BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 194
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
194 (Frazier)
As Amended June 1, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Transportation |14-1 |Frazier, Achadjian, |Kim |
| | |Baker, Bloom, | |
| | |Campos, Chu, Daly, | |
| | |Dodd, Gomez, | |
| | |Linder, Medina, | |
| | |Melendez, Nazarian, | |
| | |O'Donnell | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |11-3 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Jones, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Wagner |
| | |Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 194
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SUMMARY: Extends indefinitely the California Transportation
Commission's (CTC's) authority to authorize regional
transportation agencies to develop and operate high-occupancy toll
(HOT) lanes and expands the authority to include other toll
facilities; adds similar authority for the CTC to authorize the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop toll
facilities. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the
potential benefits of toll facilities.
2)Sets forth a process whereby Caltrans can apply to CTC for
authorization to develop and operate HOT lanes and other toll
facilities.
3)Extends indefinitely the process whereby CTC reviews and
approves applications from regional transportation agencies, in
cooperation with Caltrans, to develop and operate HOT lanes and
other toll facilities, including preferential lanes for transit
and freight.
4)Deletes the limitation on the number (four) of HOT lane
applications CTC may approve, thereby granting open-ended
authority to approve applications.
5)Directs CTC to develop guidelines to evaluate and approve
applications submitted by regional transportation agencies for
the development and operation of HOT lanes and other toll
facilities, subject to specific minimum requirements.
6)Explicitly provides that the authority being granted to develop
toll facilities does not prevent other agencies from
constructing facilities that compete with a toll facility.
7)Authorizes regional transportation agencies to bond against toll
AB 194
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revenue.
8)Requires a regional transportation agency to give a local
transportation agency within its jurisdiction the option to
enter into an agreement to govern a toll project authorized
under provisions of this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, based on substantially similar legislation in 2014, the
CTC will need to update its guidelines for HOT lanes and implement
and oversee the approval process, as well as perform independent
financial analysis and operational analysis of HOT lane
applications. Ongoing costs for one senior-level position would
be around $190,000 (State Highway Account), and consulting costs
to review each application would be around $300,000. The
consulting costs would be reimbursed for applications by regional
transportation agencies.
COMMENTS: HOT lanes are increasingly being implemented in
metropolitan areas around the state and the nation, primarily to
deal with increased congestion. HOT lanes allow single-occupant
or lower-occupancy vehicles to use a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV)
lane for a fee, while maintaining free or reduced travel to
qualifying HOVs. The acknowledged benefits of HOT lanes include
enhanced mobility and travel options in congested corridors and
better usage of underutilized HOV lanes.
This bill expands the potential for toll facilities in California
by granting CTC broad, indefinite authority to review and approve
toll facility applications submitted by regional transportation
agencies and by Caltrans. This bill builds on the authority
previously granted to regional transportation agencies and is
consistent with protocols that have evolved to guide development
of the HOT lane programs, such as the requirement that any excess
revenue be used in the corridor in which it was generated.
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Regional transportation agencies up and down the state, as well as
Caltrans, struggle with meeting the challenges of increasing
traffic congestion and decreasing transportation revenue.
Although HOT lanes should be primarily a congestion management
tool, they may have the added benefit of generating net revenue
that can be put back into the corridor from which it was generated
for additional improvements or other benefits. Given the success
of multiple HOT lane demonstration programs to date, it is
appropriate now to provide an administrative process whereby
regional transportation agencies and Caltrans can work together
with CTC to develop and operate toll facilities.
This bill defines clear roles and responsibilities between
Caltrans and regional transportation agencies in the development
of toll facilities. In cooperation with one another, this bill
appropriately places control of a facility's tolling policy and
toll revenue with whatever agency is bearing the responsibility
and financial risk to develop the program, under prescribed
requirements. Furthermore, this bill includes provisions that
ensure that not only do Caltrans and regional transportation
agencies work cooperatively but that a regional transportation
agency and local transportation agencies within its jurisdiction
work cooperatively as well. Finally, this bill makes it clear
that the authority to develop toll lanes does not in any way
include the conversion of existing non-tolled or nonuser-fee lanes
into tolled or user-fee lanes, either by authorizing them or
prohibiting them. Any efforts to implement such a conversion will
require separate statutory authority.
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
AB 194
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Analysis Prepared by:
Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0000643