BILL NUMBER: AB 1811 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Buchanan
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
An act to amend Section 149.5 of the Streets and Highways Code,
relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1811, as amended, Buchanan. High-occupancy vehicle lanes.
Existing law authorizes the Sunol Smart Carpool Lane Joint Powers
Authority and the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency to
conduct, administer, and operate a value pricing high-occupancy
vehicle program, on specified highway corridors, that may authorize
the entry and use of high-occupancy vehicle lanes by single-occupant
vehicles for a fee. Existing law requires that the implementation of
the program ensure that specified levels of service be maintained at
all times in the high-occupancy vehicle lanes and that unrestricted
access to the lanes by high-occupancy vehicles be available at all
times.
This bill would instead require that access to the lanes by
high-occupancy vehicles be available at all times.
This bill would authorize the program to require a high-occupancy
vehicle to have an electronic transponder or other electronic device
for law enforcement purposes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 149.5 of the Streets and Highways Code is
amended to read:
149.5. (a) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 149 and 30800 of this
code, and Section 21655.5 of the Vehicle Code, the Sunol Smart
Carpool Lane Joint Powers Authority (SSCLJPA), consisting of the
Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority, may conduct, administer, and operate a
value pricing high-occupancy vehicle program on the Sunol Grade
segment of State Highway Route 680 (Interstate 680) in Alameda and
Santa Clara Counties and the Alameda County Transportation Commission
may conduct, administer, and operate a program on a corridor within
Alameda County for a maximum of two transportation corridors in
Alameda County pursuant to this section in coordination with the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission and consistent with Section
21655.6 of the Vehicle Code.
(2) The program, under the circumstances described in subdivision
(b), may direct and authorize the entry and use of the high-occupancy
vehicle lanes in the corridors identified in paragraph (1) by
single-occupant vehicles for a fee. The fee structure for each
corridor shall be established from time to time by the administering
agency. A high-occupancy vehicle lane may only be operated as a
high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane during the hours that the lane is
otherwise restricted to use by high-occupancy vehicles.
(3) The administering agency for each corridor shall enter into a
cooperative agreement with the Bay Area Toll Authority to operate and
manage the electronic toll collection system.
(b) Implementation of the program shall ensure that Level of
Service C, as measured by the most recent issue of the Highway
Capacity Manual, as adopted by the Transportation Research Board, is
maintained at all times in the high-occupancy vehicle lanes, except
that, subject to a written agreement between the department and the
administering agency that is based on operating conditions of the
high-occupancy vehicle lanes, Level of Service D shall be permitted
on the high-occupancy vehicle lanes. If Level of Service D is
permitted, the department and the administering agency shall evaluate
the impacts of these levels of service on the high-occupancy vehicle
lanes, and indicate any effects on the mixed-flow lanes. Continuance
of Level of Service D operating conditions shall be subject to the
written agreement between the department and the administering
agency. Access Unrestricted access to
the lanes by high-occupancy vehicles shall be available at all times
, except that the program may require a high-occupancy vehicle
to have an electronic transponder or other electronic device for law
enforcement purposes . At least annually, the department shall
audit the level of service during peak traffic hours and report the
results of that audit at meetings of the administering agency.
(c) Single-occupant vehicles that are certified or authorized by
the administering agency for entry into, and use of, the
high-occupancy vehicle lanes identified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) are exempt from Section 21655.5 of the Vehicle Code,
and the driver shall not be in violation of the Vehicle Code because
of that entry and use.
(d) The administering agency shall carry out the program in
cooperation with the department pursuant to a cooperative agreement
that addresses all matters related to design, construction,
maintenance, and operation of state highway system facilities in
connection with the value pricing high-occupancy vehicle program.
With the assistance of the department, the administering agency shall
establish appropriate traffic flow guidelines for the purpose of
ensuring optimal use of the high-occupancy toll lanes by
high-occupancy vehicles without adversely affecting other traffic on
the state highway system.
(e) (1) Agreements between the administering agency, the
department, and the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall
identify the respective obligations and liabilities of those
entities and assign them responsibilities relating to the program.
The agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall be
consistent with agreements between the department and the United
States Department of Transportation relating to programs of this
nature. The agreements shall include clear and concise procedures for
enforcement by the Department of the California Highway Patrol of
laws prohibiting the unauthorized use of the high-occupancy vehicle
lanes, which may include the use of video enforcement. The agreements
shall provide for reimbursement of state agencies, from revenues
generated by the program, or other funding sources that are not
otherwise available to state agencies for transportation-related
projects, for costs incurred in connection with the implementation or
operation of the program.
(2) The revenue generated from the program shall be available to
the administering agency for the direct expenses related to the
operation (including collection and enforcement), maintenance,
construction, and administration of the program. Administrative
expenses shall not exceed 3 percent of the revenues.
(3) All net revenue generated by the program that remains after
payment of direct expenses pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be
allocated pursuant to an expenditure plan adopted biennially by the
administering agency for transportation purposes within the program
area. The expenditure plan may include funding for the following:
(A) The construction of high-occupancy vehicle facilities,
including the design, preconstruction, construction, and other
related costs of the northbound Interstate 680 Sunol Smart Carpool
Lane project.
(B) Transit capital and operations that directly serve the
authorized corridors.
(f) (1) The administering agency may issue bonds, refunding bonds,
or bond anticipation notes, at any time to finance construction and
construction-related expenditures of programs adopted pursuant to
subdivision (a) and construction and construction-related
expenditures that are included in the expenditure plan adopted
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (e), payable solely from the
revenues generated from the respective programs.
(2) The maximum bonded indebtedness that may be outstanding at any
one time shall be an amount equal to the sum of the principal of,
and interest on, the bonds, but not to exceed the estimated revenues
generated from the respective programs.
(3) Bonds shall be issued pursuant to a resolution adopted by a
two-thirds vote of the governing board of the administering agency.
The resolution shall state all of the following:
(A) The purposes for which the proposed debt is to be incurred.
(B) The estimated cost of accomplishing those purposes.
(C) The amount of the principal of the indebtedness.
(D) The maximum term the bonds proposed to be issued shall run
before maturity.
(E) The maximum rate of interest to be paid, which shall not
exceed the maximum allowable by law.
(F) The denomination or denominations of the bonds, which shall
not be less than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(G) The form of the bonds, including, without limitation,
registered bonds and coupon bonds, to the extent permitted by federal
law, the registration, conversion, and exchange privileges, if any
pertaining thereto, and the time when all of, or any part of, the
principal becomes due and payable.
(H) Any other matters authorized by law.
(4) The bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates not exceeding
the maximum allowable by law, payable at intervals determined by the
administering agency.
(5) The full amount of bonds may be divided into two or more
series and different dates of payment fixed for the bonds of each
series. A bond shall not be required to mature on its anniversary
date.
(6) Any bond issued pursuant to this subdivision shall contain on
its face a statement to the following effect:
"Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of the
State of California is pledged to the payment of principal of, or the
interest on, this bond."
(g) Not later than three years after the administering agency
first collects revenues from the program authorized by this section,
the administering agency shall submit a report to the Legislature on
its findings, conclusions, and recommendations concerning the
demonstration program authorized by this section. The report shall
include an analysis of the effect of the HOT lanes on the adjacent
mixed-flow lanes and any comments submitted by the department and the
Department of the California Highway Patrol regarding operation of
the lane.