BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 203
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 5/14/13
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/23/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Local transportation funds in Ventura County
SOURCE : Ventura County Transportation Commission
DIGEST : This bill eliminates a special provision of the
Transportation Development Act for Ventura County and instead
aligns Ventura with the way existing law treats all other
California counties, and requires the Ventura County
Transportation Commission (VCTC), until 2018, report to the
Legislature annually on transit services within Ventura County
as specified.
ANALYSIS : In 1971, the Legislature enacted the Transportation
Development Act (TDA), SB 325 (Mills, Chapter 1400, Statutes of
1971) which dedicated a statewide 0.25% sales tax to local
transportation in order to ensure "the efficient and orderly
movement of people and goods in the urban areas of the state."
Although the focus of the law is the provision of transit
services in urban areas, it recognizes that rural areas have a
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different mix of transportation needs. To this end, TDA
required revenues collected in counties with a population
greater than 500,000 as of the 1970 census to be used
exclusively for public transit purposes. Alternatively, a
community in any county with a population under 500,000 as of
1970 could use the revenues for local streets and roads if able
to demonstrate through a prescribed process that all transit
needs in that community are met.
In 2010, TDA generated $1.1 billion for transportation, about 6%
of which was used for local street and road purposes in
non-urbanized areas.
SB 716 (Wolk, Chapter 609, Statutes of 2009) applied alternative
restrictions on TDA funds in all counties not considered urban
in the original TDA statute but with populations over 500,000 as
of the 2000 decennial census and each subsequent decennial
census. Urbanized areas within these counties must now use TDA
funds exclusively for public transit, while non-urbanized areas
may use TDA funds for either public transit or local roads. In
addition, a city in an urbanized area but not within a transit
district that has a population of less than 100,000 may use its
funds for either transit or roads. SB 716 requires affected
counties to comply by July 1, 2014.
In the case of Ventura County, SB 716 granted a temporary
exemption to the new restrictions and required that VCTC prepare
a report analyzing options for organizing Ventura's public
transit services and then recommend a legislative proposal to
implement the plan. SB 716 required VCTC to submit a report to
the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and the Assembly
Transportation Committee by December 31, 2011. If the
Legislature did not enact the recommended proposal during the
2011-12 Session, then SB 716 dedicated all TDA funds in Ventura
County exclusively to public mass transit purposes. While VCTC
submitted the required report, the Legislature did not enact a
solution within the 2011-12 Session.
This bill:
1. Eliminates the requirement that all TDA funds in Ventura
County be used exclusively for public mass transit purposes,
in effect aligning Ventura with the way existing law treats
all other California counties.
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2. Requires the VCTC, beginning September 1, 2014 and annually
for the next four years, report to the Legislature on transit
services within Ventura County.
3. Requires the report include a description of changes to
transit routes, service levels, and ridership numbers for all
transit routes within the county, and include annual budget
numbers for transit services provided by VCTC, Gold Coast
Transit, other multiagency operators, and individual
municipal operators.
Background
When the TDA was enacted in 1971, 10 urban counties in
California exceeded the 500,000 population threshold: Alameda,
Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino,
San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Existing
law requires these counties to use TDA funds exclusively for
public transportation. California has become substantially more
urbanized since 1970, and by the 2000 census, five additional
counties exceeded 500,000 in population: Fresno, Kern, San
Joaquin, Riverside, and Ventura. By 2020, another six or seven
counties will exceed 500,000 people according to state
estimates. As stated above, SB 716 updated existing law to
apply TDA transit provisions to counties as they become more
urban.
Of all the counties affected by SB 716, only Ventura County
strongly opposed its provisions. Ventura faces myriad
transportation challenges with both very urban and very rural
communities as well as a varied geography. On one hand, 10
different agencies provide public transportation in Ventura
County and, based on local funding policies and perceived needs,
operators offer different hours and levels of service. This
discontinuity creates challenges for the public trying to
navigate the fragmented system. In addition, some communities
in the county prefer to continue to use TDA funds for local
streets and roads as was allowed before SB 716 and are resistant
to any increased public transportation. The tension between
using TDA funding for transit or roads has created conflict
between communities within Ventura County.
While VCTC has attempted to improve connections and mobility in
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the county, progress toward truly integrated transit service and
consensus around the use of TDA funding has been minimal. In
response to Ventura's opposition, SB 716 allowed VCTC to prepare
an analysis of organizational options for expending TDA and
providing public transit in the county that was submitted to the
Legislature in 2012. In summary, the report recommends:
That transit services currently being provided by a joint
powers agency in western Ventura County, including the cities
of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Ventura, be recreated as a
special transit district. All TDA funds generated in the
district's area of jurisdiction would be committed to public
transit.
That the east county cities, including Simi Valley,
Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks, continue to use TDA funds for
either transit or streets and roads.
In March 2013, VCTC further refined its recommendations to,
among other things, seek parity with other counties pursuant to
SB 716. While retaining the SB 716 requirement that cities with
populations over 100,000 be required to use all TDA funds for
transit purposes, this would allow cities in the county under
100,000 in population to use TDA funds for local streets and
roads as long as transit needs were addressed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/13/13)
Ventura County Transportation Commission (source)
Cities of Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and Camarillo
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill is necessary to give Ventura County the same local funding
flexibility afforded other counties in the state. Existing law
includes a temporary exemption to recent changes to the TDA for
Ventura County in order to give the county additional time to
address current transportation challenges and develop its
Countywide Transit Plan. VCTC has since adopted the required
transit plan; this bill aligns with that plan's recommendations
and grants Ventura County parity with the rest of the state.
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JA:k 5/13/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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