BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 726|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


                                      CONSENT 


          Bill No:  AB 726
          Author:   Nazarian (D), et al.
          Amended:  7/9/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE:  11-0, 6/30/15
           AYES:  Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,  
            McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  77-0, 5/7/15 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   Vehicles:  Los Angeles County Metropolitan  
                     Transportation Authority


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill authorizes the Los Angeles County  
          Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) to operate  
          articulated buses that do not exceed a length of 82 feet on the  
          Orange Line in the County of Los Angeles under specified  
          conditions.

          ANALYSIS: 

          Existing law generally limits vehicle length to 40 feet, with a  
          specific limit for articulated buses of 60 feet.

          This bill authorizes the LACMTA to operate articulated buses  
          that do not exceed a length of 82 feet on the route designated  
          as the Orange Line in the County of Los Angeles, subject to:

          1)Consultation with traffic and pavement engineers on the effect  
            of such buses on safety and pavement wear by a route review  








                                                                     AB 726  
                                                                    Page  2



            committee; and

          2)The collective bargaining agreements between LACMTA and its  
            employee unions.

          Comments

          The Orange Line in the County of Los Angeles is a two-lane,  
          18-mile, dedicated busway.  It crosses more than 34 streets and  
          has several mid-block pedestrian crosswalks, with loop detectors  
          installed at each of the signalized intersections to give Orange  
          Line vehicles traffic signal priority.  According to the author,  
          Orange Line ridership is almost double initial predictions,  
          making it one of the most successful bus rapid transit projects  
          in the country.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified7/9/15)


          Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
          Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified7/9/15)


          None received



          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  77-0, 5/7/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,  
            Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,  
            Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,  








                                                                     AB 726  
                                                                    Page  3



            Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,  
            Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,  
            Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark  
            Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,  
            Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Campos, Roger Hernández, Steinorth


           Prepared by:Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
          7/10/15 14:46:29


                                   ****  END  ****