BILL ANALYSIS �
Bill No: AB
716
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Roderick D. Wright, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
Staff Analysis
AB 716 Author: Quirk-Silva
As Amended: April 2, 2013
Hearing Date: June 11, 2013
Consultant: Paul Donahue
SUBJECT
Infrastructure plan: state planning and funding
DESCRIPTION
Adds housing to the list of things to be regarded as
"infrastructure" for purposes of the state's 5-year
infrastructure plan, and requires the Strategic Growth
Council to review and comment on the plan. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Expands the definition of infrastructure to include
housing, for the purposes of inclusion and consideration
in the state's 5-year infrastructure plan.
2)Requires the 5-year state infrastructure plan to
establish priorities for coordination of investment.
3)Requires the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) to hold a
public hearing on the 5-year infrastructure plan and
submit comments to the Legislature before the Governor
submits the plan to the Legislature.
4)Requires the SGC's comments to identify how the plan
components improve air and water quality, improve natural
resource protection, increase the availability of
affordable housing, improve transportation, meet the
goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (AB 32), encourage sustainable land use planning,
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and revitalize urban and community centers in a
sustainable manner.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires the Governor to submit a proposed five-year
infrastructure plan to the Legislature on an annual basis
in conjunction with the Governor's Budget.
2)Defines "infrastructure" to mean real property, including
land and improvements to the land, structures and
equipment integral to the operation of structures,
easements, rights-of-way and other forms of interest in
property, roadways, and water conveyances .
3)Requires the infrastructure plan to identify state
infrastructure needs and set funding priorities.
4)Establishes the SGC, consisting of the director of the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the
secretaries of the Resources Agency, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Health and Human Services Agency,
and the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency, and
one member of the public to be appointed by the Governor.
The council is directed to identify and review activities
and funding programs of member state agencies.
5)Requires the SGC, at a minimum, to review and comment on
the five-year infrastructure plan and the State
Environmental Goals and Policies Report that OPR is
required to prepare every four years (Public Resources
Code Section 75125).
6)Specifies that the state infrastructure plan shall
include specified information regarding transportation,
public schools and other infrastructure needs.
7)Requires the plan to include the estimated cost of
providing the infrastructure and a proposal for funding
the infrastructure.
8)Requires any capital outlay or local assistance
appropriations intended to fund infrastructure included
in the Governor's Budget to derive from, and be
encompassed by, the funding proposal contained in the
plan.
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9)Requires a state agency that requests new, rehabilitated,
modernized, improved, or renovated infrastructure to
specify how that infrastructure is consistent with the
state planning priorities.
10)Establishes the state planning priorities, which are
intended to promote equity, strengthen the economy,
protect the environment, and promote public health and
safety in the state.
BACKGROUND
1)Brief overview: Existing law directs the Governor to
submit to the Legislature an annual plan detailing the
state's infrastructure needs over the next five years,
which is supposed to be considered by the Legislature in
conjunction with the Budget. The plan is intended to
provide a broad overview of the state's needs related to
publicly funded infrastructure.
The SGC is required to review and comment on the plan,
but it is not currently required to hold a public
hearing, nor does the law currently specify that the
SGC's review should happen prior to the plan being
submitted to the Legislature.
2)Purpose of the bill : According to the author, "[t]he
California Infrastructure Planning Act needs to be
updated to better address the complexities associated
with state planning. AB 716 provides changes to the act
to better achieve coordination of the investments and
provides an opportunity to take into consideration the
land-use impacts of housing on state priorities.
Furthermore, AB 716 will provide a process to ensure SGC
has a proactive role in the development of and review of
the plan before it goes before the legislature. This
mechanism allows SGC to identify how the projects
submitted by the departments will maximize co-benefits of
infrastructure investment, including but not limited: to
improve air and water quality, increase the availability
of affordable housing, improve transportation, encourage
sustainable land use planning, and revitalize urban and
community centers in a sustainable manner."
3)Statements in support : Supporters state that the bill
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will strengthen the law by requiring the Infrastructure
Plan to demonstrate how planning priorities are being
coordinated to advance statewide policy goals. Supporters
also note that the state's housing stock shares a number
of characteristics with transit, schools and other
traditional infrastructure already included in the plan,
and are happy to see that this bill recognizes the
connection between housing and other components of
infrastructure.
4)Concerns of opponents : The Department of Finance is
opposed to the bill, stating that it would have the SGC
holding a public hearing too late in the development
process of the five-year infrastructure plan. Finance
states that the members of the SGC should be given any
policy input prior to submittal of information to the
Department of Finance. To have the SGC hold a public
hearing on a completed plan, prior to submittal to the
Legislature, is simply too late and would place the
Administration in an awkward position.
Finance also notes that, since housing is not a core
infrastructure need for state agencies, it would be
misleading to include housing in the definition of
infrastructure for the plan. Finance states that the
Department of Housing and Community Development has
various housing programs, but those are not included in
the plan.
PRIOR/RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 1473 (Hertzberg), Chapter 606, Statutes of 1999. Enacted
the California Infrastructure Planning Act, requiring the
Governor, in conjunction with the Governor's Budget, to
submit annually to the Legislature a proposed 5-year
infrastructure plan containing specified information
concerning infrastructure needed by state agencies,
schools, and postsecondary institutions and a proposal for
funding the needed infrastructure.
SUPPORT:
Housing California
American Planning Association - California Chapter
Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California
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OPPOSE:
Department of Finance
DUAL REFERRAL: Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee
FISCAL COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee
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