Division 26 for investments in sustainable
communities strategies required pursuant to Section 65080 of the
Government Code and for related purposes as provided in this
part, shall be allocated in accordance with this part.

begin insert 38801. end insert   

Appropriated moneys shall be allocated for projects
that do all of the following:

(a) Provide cost-effective and feasible reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions.

(b) Combine transportation investments with local land use
modifications and other local policy changes to provide greenhouse
gas emissions reductions and, where feasible, to achieve other
public benefits, such as improvements in any of the following:

(1) Air quality.

(2) Public health.

(3) Resource protection.

(4) Environmental justice.

(5) Affordable housing supply.

(6) Protection of agricultural land.

(7) Public safety.

(8) Water quality and supply.

(9) Economic development and job creation.

(c) Implement either an approved sustainable communities
strategy or alternative planning strategy, pursuant to Section
65080 of the Government Code, within existing urbanized or
developed areas in regions with a metropolitan planning
organization. For regions that do not have a metropolitan planning
organization, projects shall reduce greenhouse gas emissions
consistent with the regional transportation plan or other regional
plan.

(d) Meet the requirements of Section 38804 or 38805.

(e) Are selected through a competitive process based on
cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions using criteria
for evaluating long-term greenhouse gas emissions benefits
established by the state board.

(f) Comply with the requirements to benefit economically
disadvantaged communities, pursuant to Chapter 4.1 (commencing
with Section 39710) of Part 2 of Division 26.

begin insert 38802. end insert   

(a) The California Transportation Commission, in
consultation with the state board, shall designate the regional
granting authority within each region of the state to administer
moneys allocated pursuant to subdivision (b). The regional
granting authority shall be the agency responsible for the
development of the regional transportation plan pursuant to Section
65080 of the Government Code. Two or more entities responsible
for the development of a regional transportation plan pursuant to
Section 65080 of the Government Code may create a multiregional
granting authority.

(b) Moneys that are allocated for regional grant programs shall
be allocated to the regional granting authority in each region on
a per capita basis by the Controller using the latest information
from the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of
Finance.

(c) Moneys that are allocated to interregional investments shall
be administered by the Business and Transportation Agency, in
consultation with the California Transportation Commission and
the High-Speed Rail Authority for rail modernization that has both
regional and interregional benefits and for other statewide
transportation priorities that achieve greenhouse gas emissions
reductions.

begin insert 38803. end insert   

(a) The state board, in consultation with the California
Transportation Commission and the Strategic Growth Council,
shall establish the criteria for the development and implementation
of regional grant programs that do all of the following:

(1) Require that projects be selected within each region by the
regional granting authority through a competitive public process
based on greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

(2) Provide criteria for evaluating long-term greenhouse gases
impacts.

(3) Establish the methods for evaluating, monitoring, and
verifying project effectiveness, including those related to travel
demand reduction, system efficiency, safety improvements,
demographic characteristics, and integrated land use and
transportation strategies.

(4) Encourage flexibility, collaboration, and innovation at the
local level to develop cost-effective projects and to address local
and regional transportation and community needs.

(5) Provide for the development and implementation of projects
that integrate infrastructure investment with land use or local code
changes to achieve the maximum greenhouse gas emissions
reductions.

(6) Provide for public participation in the review of proposed
projects. Regional granting authorities shall, at a minimum,
conduct a 30-day public review and comment process consistent
with the public participation requirements of Section 134(i)(6)(A)
of Title 23 of the United States Code.

(7) Provide for consultation and coordination with air pollution
control and air quality management districts.

(b) The state board, in consultation with the Strategic Growth
Council and metropolitan planning organizations, shall establish
standards for integrated modeling systems and measurement
methods to ensure consistency in evaluating the potential
effectiveness of projects and verifying actual benefits of projects
after completion.

(c) The state board shall review the implementation of this
section on an annual basis and may revise the criteria for project
selection, evaluation, monitoring, and verification as needed to
improve program performance.

begin insert 38804. end insert   

The state board, in consultation with the California
Transportation Commission and the Strategic Growth Council,
shall establish standards for the use of moneys for projects to
ensure compliance with this division. Eligible uses of the moneys
shall include any of the following:

(a) Transportation network and demand management, including,
but not limited to, trip-reduction programs, congestion pricing,
and roadway modifications, such as roundabouts.

(b) Public transportation, including operations, maintenance,
and capital costs.

(c) Road and bridge maintenance; operations and retrofits for
complete streets, bike, and pedestrian safety enhancements; safe
routes to schools; and urban greening.

(d) Clean transportation fueling infrastructure and support.

(e) Multimodal network connectivity to reduce travel distances
and improve access to parks, schools, jobs, housing, and markets
for rural and urban communities, including neighborhood scale
planning.

(f) Development and adoption of local plans and land use
policies that help to implement regional plans.

(g) Community infrastructure, including public works and
municipal improvements necessary to support transit-oriented
development, affordable housing, infill in existing urbanized areas,
and small walkable communities in rural neighborhoods.

(h) Multiuse facilities and accommodations for bicyclists,
pedestrians, and neighborhood electric vehicles.

(i) Interregional rail modernization and related community
infrastructure.

(j) Administrative costs and development and use of evaluation,
monitoring, and verification systems.

begin insert 38805. end insert   

The state board in consultation with the California
Transportation Commission may identify additional eligible uses
of funds that provide greenhouse gas emissions reductions
consistent with the requirements of this part.

begin insert 38806. end insert   

It is the intent of the Legislature that moneys shall be
appropriated for this part only in a manner consistent with the
requirements of this division, Chapter 4.1 (commencing with
Section 39710) of Part 2 of Division 26, and Article 9.7
(commencing with Section 16428.8) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

begin insert 38807. end insert   

Implementation of this part, including development of
standards and guidelines by the state board and the provision of
financial assistance to eligible recipients, is contingent upon
appropriation of funds for these purposes by the Legislature.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 73 of the Streets and Highways Code is
amended to read:

73.  

(a) The commission shall relinquish to any county or city
any portion of any state highway within the county or city that has
been deleted from the state highway system by legislative
enactment, and the relinquishment shall become effective upon
the first day of the next calendar or fiscal year, whichever first
occurs after the effective date of the legislative enactment.

(b) (1) Whenever the department and any county or city
concerned have entered into an agreement providing therefor, the
commission may relinquish, to that county or city, any portion of
any state highway within the jurisdiction of that county or city, if
the commission determines that the relinquishment is in the best
interests of the state. The commission may likewise relinquish any
frontage or service road or outer highway, within the county or
city, which has a right-of-way of at least 40 feet in width and which
has been constructed as a part of a state highway project, but does
not constitute a part of the main traveled roadway thereof. The
commission may likewise relinquish any portion of any state
highway in a county or city that has been superseded by relocation.
The commission may likewise relinquish any nonmotorized
transportation facility, as defined in Section 887, constructed as
part of a state highway project within a city or county to that city
or county. The relinquishment of a state highway or related facility
pursuant to this subdivision may occur notwithstanding anything
in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 230) to the contrary.

(2) With respect to frontage or service roads or outer highways
or nonmotorized transportation facilities, the relinquishment may
occur with the agreement of the applicable city or county or with
the adoption of a resolution consenting thereto by the applicable
city or county.

(3) An agreement entered into pursuant to this subdivision shall
require the city or county to maintain signs directing motorists to
the continuation of a state highway route, if applicable, and may
contain other conditions to ensure the continuity of traffic flow.

(4) The relinquished portion of a former state highway route is
no longer a state highway as of the effective date of the
relinquishment, and is not eligible for adoption as a state highway
under Section 81.

(c) Relinquishment shall be by resolution. A certified copy of
the resolution shall be filed with the board of supervisors or the
city clerk, as the case may be. A certified copy of the resolution
shall also be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county
where the land is located and, upon its recordation, all right, title,
and interest of the state in and to that portion of any state highway
or related facility shall vest in the county or city, as the case may
be, and that highway or portion thereof shall thereupon constitute
a county road or city street, or other related facility, as the case
may be.

(d) The vesting of all right, title, and interest of the state in and
to portions of any state highways or related facilities heretofore
relinquished by the commission, in the county or city to which it
was relinquished, is hereby confirmed.

(e) (1) Prior to relinquishing any portion of a state highway or
related facility to a county or a city, except where the department
and the county or city have entered into an agreement providing
therefor, or as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b), the department shall give 90 days’ notice in writing of intention
to relinquish to the board of supervisors, or the city council, as the
case may be. Where the resolution of relinquishment contains a
recital as to the giving of the notice, adoption of the resolution of
relinquishment shall be conclusive evidence that the notice has
been given.

(2) Within the 90-day period, the board of supervisors or the
city council may protest in writing to the commission stating the
reasons therefor, including, but not limited to, objections that the
highway is not in a state of good repair, or is not needed for public
use and should be vacated by the commission. If the commission
does not comply with the requests of the protesting body, it may
proceed with the relinquishment only after a public hearing given
to the protesting body on 10 days’ written notice.

(f) The commission shall not relinquish to any county or city
any portion of any state highway that has been superseded by
relocation until the department has placed the highway, as defined
in Section 23, in a state of good repair. This requirement shall not
obligate the department for widening, new construction, or major
reconstruction, except as the commission may direct. A state of
good repair requires maintenance, as defined in Section 27,
including litter removal, weed control, and tree and shrub trimming
to the time of relinquishment.

(g) The department shall expeditiously consider and respond to
each request it receives from a city or county relative to an
agreement relating to the proposed relinquishment of a state
highway or related facility within the jurisdiction of the entity
making the request.

(h) The department, from time to time, shall recommend to the
Legislature any revisions to the descriptions of state highway routes
in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 230) occasioned by
relinquishments approved by the commission pursuant to this
section.

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