BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 1183 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: DESAULNIER VERSION: 4/21/14 Analysis by: Nathan Phillips FISCAL: yes Hearing date: April 29, 2014 SUBJECT: Vehicle registration fees: surcharge for local bicycle infrastructure DESCRIPTION: This bill authorizes local governments to impose vehicle registration surcharges for the purpose of funding local bicycle infrastructure improvements and maintenance. ANALYSIS: Existing law establishes a basic vehicle registration fee of $46, plus a $23 surcharge for additional personnel for the California Highway Patrol for the new or renewal registration of most vehicles. Existing law also authorizes local agencies to impose separate vehicle registration fee surcharges in their respective jurisdictions for a variety of special programs, including up to $2 for programs to address vehicle thefts, up to $19 to mitigate vehicular air emissions, and $1 to abate abandon vehicles. This bill authorizes cities, counties, and regional park districts to impose a surcharge of up to $5 on motor vehicles registered within their jurisdictions and use the resulting revenues to maintain and improve public bicycle paths and trails. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . In a 2002 National Highway Transportation Safety Administration survey, seven in 10 people said that they would like to bike more than they do now, but less than half of those surveyed were satisfied with how their communities are designed for bicycling. The public's desire for more bikable communities aligns with large safety benefits associated with SB 1183 (DESAULNIER) Page 2 use of bike paths and trails: A 2012 study in the American Journal of Public Health found that bicyclists using separated, protected bicycle tracks had a nine-fold decrease in injury risk due to accidents compared to cyclists sharing roads with motor vehicles. In addition to safety benefits, bike infrastructure supports the state's goal to promote walking and biking through the state's Active Transportation Program, and also supports the objectives of California's landmark Sustainable Communities Act, SB 375. Despite its clear benefits and alignment with state goals, bike infrastructure suffers from a lack of funding. Unlike roadway infrastructure, which is supported by a variety of fuel and motor vehicle taxes, bike trail infrastructure lacks a stable source of funding. This bill creates a continuing funding option for communities that, by supermajority vote, elect to impose a motor vehicle registration surcharge to support bicycle infrastructure. 2.Department of Motor Vehicles to administer . The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) routinely administers local vehicle registration surcharges and distributes net revenues back to local jurisdictions. Local vehicle registration surcharge programs that DMV currently administers include ones that support, for example, regional air quality programs. Because DMV has already put in place mechanisms for collecting, processing, and distributing local vehicle registration surcharge revenues, DMV's cost to implement the program would be low and concentrated in the first year to set up the programming. All of DMV's collection costs would come from the proceeds of the local surcharge. 3.Is this an entitlement for a few or a benefit that can be shared by many ? Most bicyclists are also motorists, and most motorists live in a household that has at least one bike. According to a 2001 National Household Travel Survey, nine in 10 U.S. households own a bike, indicating a large if latent potential for bicycling for recreation or practical transportation. The costs of this program are thus shared by those who currently bike and drive, but the benefits extend far beyond those who currently bike regularly. To that point, research shows that when bike infrastructure is created, new bicycle riders come. A widely cited study of 35 major SB 1183 (DESAULNIER) Page 3 metropolitan areas in the U.S. found what cities like Portland, Oregon or Davis, California have long observed: that increased bike infrastructure significantly drives increased ridership. That study found that each additional mile of bike lane per square mile of city area was correlated with a one percent increase in workers commuting by bicycle. In a large metropolitan area, this equates to thousands of new bicyclists. These new bicyclists not only enjoy health and safety benefits of biking and well-designed bike infrastructure, but reduce traffic congestion and air pollution by taking cars off the road, providing a further benefit for those who happen to drive. 4.Opposition . The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) expressed opposition to an earlier version of this bill. The amendments taken on April 21 directly address the key concern raised, but between those amendments and the writing of this analysis, staff has not received a new letter from the HJTA. 5.Vote of the people . The people passed Proposition 26 in November 2010 and so amended the California Constitution to require that any "change in statute which results in a taxpayer paying a higher tax must be imposed by an act passed by not less than two-thirds of all members elected to each of the two houses of the Legislature." This bill does not result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax but delegates to cities, counties, and regional park districts the authority to impose a higher surcharge on vehicle registrations to fund a specific government function. Ultimately, local government counsels will have to determine a vote threshold at the city, county, or district level. So while this bill is a majority vote measure in the Legislature, the local action to increase the registration surcharge may be a two-thirds vote of the local electorate. POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, April 23, 2014.) SUPPORT: East Bay Regional Park District (sponsor) SB 1183 (DESAULNIER) Page 4 California Park and Recreation Society OPPOSED: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association