BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 110 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 110 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: August 8, 2013 Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:10-0 Transportation 13-0 Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill establishes, until July 1, 2014, a task force to review the seismic safety of the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and report its findings to the Legislature. Specifically, this bill: 1)Establishes a task force consisting of seven members, as designated by the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), to serve a one-year term to: a) Review the seismic design criteria of the east span and evaluate the appropriateness of the approach, methodologies, and modeling assumptions used by Caltrans as they pertain to the bridge's ability to withstand an earthquake of an appropriate hazard level. b) Review construction techniques, testing documents, and other pertinent information regarding construction of the bridge and address specific questions that have been raised about construction quality due to possible problems with Caltrans' oversight of the construction contractor and subcontractors. c) Review and evaluate Caltrans' analyses to assess the impact of construction defects. d) Evaluate Caltrans' risk analysis of the bridge to determine if the department appropriately assessed the bridge's ability to withstand a large earthquake. 2)Appropriates $149,000 from the State Transportation Account SB 110 Page 2 (SHA) to provide compensation to the task force chair ($20,000) and the other members ($16,000 each) and to reimburse task force members for related expenses, and requires the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) to reimburse this amount to the SHA. 3)Stipulates that the task force is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and that task force records are subject to disclosure under the state Public Records Act. 4)Requires Caltrans to provide relevant information to, and run models for, the task force, as requested. 5)States that the task force members are deemed to be officers of the state and thus are immune from liability related to their work. 6)Requires Caltrans to defend the task force against any claim or action related to their work and to pay any judgment resulting from such a claim or action. 7)Requires BATA to reimburse Caltrans for any costs and judgments resulting from (6). 8)State legislative intent that the task force work not delay the bridge opening. FISCAL EFFECT 1)One-time appropriation of $149,000 for task force compensation, and potential significant costs to the extent the results of the task force's work leads to any litigation and judgment. Per the bill's provisions, all costs will be borne by the State Highway Account and fully reimbursed by BATA through toll revenues 2)Minor absorbable one-time costs (up to $100,000) for Caltrans to provide information, including running models, for the task force. COMMENTS Purpose . According to the author, the genesis of this bill was recent media reports raising questions about the structural soundness of the new East span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay SB 110 Page 3 Bridge. Questions were first raised last year regarding the soundness of the bridge's main tower foundation. More recently, media attention has focused on steel bolts that broke when tightened. In early July, the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, which consists of the heads of Caltrans, BATA, and the California Transportation Commission, determined that bridge opening would be delayed from Labor Day weekend until after completion of retrofit work on the bridge's east pier, which is not expected before early December. The task force specified in this bill has already been convened by the LAO. Task force members; however, did not wish to proceed absent being provided immunity, hence SB 110, which contains an urgency clause so the task force can commence its work at the earliest possible time. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081