BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 40 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 40 (Ting and Levine) As Amended September 2, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |64-13 |(June 2, 2015) |SENATE: |29-11 |(September 8, | | | | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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