Amended in Assembly June 25, 2014

Amended in Senate March 27, 2014

Senate BillNo. 1228


Introduced by Senator Hueso

February 20, 2014


An act to add Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 2192) to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1228, as amended, Hueso. Trade Corridors Improvement Fund.

Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1B at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, provides for transfer of $2 billion of bond proceeds to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, created by the bond act, for infrastructure improvements along federally designated Trade Corridors of National Significance, to be allocated by the California Transportation Commission to eligible projects, as specified.

This bill would continue the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund in existence for the purpose of receipt and expenditure of revenues from sources other than the bond act. The bill would provide for allocation of these revenues, upon appropriation, by the California Transportation Commission for largely similar purposes as the bond act funds, but would specifically reference, as eligible projects, infrastructure improvements that benefit the state’s land ports of entrybegin insert, seaports, and airportsend insert.begin delete In that regard, the bill would also omit references to infrastructure improvements relating to goods movement to and from airports.end delete Thebegin insert bill would require the commission to consult specified plans and a specified strategy in determining the projects eligible for funding.end insert

begin insertTheend insert bill, to the extent funds are transferred to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, would require projects funded with those funds tobegin insert be consistent with the purposes of the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund and the guidelines adopted for the fund by the commission and toend insert demonstrate how they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals and objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares that
2international trade in California is an increasingly important
3component of the state’s $2 trillion economy. In 2013, California
4exported $168 billion in products, an increase of more than 4
5percent over the amount exported in 2012. California has five
6major land ports of entry, yielding $535.9 billion in economic
7activity in 2012. California is also home to 11 seaports on over
81,000 miles of coastline. Seaports generate billions of dollars in
9economic activity and millions of jobs. Land ports of entry and
10seaports create busy borders and harbors with heavy industrial
11 commerce. It is imperative that safety issues and pollution
12generated by trade are mitigated in order to reduce those impacts
13and to allow additional growth in international trade.

14

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 2192) is added
15to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

16 

17Chapter  4.8. Trade Corridors Improvement Fund
18

 

19

2192.  

(a) The Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, created
20pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8879.23 of the Government
21Code, is hereby continued in existence to receive revenues from
22sources other than the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air
23Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006. This chapter shall
24govern expenditure of those other revenues.

25(b) The moneys in the fund from those other sources shall be
26available upon appropriation for allocation by the California
P3    1Transportation Commission for infrastructure improvements in
2this state on federally designated Trade Corridors of National and
3Regional Significance, on the Primary Freight Network, and along
4other corridors that have a high volume of freight movement, as
5determined by the commission. In determining the projects eligible
6for funding, the commission shall consultbegin insert the state Transportation
7Agency’s state freight plan as described in Section 13978.8 of the
8Government Code, the Air Resources Board’s Sustainable Freight
9Strategy adopted by Resolution 14-2, andend insert
the trade infrastructure
10and goods movement plan submitted to the commission by the
11Secretary ofbegin insert the United States Department ofend insert Transportation and
12the Secretarybegin delete forend deletebegin insert of the United Statesend insert Environmental Protection
13begin insert Agencyend insert. The commission shall also consult trade infrastructure
14and goods movement plans adopted by regional transportation
15planning agencies, adopted regional transportation plans required
16by state and federal law, and the statewide port master plan
17prepared by the California Marine and Intermodal Transportation
18System Advisory Council (Cal-MITSAC) pursuant to Section 1730
19of the Harbors and Navigation Code, when determining eligible
20projects for funding. Eligible projects for these funds include, but
21are not limited to, all of the following:

22(1) Highway capacity improvements and operational
23improvements to more efficiently accommodate the movement of
24freight, particularly for ingress and egress to and from the state’s
25land ports of entry and seaports, including navigable inland
26waterways used to transport freight betweenbegin insert seaports,end insert land ports
27ofbegin delete entryend deletebegin insert entry, end insertandbegin delete seaports and between seaports,end deletebegin insert airports,end insert and
28to relieve traffic congestion along major trade or goods movement
29corridors.

30(2) Freight rail system improvements to enhance the ability to
31move goods frombegin insert seaports,end insert land ports ofbegin delete entryend deletebegin insert entry,end insert andbegin delete seaportsend delete
32begin insert airportsend insert to warehousing and distribution centers throughout
33California, including projects that separate rail lines from highway
34or local road traffic, improve freight rail mobility through
35mountainous regions, relocate rail switching yards, and other
36projects that improve the efficiency and capacity of the rail freight
37system.

38(3) Projects to enhance the capacity and efficiency ofbegin delete land ports
39of entry and seaportsend delete
begin insert portsend insert.

P4    1(4) Truck corridor improvements, including dedicated truck
2facilities or truck toll facilities.

3(5) Border access improvements that enhance goods movement
4between California and Mexico and that maximize the state’s
5ability to access coordinated border infrastructure funds made
6available to the state by federal law.

begin insert

7(6) Surface transportation and connector road improvements
8to effectively facilitate the movement of goods, particularly for
9ingress and egress to and from the state’s land ports of entry,
10airports, and seaports, to relieve traffic congestion along major
11trade or goods movement corridors.

end insert

12(c) (1) The commission shall allocate funds for trade
13infrastructure improvements from the fundbegin insert consistent with Section
148879.52 of the Government Code and the Trade Corridors
15Improvement Fund (TCIF) Guidelines adopted by the commission
16on November 27, 2007, or as amended by the commission, andend insert
in
17a manner that (A) addresses the state’s most urgent needs, (B)
18balances the demands of various land ports ofbegin delete entry andend deletebegin insert entry,end insert
19 seaports,begin delete between large and small land ports of entry and small
20and large seaports, as well as between land ports of entry and
21seaports,end delete
begin insert and airports,end insert (C) provides reasonable geographic balance
22between the state’s regions, and (D) places emphasis on projects
23that improve trade corridor mobility while reducing emissions of
24diesel particulate and other pollutant emissions.

25(2) In addition, the commission shall also consider the following
26factors when allocating these funds:

27(A) “Velocity,” which means the speed by which large cargo
28would travel from the land port of entry or seaport through the
29distribution system.

30(B) “Throughput,” which means the volume of cargo that would
31move from the land port of entry or seaport through the distribution
32system.

33(C) “Reliability,” which means a reasonably consistent and
34predictable amount of time for cargo to travel from one point to
35another on any given day or at any given time in California.

36(D) “Congestion reduction,” which means the reduction in
37recurrent daily hours of delay to be achieved.

38(d) To the extent moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction
39Fund, attributable to the auction or sale of allowances as part of a
40market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of
P5    1greenhouse gas emissions, are transferred to the Trade Corridors
2Improvement fund, projects funded with those moneys shall
3demonstrate how they will reduce emissions consistent with the
4goals and objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

5(e) The commission shall allocate funds made available by this
6section to projects that have identified and committed supplemental
7funding from appropriate local, federal, or private sources. The
8commission shall determine the appropriate amount of
9supplemental funding each project should have to be eligible for
10moneys from the fund based on a project-by-project review and
11an assessment of the project’s benefit to the state and the program.
12Except for border access improvements described in paragraph
13(5) of subdivision (b), improvements funded with moneys from
14the fund shall have supplemental funding that is at least equal to
15the amount of the contribution from the fund. The commission
16may give priority for funding to projects with higher levels of
17committed supplemental funding.

18(f) The commission shall include in its annual report to the
19Legislature, required by Section 14535 of the Government Code,
20a summary of its activities related to the administration of this
21section. The summary shall, at a minimum, include a description
22and the location of the projects contained in the program funded
23by the fund, the amount of funds allocated to each project, the
24status of each project, and a description of the mobility and air
25quality improvements the program is achieving.



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