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,    |
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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.









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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  








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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