BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 95|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 95
Author: Committee on Budget
Amended: 6/11/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE: 11-2, 6/15/15
AYES: Leno, Allen, Beall, Block, Hancock, Mitchell, Monning,
Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wolk
NOES: Moorlach, Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nielsen, Anderson, Nguyen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not relevant
SUBJECT: Transportation
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill provides for statutory changes necessary to
enact the transportation provisions of the Budget Act of 2015.
ANALYSIS: This bill makes all of the following statutory
changes:
1)State Transit Assistance Eligibility Funding. Provides a one
year extension of an exemption to allow transit operators
whose cost increases have exceeded the Consumer Price Index to
continue using State Transit Assistance funding for both
operating and capital expenditures.
AB 95
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2)Elimination of Various Unnecessary Transportation Funds.
Abolishes the Transportation Investment Fund, the Pedestrian
Safety Account, and the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
Subaccount in the Special Deposit Fund. These funds are no
longer necessary because the funding for these programs has
been exhausted or nearly exhausted and there is no new funding
source available.
3)High-Speed Rail Peer Review Group Member Qualifications.
Modifies the requirements of the qualifications of specific
peer review group members to broaden eligibility to include
experience with large infrastructure projects and experience
governing intercity commuter passenger train services. These
changes will help to better ensure that these critical
oversight positions remain filled.
4)High-Speed Rail Authority Reporting Requirements. Simplifies
the High-Speed Rail Authority's reporting requirements to
align with the business plan's release, which is every other
year, and repeals the requirement for the staff management
report. Information on staff hired and vacancies filled is
available as part of monthly board meeting reports and the
authority has addressed the problems which necessitated this
reporting requirement.
5)Fish Passage Barriers. Extends the requirement that Caltrans'
report annually on Caltrans' fish passage barriers from 2020
to 2025; requires the reports issued after October 31, 2016,
to include a status report on the most significant fish
barrier projects, as identified by the Department of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW), that provides information such as whether or
not funding has been committed to projects, sources of
funding, status of maintenance or other remediation actions,
and estimated completion dates of the projects; and requires
Caltrans to prioritize and expedite the remediation of fish
passage barriers identified by DFW. This bill also
appropriates on a one-time basis $5 million from the State
Highway Account for the remediation of fish barriers.
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6)Intercity Rail Reporting. Requires Caltrans to report, by
April 1, 2016, to the Legislature on potential benefits to
safety, greenhouse gas reduction, service levels, and
operating costs by improving grade separations at key
intersections, as defined by the Federal Railroad
Administration, along the state's intercity rail system.
7)Cap on Clean Air Vehicle Program. Increases the cap on the
"green sticker" Clean Air Vehicle program from 70,000 to
85,000. This program allows certain low-emission and
energy-efficient vehicles with a single occupant to use
high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
8)Tower Bridge Relinquishment. Authorizes the California
Transportation Commission to relinquish the Tower Bridge to
one or more cities in which it is located. These cities are
Sacramento and West Sacramento.
9)Walerga Park Soundwall. States that the Sacramento County
Board of Supervisors may allocate up to $700,000 from the
transportation funds allocated to Sacramento County, or from
other transportation funds available to the county, for the
purpose of building a soundwall in and around the Walerga Park
area.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/12/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/12/15)
None received
AB 95
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Prepared by:Farra Bracht / B. & F. R. / (916) 651-4103
6/15/15 14:51:47
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