BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1081 (Medina) - Five-year infrastructure plan: goods
movement.
Amended: August 12, 2013 Policy Vote: T&H 10-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 30, 2013
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: AB 1081 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.
Fiscal Impact:
Estimated Department of Finance (DOF) staffing costs of
$50,000 to $100,000 annually to include specified goods
movement elements in the five-year infrastructure plan
(General Fund).
Minor costs to the Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
to identify projects eligible to submit to infrastructure
financing exchanges (State Highway Account).
Background: 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 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.
AB 1081 (Medina)
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Proposed Law: AB 1081 would define "goods-movement-related
infrastructure" as air, water, land, and sea port of entry
facilities, roads, rail, and other facilities and infrastructure
projects that move goods, energy, and information. The bill
would require the Governor's proposed five-year infrastructure
plan to include the following:
An identification of new, rehabilitated, modernized,
improved, or renovated infrastructure identified by state
or federal agencies, or by regional transportation
agencies, that is not otherwise identified in the STIP and
directly relates to enhancing goods movement.
An identification of state goods movement needs and
strategies to address those needs, as outlined in the state
freight plan.
Recommendations for private sector financing of goods
movement infrastructure, as specified.
Goods movement related infrastructure projects that
Caltrans identifies as eligible to submit to infrastructure
financing exchanges, as specified.
Related Legislation: AB 716 (Quirk-Silva), which is also on the
agenda for today's hearing, would add housing to the definition
of "infrastructure" for purposes of the five-year infrastructure
plan, require DOF to submit the plan with the assistance of the
Strategic Growth Council, and require the funding portion of the
plan to include investment coordination opportunities for
capital outlay related to infill and transit-oriented
development, as specified. Staff notes that the authors of both
bills will need to address chaptering conflicts prior to final
action by the Legislature.
Staff Comments: This bill would add provisions to the Governor's
five-year infrastructure plan that identify goods movement
infrastructure needs identified by state and federal agencies,
regional transportation entities, and those outlined in the
state freight plan. The plan's proposals for funding that
infrastructure must also include recommendations for private
sector financing. 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 a new requirement related
to goods movement infrastructure in the plan is unclear. DOF
AB 1081 (Medina)
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was unable to provide an estimate of the workload and costs
associated with the addition of goods movement elements to the
infrastructure plan at the time of this analysis. Staff
estimates that the necessary workload could be in the range of
1/2 to 1 PY of DOF staff time, considering the broad definition
of "goods-movement-related infrastructure" that includes
facilities and projects that move "goods, energy, and
information."
AB 1081 requires the plan to include projects identified by
Caltrans that are eligible to submit to infrastructure financing
exchanges, such as the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange (WCX).
WCX is a partnership launched last year by officials in
California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia to develop
innovative methods to finance and facilitate development of
infrastructure needed to improve the region's economic
competitiveness. This effort is in the early stages of
development and has yet to hire dedicated staff or establish a
framework for evaluating projects. Staff notes that it may be
premature to require Caltrans to identify projects that may be
eligible to submit to infrastructure financing exchanges,
considering the WCX appears to be unable to evaluate projects at
this time.