BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 616|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 616
Author: Roth (D), et. al.
Amended: 6/10/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 1/14/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 1/23/14
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE FLOOR : 34-0, 1/28/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Galgiani,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,
Leno, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Roth,
Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines, Lieu, Nielsen, Walters, Wright,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/14/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Aeronautics Account: California Aid to Airports
Program
SOURCE : Association of California Airports
California Airports Council
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DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans), when awarding grants from the Aeronautics Account
within the State Transportation Fund, to certify to an applicant
at the time a grant award is issued that the Caltrans has
received all required documentation from the applicant.
Assembly Amendments revise and recast the bill to require
Caltrans when awarding grants from the Aeronautics Account
within the State Transportation Fund, to certify to an applicant
at the time a grant award is issued that Caltrans has received
all required documentation from the applicant, as specified; and
change the author from Senator Wright to Senator Roth.
ANALYSIS : The Airport Improvement Program (AIP), administered
by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), provides grants to
public agencies for the planning and development of public-use
airports. In general, the federal grant covers 75% of eligible
costs for large and medium primary hub airports, and 90 to 95%
of eligible costs for small primary, reliever, and general
aviation airports. Eligible projects include capital
improvements related to safety, capacity, security, and
environment; operational and maintenance costs are generally not
eligible. In order to qualify for an AIP grant, a project
sponsor must be able to demonstrate that sufficient funds are
available for the non-federally-funded portion of the project.
To supplement AIP, Caltrans administers a State AIP Matching
Grant program. This program provides a state matching grant
equal to 5% of the federal grant. Caltrans' regulations require
that in order to be eligible for a state AIP grant, a sponsor
must have secured FAA approval and California Environmental
Quality Act compliance. In addition, the sponsor cannot yet
have broken ground on the project.
The Aeronautics Account, which funds the State AIP Matching
Grant Program, currently has a balance of approximately $5
million. The Aeronautics Account derives its revenue from fuel
excise taxes of 18 cents per gallon on general aviation fuel and
two-cents per gallon on jet fuel; these rates were set in 1994
and 1969, respectively. In addition, the 2009-10 Budget
transferred $4 million from the State Aeronautics Account to the
General Fund. As a result of declining revenues and the
transfer, the program is able to fund only a small number of
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projects.
This bill:
1. Requires Caltrans, in administering financial assistance
programs funded from the Aeronautics Account, to certify to
an applicant that at the time a grant award is issued, it has
received all statements, resolutions, and other documentation
required to fulfill grant terms and conditions.
2. Allows the applicant to begin the project for which funds
have been awarded upon receipt of the certification from
Caltrans.
3. Specifies that if Caltrans requires further documentation to
satisfy grant terms after transmitting the certification, the
applicant has 45 days to submit the additional documentation,
during which time the applicant shall not lose eligibility
for the grant award.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/14)
Association of California Airports (co-source)
California Airports Council (co-source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, California
Code of Regulations, Title 21, Division 2.5, Chapter 4, Article
3, Section 4059, Paragraph (a), states that if an airport breaks
ground on a project BEFORE receipt of a state matching grant for
a FAA-approved project, the airport loses eligibility for the
state match. The FAA pays 90% of project costs, with the
airport providing a 10% local match. Caltrans has a program to
provide half of the local match. In the past, airports have
been awarded matching grants and it is later determined the
grant application file was incomplete. If the airport had
already broken ground, the matching grant award has been
revoked. This bill is intended to provide Caltrans with some
flexibility to maintain positive stakeholder and client outcomes
when paperwork errors occur. The regulation currently limits
Caltrans from exercising discretion in these situations.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/14/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada,
Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández, Vacancy
JA:d 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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