BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 40
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
40 (Ting and Levine)
As Amended September 2, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |64-13 |(June 2, 2015) |SENATE: |29-11 |(September 8, |
| | | | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY: Prohibits the imposition of tolls on pedestrians and
bicyclists on toll bridges.
The Senate amendments add a sunset date of January 1, 2021, to
the prohibition on pedestrian and bicyclist tolls on California
toll bridges.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and
Transportation District (GGBHTD), which, among other functions
and duties, owns and operates the Golden Gate Bridge.
2)Authorizes the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to build toll bridges.
AB 40
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3)Authorizes Caltrans to consider the inclusion of bicycle and
pedestrian facilities on toll bridges.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, prohibiting the imposition of tolls on pedestrian and
bicycle passage on the Golden Gate Bridge and state-owned toll
bridges would result in foregone revenues and future cost
pressures, potentially in the millions, to the extent such tolls
could otherwise be used to pay for pedestrian and bicycle
capital improvements (State Highway Account, Bay Area Toll
Account, local toll bridge accounts). This bill would likely
shift these costs to drivers who pay tolls.
COMMENTS: California has eight toll bridges, all located in the
San Francisco Bay Area. Seven of those bridges - the Antioch
Bridge, the Benicia/Martinez Bridge, the Carquinez Bridge, the
Dumbarton Bridge, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the San Mateo Hayward Bridge -
are owned by the state. The eighth, the Golden Gate Bridge, is
owned and operated by the GGBHTD. The Golden Gate Bridge and
four of the state-owned bridges - the Antioch, the
Benicia-Martinez, the Carquinez, and the Dumbarton - allow
bicycles and pedestrians to cross. In addition, the new eastern
span of the Bay Bridge includes a bicycle and pedestrian path
that will eventually extend from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island
but will not extend across the entire bridge to San Francisco.
Currently bicyclists and pedestrians do not pay a toll to cross
any of these bridges.
When the Golden Gate Bridge first opened in 1937, pedestrians
had to pay $0.05 to cross. The sidewalk toll eventually rose to
$0.10 before it was abolished in 1970. Pedestrians and
bicyclists have been able to cross the bridge for free ever
since. GGBHTD, the owner and operator of the bridge, has
explored reinstating a toll for use of the sidewalks several
times since then but has never elected to impose the toll.
GGBHTD is currently facing an operating deficit of $32.9 million
over the next five years, as well as $209 million in unfunded
AB 40
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capital needs, and recently adopted a 45-point plan aimed at
keeping the district solvent. One point in the plan is to
evaluate sidewalk access fees.
This bill would prohibit GGBHTD from imposing a toll for
pedestrians or bicyclists to cross the Golden Gate Bridge until
January 1, 2021. This bill additionally prohibits pedestrian
and bicycle tolls on state-owned toll bridges until the same
date. According to the author, this bill would promote
non-vehicular forms of transportation across bridges that
improve air quality, combat climate change and encourage
physical activity. The author also argues that maintaining free
access to the Golden Gate Bridge's sidewalks is critical to
preserving overall access to the extensive network of parks,
paths, and trails that connect the North Bay to the South Bay,
of which the bridge is a part.
Analysis Prepared by:
Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0002157