BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1290
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1290 (John A. Pérez)
As Amended September 3, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |53-25|(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |27-12|(September 9, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Modifies the composition of the California
Transportation Commission (CTC) and imposes new duties relative
to assessing progress in implementing sustainable communities
strategies (SCSs).
The Senate amendments :
1)Reduce the number of members to be added to the CTC from five
to three (for a total of 16 members) by eliminating proposed
positions that were to be filled by the Secretary of the
Transportation Agency and the Direction of Housing and
Community Development.
2)Direct the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules
Committee, in addition to the Governor, to make every effort
to assure that transportation expertise that has not
traditionally been represented on the commission is reflected
in appointments to the commission, with particular emphasis on
stakeholders involved and engaged in, among other things,
efforts to make California's transportation system more
sustainable.
3)Strike the requirement that the CTC's Committee on Planning be
responsible for monitoring outcomes from land development and
transportation investments and instead require the committee
to monitor the outcomes from the SCSs or alternative planning
strategies adopted by transportation planning agencies.
4)Modify the requirement to be imposed on regional
transportation planning agencies (RTPAs) to report to the CTC
on progress being made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
stipulate that such a report is not binding on future regional
transportation plans and does not constitute an alternative or
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a foundation for future analysis under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
5)Simplify added requirements to be reported by the CTC in its
annual report.
6)Stipulate that requirements to be added to an RTPA's regional
transportation improvement program (i.e., a discussion of how
the regional transportation improvement program relates to the
RTPA's SCS) will not be binding on future regional
transportation improvement programs and does not constitute an
alternative or a foundation for future analysis under CEQA.
7)Strike requirements to be imposed on the Strategic Growth
Council to identify activities, programs, and local assistance
funding of member agencies that have a significant effect on
the implementation of SCSs.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CTC to advise and assist the Secretary of the
Transportation Agency and the Legislature in formulating and
evaluating state policies and plans for transportation
programs in the state.
2)Prescribes membership of the CTC as follows:
a) Nine members appointed by the Governor with consent of
the Senate;
b) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly;
c) One member appointed by the Senate Rules Committee; and,
d) Two ex officio, non-voting members, appointed one each
by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules
Committee.
3)Requires the CTC to organize itself into at least four
committees, as follows: aeronautics, streets and highways,
mass transportation, and planning; vests with the planning
committee the responsibility to monitor transportation
planning and programming processes related to regional
transportation plans (RTPs).
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4)Authorizes the CTC to prescribe guidelines for preparation of
the RTP.
5)Requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and
transportation planning agencies to adopt and submit an
updated RTP to the CTC and to the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) every four or five years, depending on air quality
attainment within the region.
6)For MPOs, requires their RTPs to include an SCS to achieve
greenhouse gas emission reduction targets established by the
California Air Resources Board (ARB).
7)Requires MPOs to submit their adopted SCS to the ARB for
review and acceptance or rejection of the MPO's determination
that its SCS will, if implemented, achieve the established
greenhouse gas reduction targets; provides that an SCS is not
subject to any state approval, except for this review.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)Annual costs of up to $150,000 to the CTC for one additional
Transportation Planner staff position, the reporting of
additional information in the annual report, and costs
associated with additional commission members.
2)Estimated costs of up to $100,000 to the ARB related to the
appointment of the Chairperson to the CTC, and associated
duties.
3)Minor costs of approximately $30,000 to Caltrans for staff
time related to reviewing additional reports submitted to the
CTC by RTPAs.
4)Unknown potentially reimbursable state-mandated costs for
specified RTPAs to prepare and submit brief progress reports
to the CTC on progress in achieving greenhouse gas emissions
and implementing an SCS. These costs are expected to be
relatively minor for each of the 18 affected agencies.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill modifies the CTC
organizational structure and composition to improve its capacity
to analyze and integrate connections between transportation and
land use into its administrative programs and review processes.
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The author points out that, since 2006, there have been
significant policies that have altered the course of
transportation policy in California, including:
1)The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port
Security Act of 2006 that resulted in nearly $20 billion in
transportation infrastructure bonds;
2)The California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32 (Núñez),
Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006), that set a greenhouse gas
emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas
emissions levels in 1990 to be achieved by 2020;
3)SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008, that
requires development of SCSs; and,
4)The Governor's reorganization plan that requires increased
coordination and integration of housing and transportation
policies.
The author contends that, in light of these significant policy
shifts, it is therefore critical that the CTC's statutorily
described mission is updated to support the statewide goals
related to greenhouse gas emission reductions, SCSs, and
coordinated housing and transportation policies. In addition to
restructuring the CTC, this bill imposes reporting requirements
on state and regional agencies directed at providing ongoing
assessments of the progress being made toward reducing
greenhouse gas.
Understandably, policy makers are scurrying to assess the real
effects of California's recent series of landmark policies
related to greenhouse gas reductions. Unfortunately, given the
long-term nature of community and infrastructure development,
the actual outcomes of these policy shifts may not be known for
some time. In the meantime, experts suggest that the best
short-term indicator of likely long-term outcomes is an analysis
of changing land use decisions and associated public
investments. The reporting requirements imposed by this bill
will provide the data by which some of these early-term
assessments may be made.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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