BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1298
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Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1298 (Hernandez) - As Amended: June 17, 2014
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:12-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill repeals authority for the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) to operate a
value-pricing and transit development program involving
high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on State Routes (SRs) 10 and 110
and instead provides LACMTA authority to operate the program
indefinitely. The bill also recasts the program by:
1)Specifically authorizing LACMTA to continue requiring
high-occupancy vehicles to have an electronic transponder for
enforcement purposes.
2)Requiring revenue generated to also be used for maintenance of
the state highway facilities related to the HOT lanes.
3)Allowing revenue generated beyond that needed to operate and
maintain the program and facilities to also be used for
improvements in the transportation corridor from where the
revenue was generated.
FISCAL EFFECT
Caltrans indicates that the two HOT lanes have generated nearly
$17 million in toll revenue in the first 10 months of operation.
Under its agreement with LACMTA, Caltrans is reimbursed for its
associated operational and maintenance expenditures.
COMMENTS
Background and Purpose . In 2008, the U.S. Department of
Transportation awarded LACMTA and Caltrans a $210 million
SB 1298
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federal grant to implement the LACMTA ExpressLanes Program, one
of six Urban Partnership demonstration projects competitively
selected to deploy innovative programs to reduce congestion
through the implementation of congestion pricing. The one-year
demonstration program, ratified by SB 1422
(Ridley-Thomas)/Statutes of 2008, provided for congestion
pricing (by converting HOV lanes to HOT lanes) on SR 10 and SR
110, improved transit service, updated transit facilities, and
demand-based parking pricing in downtown Los Angeles.
Additionally, LACMTA instituted an equity plan to offer
low-income Los Angeles County residents a one-time $25 toll
credit and an automatic waiver of the monthly account
maintenance fee. SB 1422 extended state authority for the
program to January 2013, and AB 1224 (Eng)/Statutes of 2010
further extended authority until January 2015.
The stated goals of LACMTA's ExpressLanes Program are to
leverage pricing for sustainable change that creates travel time
savings, increases trip reliability, creates cost savings, and
improves air quality. LACMTA's federal Urban Partnership grant
required a formal evaluation of the demonstration program by an
independent firm retained by the Federal Highway Administration.
Preliminary results of the evaluation indicate that the
demonstration projects are generally accomplishing many of their
goals and objectives.
SB 1298 sets forth provisions to govern LACMTA's HOT lanes going
forward after its successful demonstration period. These
provisions generally mirror the original demonstration program
except as described in the summary above.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081