BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1447 (Waldron) - Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: traffic
signal synchronization.
Amended: July 1, 2014 Policy Vote: T&H 10-0; EQ 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 14, 2014
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1447 would explicitly authorize expenditures of
cap-and-trade revenues for traffic signal synchronization, if
the proposal is submitted as a component of an eligible
sustainable infrastructure project, achieves cost-effective
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, and meets specified
requirements in existing law regarding expenditures of
cap-and-trade funds.
Fiscal Impact: No direct fiscal impacts because a traffic signal
synchronization project that has demonstrable GHG reduction
benefits and is included as part of a sustainable communities
project is currently eligible for funding through the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF).
Background: The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(AB 32) requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to
adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels
by 2020 and adopt regulations, including market-based compliance
mechanisms, to achieve maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective GHG emission reductions. ARB subsequently
established a cap-and-trade auction program, and existing law
requires all revenues collected as a result of ARB's
market-based mechanism to be deposited into the GGRF and used to
facilitate reductions in GHG emissions.
Existing law, AB 1532 (J.Pérez), Chap 807/2012, established
broad categories for the expenditure of cap-and-trade revenues,
including energy efficiency and clean/renewable energy
generation, advanced vehicle technologies for goods movement and
transit, water and land conservation and management, diversion
AB 1447 (Waldron)
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of solid waste, and sustainable infrastructure projects that
include transportation and housing. The adopted investment plan
for 2013-14 through 2014-15 recognizes the necessity for the
state to fund programs that modernize existing road systems to
promote efficient use, such as complete streets and traffic
management technology programs. Also, the 2014-15 Budget Act
specified expenditure levels for a variety of programs,
including an allocation of 35% of GGRF funds for "transit,
sustainable communities, and housing."
Traffic signal synchronization is a traffic planning process
designed to reduce traffic congestion by sequencing the timing
of traffic lights along a corridor or through a geographic area,
resulting in optimized traffic flow. This process allows for a
more variable and responsive network of traffic signals that
adopts to variations in traffic.
Proposed Law: AB 1447 would authorize an investment in traffic
signal synchronization as eligible for an allocation of GGRF
money as a component of an eligible sustainable infrastructure
project if both of these conditions are met: 1) the sponsoring
agency makes a finding that the traffic signal synchronization
component is designed to achieve cost-effective GFG emission
reductions, and 2) the traffic signal synchronization component
includes specific emission reduction metrics and targets to
evaluate impacts. The bill would also require a traffic signal
synchronization component to meet specified eligibility
requirements in existing law to receive an allocation of GGRF
funds.
Staff Comments: This bill would codify eligibility for
allocations of GGRF revenues for one specific type of project
that may be included as a component of an eligible sustainable
infrastructure project. There appears to be consensus that
traffic signal synchronization is an eligible expenditure of
cap-and-trade funds, if it has demonstrable GHG emission
reduction benefits, and it is used as a component of a larger
effort to make transportation improvements that reduce GHG
emissions. Under current law, traffic management technology,
including traffic signal synchronization, may be implemented as
part of a GGRF expenditure for "sustainable communities." As
such, this bill would serve to spotlight one particular project
type for expenditures of GGRF funds, which could be perceived as
giving this type of project tacit legislative priority at the
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expense of other expenditures that could have a greater impact
on GHG emission reductions.