BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 716 (Quirk-Silva) - Five-year infrastructure plan: housing.
Amended: June 18, 2013 Policy Vote: GO 7-4; NR&W 7-2
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 716 would require the Strategic Growth Council
(SGC) to assist the Governor in submitting the annual five-year
infrastructure plan to the Legislature, add housing to the
definition of infrastructure for purposes of the plan, and
require the proposals for funding infrastructure identified in
the plan to include investment coordination opportunities
related to infill and transit-oriented development (TOD).
Fiscal Impact:
Unknown staffing costs to the SGC, likely hundreds of
thousands annually, to participate in the development and
submittal of the infrastructure plan to the Legislature
(General Fund).
Potential cost pressures to finance more state-funded
housing, infill, and transit-oriented development as a
result of the inclusion of housing as infrastructure that
must be identified in the plan, and the inclusion of
proposals for coordinated investment in infill and TOD
(General Fund, general obligation bond funds).
Background: Existing law, for purposes of the State
Infrastructure Act, defines "infrastructure" as 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.
Existing law requires the Governor to submit an annual five-year
infrastructure plan to the Legislature in conjunction with the
proposed budget. The infrastructure plan must identify
infrastructure requested by state agencies, infrastructure needs
AB 716 (Quirk-Silva)
Page 1
for K-12 public schools, facilities needs for public
postsecondary education institutions, and aggregate funding for
transportation identified in the State Transportation
Improvement Program (STIP). The infrastructure plan must also
include estimated funding to provide the identified
infrastructure and a proposal for funding that infrastructure,
including sources of funding and the impacts on the state's
overall debt position. The criteria and priorities for funding
infrastructure identified by state agencies must be consistent
with the state planning priorities. DOF issued a California
Five-Year Infrastructure Plan in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, and
2008. An infrastructure plan has not been issued under the
current Administration.
The Strategic Growth Council was created in 2008 by SB 732
(Steinberg), Chap 729/2008, and currently consists of the
Director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
(OPR), a public member appointed by the Governor, and the
Secretaries of the following agencies: Natural Resources;
Environmental Protection; Transportation; Health and Human
Services; and Business, Consumer Services, and Housing.
Existing law requires the SGC to identify and review activities
and funding programs of member state agencies that may be
coordinated to achieve specified sustainability goals.
Specifically, the SGC is directed to review and comment on the
Governor's five-year infrastructure plan and the State
Environmental Goals and Policy Report, which is supposed to be
prepared by OPR every four years.
Proposed Law: AB 716 would add housing to the statutory
definition of "infrastructure," and require the Governor's
five-year infrastructure plan to be submitted with the
assistance of the SGC. The bill would also require proposals
for funding infrastructure identified in the plan to include
investment coordination opportunities for capital outlay related
to infill and transit-oriented development and associated public
infrastructure.
Related Legislation: AB 1081 (Medina), which is also on the
agenda for today's hearing, would require the Governor's annual
five-year infrastructure plan to address infrastructure needs
related to goods movement in the state, including
recommendations for private sector financing, as specified.
Staff notes that the authors of both bills will need to address
AB 716 (Quirk-Silva)
Page 2
chaptering conflicts prior to final action by the Legislature.
Staff Comments: It has been five years since a Governor has
submitted a five-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature and
there is no assurance that one will be provided in the
foreseeable future, despite the statutory requirements. As
such, the practical benefits of adding new requirements in the
plan and new coordination responsibilities on the SGC are
unclear.
The SGC's published Strategic Plan 2012-2014, includes an Action
Plan comprised of strategies to implement SB 732's
sustainability objectives. In order to successfully incorporate
these objectives into infrastructure investment decisions, the
Strategic Plan suggests that a working group be developed to
review the capital outlay budget proposal process to make
recommendations on how planning priorities and sustainability
objectives can be more fully integrated into the development of
the five-year infrastructure plan administered by the Department
of Finance. The provisions of AB 716 are consistent with the
recommendations in the SGC's Strategic Plan.