BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 95| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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. AB 95 Page 3 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 Page 4 Prepared by:Farra Bracht / B. & F. R. / (916) 651-4103 6/15/15 14:51:47 **** END ****