Amended in Assembly June 11, 2013

Senate Bill No. 110

Introduced by Senator begin delete Steinberg end delete begin insert DeSaulnier end insert

begin insert

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano and Gordon)

end insert

January 14, 2013

An act to add begin delete Section 14521.5 to the Government Code end delete begin insert and repeal Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 30964.10) of Division 17 of the Streets and Highways Code end insert , relating to transportation begin insert , and making an appropriation therefor end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 110, as amended, begin delete Steinberg end delete   begin insert DeSaulnier end insert . begin delete California Transportation Commission: guidelines. end delete begin insert East Span, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Safety Review Task Force. end insert

begin insert

Existing law identifies the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a “toll bridge” and provides that the bridge and the approaches to it are a primary state highway. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to permanently maintain and operate the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a primary state highway in such a manner that the physical condition and operating efficiency thereof are of the highest character. Existing law establishes the Bay Area Toll Authority and assigns to it responsibility for the administration of all toll revenues from state-owned toll bridges. Existing law provides that the power or duty of the authority to fix the rates of toll for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge or the power and duty of the department to collect the tolls so fixed by the authority for the use of the bridge are not affected by any law providing that state highways are to be free highways.

end insert begin insert

This bill would establish the East Span, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Safety Review Task Force in state government and require the Legislative Analyst to provide administrative support for the task force as necessary for the completion of its duties. The task force would consist of 7 members appointed by the Legislative Analyst. Each member of the task force would serve a term of one year and receive compensation, as specified, and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses. The bill would appropriate $100,000 from the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund to the Legislative Analyst for purposes of paying for the compensation and expense reimbursement of the task force members. The task force would be required to assess the anticipated seismic structural performance of the East Span, as defined, of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge by conducting a series of specified reviews. The task force would be required to submit a final written report to the Legislature and the Governor that includes the results of its reviews, as specified.

end insert begin insert

This bill would provide that the task force is exempt from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and open meeting requirements that apply to the Legislature. The bill would provide that the records and documents of the task force are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act and the Legislative Open Records Act until the final written report is submitted to the Legislature and the Governor. Upon submission of the final written report, the task force would be required to provide copies of all of its records and documents to the Legislative Analyst, and the records and documents of the task force in the possession of the Legislative Analyst would be subject to disclosure under the Legislative Open Records Act.

end insert begin insert

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

end insert begin insert

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

end insert begin insert

This bill would make these provisions, except for the provision regarding liability described below, inoperative on July 1, 2014, and would repeal it as of January 1, 2015.

end insert begin insert

This bill would provide that the task force, each of its individual members, the Legislative Analyst, and any other public officer or entity are not and may not be held liable for any injury arising out of an act or omission made in connection with these provisions.

end insert begin delete

Existing law generally provides for programming and allocation of state and federal funds available for transportation capital improvement projects by the California Transportation Commission, pursuant to various requirements. Existing law authorizes the commission, in certain cases, to adopt guidelines relative to its programming and allocation policies and procedures.

end delete begin delete

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, generally governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law, in certain instances, exempts state agencies from these requirements.

end delete begin delete

This bill would establish specified procedures that the commission would be required to utilize when it adopts guidelines, except as specified, and would exempt the adoption of those guidelines from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

end delete

Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 30964.10)
is added to Division 17 of the end insert begin insert Streets and Highways Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 4.4. end insert East Span, San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge Safety Review Task Force

 

begin insert 30964.10. end insert   

(a) The East Span, San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge Safety Review Task Force is hereby established in state
government. The Legislative Analyst shall provide administrative
support for the task force as necessary for the completion of its
duties.

(b) The task force shall consist of seven members appointed by
the Legislative Analyst. Each member shall serve a term of one
year. The members shall be selected based upon the following
qualifications:

(1) Expertise: Members shall be well-credentialed, recognized
experts in the field of bridge design and construction. The
membership shall reflect extensive experience and knowledge
related to the design and construction of structures that resemble
the East Span in terms of complexity and magnitude, and that raise
similar design and construction obstacles and technical challenges.

(2) Independence: Members shall have minimal or no prior
involvement in the design, construction, or review of the East Span
as determined by the Legislative Analyst. If necessary, members
may be appointed from outside of California.

(c) The task force shall select a chairperson from its members.

(d) The chairperson shall receive compensation of twelve
thousand dollars ($12,000). Each of the other members shall
receive compensation of eight thousand dollars ($8,000). Each
member shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses.
The sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is hereby
appropriated from the State Highway Account in the State
Transportation Fund to the Legislative Analyst, without regard to
fiscal year, for the purpose of paying for the compensation and
expense reimbursement of the members of the task force.

begin insert 30964.15. end insert   

As used in this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:

(a) “Task force” means the East Span, San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge Safety Review Task Force established in subdivision
(a) of Section 30964.10.

(b) “East Span” means the self-anchored suspension bridge,
and its associated 13 foundation piles, that was constructed as a
component of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

begin insert 30964.20. end insert   

(a) All task force meetings shall be held in
California, except that members may participate via conference
call with the prior consent of the Legislative Analyst.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 11033 of the Government Code,
members of the task force may be absent from the state on business
of the state.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 11032 of the Government Code,
the Legislative Analyst may approve actual and necessary travel
expenses of members for travel outside the state.

(d) The task force is exempt from the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of
Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code) and from Article 2.2 (commencing with Section 9027) of
Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.

(e) The records and documents of the task force, or in the
possession of the task force, are exempt from disclosure under the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code)
and the Legislative Open Records Act (Article 3.5 (commencing
with Section 9070) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title
2 of the Government Code) until the final written report pursuant
to Section 30964.35 is submitted to the Legislature and the
Governor. The task force shall provide copies of all of its records
and documents to the Legislative Analyst, and, when the task force
submits the final written report to the Legislature and the Governor
pursuant to Section 30964.35, the task force records and documents
in the possession of the Legislative Analyst, including the final
written report, shall then be subject to disclosure under the
Legislative Open Records Act.

begin insert 30964.25. end insert   

The task force shall assess the anticipated seismic
structural performance of the East Span as follows:

(a) Review the seismic design criteria of the East Span. Evaluate
the appropriateness of the approach, methodologies, and modeling
assumptions of the Department of Transportation as they pertain
to the ability of the structure as designed to withstand earthquakes
of an assumed magnitude that could come from the Hayward, San
Andreas, or other faults in the Bay Area.

(b) Review construction techniques, testing documents, and
other pertinent information on the construction of the East Span.
In performing this task, the task force shall address specifically
questions that have been raised about construction quality due to
possible problems with the oversight by the Department of
Transportation of the construction contractor and subcontractors.

(c) Review and evaluate analyses performed by the Department
of Transportation to assess the impact of construction defects
identified pursuant to subdivision (b). The task force may request
that the Department of Transportation run models of the East Span
foundation or bridge, or both, using a different set of assumptions
regarding the construction of the East Span foundation or bridge,
or both, or using different assumptions about the type of anticipated
earthquake.

(d) Perform a high-level assessment of the risk analysis
conducted by the Department of Transportation as part of the East
Span design to determine whether the department’s evaluations
of the East Span’s seismic performance as a lifeline structure in
the event of a design-level, large earthquake are appropriate.

begin insert 30964.30. end insert   

(a) The Department of Transportation shall
cooperate fully with the task force in the performance of its duties
pursuant to this chapter.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the Department of
Transportation shall provide the task force with all relevant
information and records that the task force requests.

(c) If so requested by the task force, the Department of
Transportation shall run models of the East Span foundation or
bridge, or both, using the assumptions requested by the task force
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 30964.25, and shall provide
all resulting information to the task force.

begin insert 30964.35. end insert   

(a) The task force shall submit a final written report
to the Legislature and the Governor that sets forth the results of
its reviews, including all of the following:

(1) Whether the Department of Transportation made proper
assumptions and followed proper procedures to ensure that the
East Span will perform as expected under the assumed design
earthquake.

(2) Whether the evaluations of the Department of Transportation
concerning the East Span’s seismic performance as a lifeline
structure in the event of a design-level, large earthquake are
appropriate.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 9795 of the Government Code, the
report to the Legislature shall be delivered to the Senate Committee
on Transportation and Housing and the Assembly Committee on
Transportation.

begin insert 30964.40. end insert   

This chapter shall become inoperative on July 1,
2014, and, as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later
enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1,
2015, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative
and is repealed.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including
Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the
Government Code, neither the East Span, San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge Safety Review Task Force, as established in Chapter
4.4 (commencing with Section 30964.10) of Division 17 of the
Streets and Highways Code pursuant to this act, any member of
the task force, the Legislative Analyst, nor any other public officer
or entity is or may be held liable for any injury arising out of an
act or omission in connection with that chapter. end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

Pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section
3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature finds
and declares all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(a) California has a strong public interest in making every effort
to ensure that the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge is constructed in a manner that ensures that it is a safe and
reliable lifeline structure that will survive a foreseeable
earthquake.

end insert begin insert

(b) It is critical for the state to obtain a reliable, independent
review of the structure as soon as possible, and the substantial
public interest to have early access to documents and proceedings
related to this review is outweighed by the public interest of
ensuring that the structure is safe and can survive a foreseeable
earthquake. All of the records and documents of the East Span,
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Safety Review Task Force,
including its final written report, will become subject to the
disclosure requirements of the Legislative Open Records Act once
the report is submitted to the Legislature and the Governor.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert begin insert

It is the intent of the Legislature that the work of the
East Span, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Safety Review Task
Force established in Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section
30964.10) of Division 17 of the Streets and Highways Code not
delay the opening of the new East Span of the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge if the Department of Transportation
determines at any time that the bridge is safe and ready to open.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) From time to time, the Legislature has authorized the
California Transportation Commission to adopt guidelines for the
development and administration of statutorily created transportation
programs.

(b) Examples of the legislative authorization described in
subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, the authority for
guidelines for the administration of transportation programs funded
by the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port
Security Bond Act of 2006 (Chapter 12.49 (commencing with
Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
including the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account (CMIA)
and the Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety Account.

(c) In 2009, the commission also adopted program guidelines
for the implementation of the public-private partnership authority
the Legislature granted to the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) and to regional transportation planning agencies pursuant
to Section 143 of the Streets and Highways Code.

(d) The Legislature has exempted program guidelines adopted
by the commission from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Government Code) so that the commission may adopt
guidelines quickly and may amend adopted guidelines in response
to quickly changing circumstances.

(e) On some occasions, the commission’s process for adopting
program guidelines has lacked transparency and has not provided
the public with ample opportunity to fully review and comment
on proposed guidelines.

(f) To ensure the commission’s process for the adoption of
program guidelines is understandable, predictable, and transparent,
and to ensure the commission’s process provides ample opportunity
for public review and comment on proposed guidelines, it is
necessary to place into statute a process for the adoption of program
guidelines by the commission.

SEC. 2.  

Section 14521.5 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

14521.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the adoption of
guidelines by the commission shall be exempt from the rulemaking
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1). Except for the State
Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) guidelines adopted
pursuant to Sections 14526, 14527, and 14529, on or after January
1, 2014, the commission shall adopt guidelines using the
procedures established pursuant to this section.

(b) The commission’s legal counsel shall review the proposed
guidelines for matters such as necessity, authority, clarity,
consistency, reference, and nonduplication, and recommend any
proposed action to the commissioners. For purposes of this section,
“necessity,” “authority,” “clarity,” “consistency,” “reference,” and
“nonduplication” shall each have the same meaning as defined in
Section 11349. The commission’s legal counsel’s recommendations
and communications to the commission concerning the results of
the review shall be subject to the attorney-client privilege, unless
otherwise waived. The commission’s executive director shall cause
the recommendations and communications to be distributed to all
commissioners.

(c) Program or policy guidelines shall first be presented at a
commission meeting for purposes of receiving public comment.
At least 45 days prior to the meeting, the proposed or draft
guideline shall be sent to any person who has requested notices of
the meetings of the commission and shall be available to the public
in electronic format. The proposed or draft guideline shall include
notice of the right of the public to comment orally on the proposed
or draft guideline during the public meeting or to comment in
writing at any time prior to the meeting or within seven business
days following the meeting, at which time the written comment
period shall be closed.

(d) Following the close of the written comment period, the
commission staff shall review all written and oral comments and
shall prepare a summary of the objections and recommendations
made in those comments and an explanation of how the proposed
guideline is proposed to be changed to accommodate the objections
or recommendations, or the reason or reasons for proposing no
change.

(e) The staff recommendations and summary described in
subdivision (d) shall be made publicly available at least 15 days
prior to a subsequent regular meeting of the commission. At that
subsequent public meeting, the commission shall consider the staff
recommendations and any additional public comment made at the
meeting prior to voting on the adoption of the proposed guideline.
A program or policy guideline adopted by the commission shall
be adopted by an affirmative vote of a majority of the commission
membership.

(f) The commission shall maintain a guideline adoption file
containing the public notice, public comments, and minutes of the
public meeting, including the action taken by the commission, and
a letter from the commission’s legal counsel confirming that he
or she reviewed the proposed guidelines for compliance with the
standards set forth in subdivision (b).

(g) The guideline adoption file shall contain a summary of each
objection or recommendation made and an explanation of how the
proposed guideline was changed to accommodate each objection
or recommendation, or the reason or reasons for making no change.

(h) The commission shall include in its annual report to the
Legislature, required pursuant to Section 14535, a summary of its
activities related to the adoption of program or policy guidelines
during the previous calendar year, including, but not limited to, a
summary of the proposed guidelines considered by the commission,
a description of the actions taken by the commission, and the votes
of the commission on matters it considered.

end delete