Amended in Senate June 2, 2016

Amended in Senate August 19, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 14, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 779

Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia

February 25, 2015

An act to begin delete amend Sections 65088, 65088.1, 65088.4, 65089, 65089.3, and 65089.4 of end delete begin insert add Section 53909 to end insert the Government Code, relating to begin delete transportation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. end delete begin insert local government. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 779, as amended, Cristina Garcia. begin delete Transportation: congestion management program. end delete begin insert Local government: financial disclosures. end insert

begin insert

Existing law requires a local agency, if it is required to report specified information to the Controller and if it maintains an Internet Web site, to post, in a conspicuous location on its Internet Web site, information on the annual compensation of its elected officials, officers, and employees, as specified.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require a city, county, city and county, or special district to post a link on the homepage of its Internet Web site that contains the names, positions, and total compensation, including a breakdown of the types of compensation provided, of each elected official within that entity for the previous fiscal year and the 10 employees with the greatest total compensation, as specified. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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Existing law requires the development, adoption, and updating of a congestion management program with specified elements for each county that includes an urbanized area, as defined. The program is required to contain specified elements and to be submitted to regional agencies, as defined, for determination of whether the program is consistent with regional transportation plans. The regional agency is then directed to monitor the implementation of all elements of each congestion management program. Existing law defines “infill opportunity zone” for purposes of the above-described provisions to mean a specified area designated by a city or county according to certain provisions and that is within a specified distance of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor.

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This bill would revise the definition of “infill opportunity zone” to not require that it be within a specified distance of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor. The bill would revise the requirements for a congestion management program by removing traffic level of service standards established for a system of highways and roadways as a required element and instead requiring measures of effectiveness for a system of highways and roadways. The bill would also require the program to analyze the relationship between local land use decisions and regional transportation systems, instead of analyzing impacts of the land use decisions on the transportation systems. The bill would delete existing law’s prohibition on including an estimate of the costs of mitigating the impacts of interregional travel and the requirement that the program provide credit for local public and private contributions to improvements to regional transportation systems. The bill would also require, to the extent the program identifies capacity enhancements, the evaluation of the potential for capacity enhancement to induce additional travel. To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on local officials relating to the development of a congestion management program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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Existing law requires a local jurisdiction to prepare a deficiency plan with specified components when highway or roadway level of service standards are not maintained on segments or intersections, including an analysis of the cause of the deficiency, list of improvements necessary to maintain minimum levels of service, and estimated costs of the improvements.

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This bill would instead require a deficiency plan to be prepared if the agency determines the county or its cities is not conforming with the congestion management plan, and would remove the requirements that a list of improvements necessary and the estimated costs of the improvements be included in a deficiency plan. The bill would exempt from the deficiency cause analysis improvements to facilities for bicyclists, pedestrians, and public transportation, traffic generated by a transit priority project, and traffic generated by a mixed use development located within a transit priority project area or infill opportunity zone.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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Vote:  begin delete ²⁄₃ end delete begin insert majority end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 65088 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

65088.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Although California’s economy is critically dependent upon
transportation, its current transportation system relies primarily
upon a street and highway system designed to accommodate far
fewer vehicles than are currently using the system.

(b) California’s transportation system is characterized by
fragmented planning, both among jurisdictions involved and among
the means of available transport.

(c) The lack of an integrated system and the increase in the
number of vehicles are causing traffic congestion that each day
results in 400,000 hours lost in traffic, 200 tons of pollutants
released into the air we breathe, and three million one hundred
thousand dollars ($3,100,000) added costs to the motoring public.

(d) To keep California moving, all methods and means of
transport between major destinations must be coordinated to
connect our vital economic and population centers.

(e) In order to develop the California economy to its full
potential, it is intended that federal, state, and local agencies join
with transit districts, business, private, and environmental interests
to develop and implement comprehensive strategies needed to
develop appropriate responses to transportation needs.

(f) In addition to solving California’s traffic congestion crisis,
rebuilding California’s cities and suburbs, particularly with
affordable housing and more walkable neighborhoods, is an
important part of accommodating future increases in the state’s
population because homeownership is only now available to most
Californians who are on the fringes of metropolitan areas and far
from employment centers.

(g) The Legislature intends to do everything within its power
to remove regulatory barriers around the development of infill
housing, transit-oriented development, and mixed use commercial
development to reduce regional traffic congestion and provide
more housing choices for all Californians.

(h) The removal of regulatory barriers to promote infill housing,
transit-oriented development, or mixed use commercial
development does not preclude a city or county from holding a
public hearing nor from finding that an individual infill project
would be adversely impacted by the surrounding environment or
transportation patterns.

(i) The Legislature intends that the provisions of the act that
added this subdivision be carried out in a manner that promotes
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled,
related economic, environmental, and health benefits called for in
the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008
(Chapter 728 of the Statutes of 2008), and the implementation of
complete streets, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
of Section 65302.

SEC. 2.  

Section 65088.1 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

65088.1.  

As used in this chapter the following terms have the
following meanings:

(a) Unless the context requires otherwise, “agency” means the
agency responsible for the preparation and adoption of the
congestion management program.

(b) “Bus rapid transit corridor” means a bus service that includes
at least four of the following attributes:

(1) Coordination with land use planning.

(2) Exclusive right-of-way.

(3) Improved passenger boarding facilities.

(4) Limited stops.

(5) Passenger boarding at the same height as the bus.

(6) Prepaid fares.

(7) Real-time passenger information.

(8) Traffic priority at intersections.

(9) Signal priority.

(10) Unique vehicles.

(c) “Commission” means the California Transportation
Commission.

(d) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.

(e) “Infill opportunity zone” means a specific area designated
by a city or county, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65088.4.

(f) “Interregional travel” means any trips that originate outside
the boundary of the agency. A “trip” means a one-direction vehicle
movement. The origin of any trip is the starting point of that trip.
A roundtrip consists of two individual trips.

(g) “Level of service standard” is a threshold that defines a
deficiency on the congestion management program highway and
roadway system which requires the preparation of a deficiency
plan. It is the intent of the Legislature that the agency shall use all
elements of the program to implement strategies and actions that
avoid the creation of deficiencies and to improve multimodal
mobility.

(h) “Local jurisdiction” means a city, a county, or a city and
county.

(i) “Multimodal” means the utilization of all available modes
of travel that enhance the movement of people and goods,
including, but not limited to, highway, transit, nonmotorized, and
demand management strategies, including, but not limited to,
telecommuting. The availability and practicality of specific
multimodal systems, projects, and strategies may vary by county
and region in accordance with the size and complexity of different
urbanized areas.

(j) (1) “Parking cash-out program” means an employer-funded
program under which an employer offers to provide a cash
allowance to an employee equivalent to the parking subsidy that
the employer would otherwise pay to provide the employee with
a parking space. “Parking subsidy” means the difference between
the out-of-pocket amount paid by an employer on a regular basis
in order to secure the availability of an employee parking space
not owned by the employer and the price, if any, charged to an
employee for use of that space.

(2) A parking cash-out program may include a requirement that
employee participants certify that they will comply with guidelines
established by the employer designed to avoid neighborhood
parking problems, with a provision that employees not complying
with the guidelines will no longer be eligible for the parking
cash-out program.

(k) “Performance measure” is an analytical planning tool that
is used to quantitatively evaluate transportation improvements and
to assist in determining effective implementation actions,
considering all modes and strategies. Use of a performance measure
as part of the program does not trigger the requirement for the
preparation of deficiency plans.

(l) “Urbanized area” has the same meaning as is defined in the
1990 federal census for urbanized areas of more than 50,000
population.

(m) Unless the context requires otherwise, “regional agency”
means the agency responsible for preparation of the regional
transportation improvement program.

SEC. 3.  

Section 65088.4 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

65088.4.  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to balance the
need for level of service standards for traffic with the need to build
infill housing and mixed use commercial developments within
walking distance of mass transit facilities, downtowns, and town
centers and to provide greater flexibility to local governments to
balance these sometimes competing needs.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if level of
service standards are used in a congestion management program,
those standards shall not apply to the streets and highways within
an infill opportunity zone.

(c) The city or county may designate an infill opportunity zone
by adopting a resolution after determining that the infill opportunity
zone is consistent with the general plan and any applicable specific
plan, and is a transit priority area within a sustainable communities
strategy or alternative planning strategy adopted by the applicable
metropolitan planning organization.

SEC. 4.  

Section 65089 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

65089.  

(a) A congestion management program shall be
developed, adopted, and updated biennially, consistent with the
schedule for adopting and updating the regional transportation
improvement program, for every county that includes an urbanized
area, and shall include every city and the county. The program
shall be adopted at a noticed public hearing of the agency. The
program shall be developed in consultation with, and with the
cooperation of, the transportation planning agency, regional
transportation providers, local governments, the department, and
the air pollution control district or the air quality management
district, either by the county transportation commission, or by
another public agency, as designated by resolutions adopted by
the county board of supervisors and the city councils of a majority
of the cities representing a majority of the population in the
incorporated area of the county.

(b) The program shall contain all of the following elements:

(1) Measures of effectiveness established for a system of
highways and roadways designated by the agency. The highway
and roadway system shall include at a minimum all state highways
and principal arterials. No highway or roadway designated as a
part of the system shall be removed from the system. All new state
highways and principal arterials shall be designated as part of the
system, except when it is within an infill opportunity zone.

(2) A performance element that includes performance measures
to evaluate current and future multimodal system performance for
the movement of people and goods. At a minimum, these
performance measures shall incorporate highway and roadway
system performance, and measures established for the frequency
and routing of public transit, and for the coordination of transit
service provided by separate operators. These performance
measures shall support mobility, air quality, greenhouse gas
emissions reductions, land use, and economic objectives, and shall
be used in the development of the capital improvement program
required pursuant to paragraph (5), deficiency plans required
pursuant to Section 65089.4, and the land use analysis program
required pursuant to paragraph (4).

(3) A travel demand element that promotes alternative
transportation methods, including, but not limited to, carpools,
vanpools, transit, bicycles, and park-and-ride lots; improvements
in the balance between jobs and housing; and other strategies,
including, but not limited to, flexible work hours, telecommuting,
and parking management programs. The agency shall consider
parking cash-out programs during the development and update of
the travel demand element.

(4) A program to analyze the relationship between land use
decisions made by local jurisdictions and regional transportation
systems, as reflected in regional transportation plans. This program
shall measure, to the extent possible, the effectiveness of the
transportation system using the performance measures described
in paragraph (2). The program defined under this section may
require implementation through the requirements and analysis of
the California Environmental Quality Act, in order to avoid
duplication.

(5) A seven-year capital improvement program, developed using
the performance measures described in paragraph (2) to determine
effective projects that maintain or improve the performance of the
multimodal system for the movement of people and goods. To the
extent that the program identifies capacity enhancements, the
program shall evaluate the potential for the capacity enhancement
to induce additional travel. The program shall conform to
transportation-related vehicle emission air quality mitigation
measures, and include any project that will increase the capacity
of the multimodal system. It is the intent of the Legislature that,
when roadway projects are identified in the program, consideration
be given for maintaining bicycle access and safety at a level
comparable to that which existed prior to the improvement or
alteration. The capital improvement program may also include
safety, maintenance, and rehabilitation projects that do not enhance
the capacity of the system but are necessary to preserve the
investment in existing facilities.

(c) The agency, in consultation with the regional agency, cities,
and the county, shall develop a uniform data base on transportation
conditions for use in a countywide transportation computer model
and shall approve transportation computer models of specific areas
within the county that will be used by local jurisdictions to
determine the quantitative impacts of development on the
circulation system that are based on the countywide model and
standardized modeling assumptions and conventions. The computer
models shall be consistent with the modeling methodology adopted
by the regional planning agency. The data bases used in the models
shall be consistent with the data bases used by the regional planning
agency. Where the regional agency has jurisdiction over two or
more counties, the data bases used by the agency shall be consistent
with the data bases used by the regional agency.

(d) (1) The city or county in which a commercial development
will implement a parking cash-out program that is included in a
congestion management program pursuant to subdivision (b), or
in a deficiency plan pursuant to Section 65089.4, shall grant to
that development an appropriate reduction in the parking
requirements otherwise in effect for new commercial development.

(2) At the request of an existing commercial development that
has implemented a parking cash-out program, the city or county
shall grant an appropriate reduction in the parking requirements
otherwise applicable based on the demonstrated reduced need for
parking, and the space no longer needed for parking purposes may
be used for other appropriate purposes.

(e) Pursuant to the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 and regulations adopted pursuant to the
act, the department shall submit a request to the Federal Highway
Administration Division Administrator to accept the congestion
management program in lieu of development of a new congestion
management system otherwise required by the act.

SEC. 5.  

Section 65089.3 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

65089.3.  

The agency shall monitor the implementation of all
elements of the congestion management program. The department
is responsible for data collection and analysis on state highways,
unless the agency designates that responsibility to another entity.
The agency may also assign data collection and analysis
responsibilities to other owners and operators of facilities or
services if the responsibilities are specified in its adopted program.
The agency shall consult with the department and other affected
owners and operators in developing data collection and analysis
procedures and schedules before program adoption. At least
biennially, the agency shall determine if the county and cities are
conforming to the congestion management program, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:

(a) Achieving performance standards for the transportation
system as provided in the performance element.

(b) Adoption and implementation of a program to analyze the
relationship between land use decisions and the regional
transportation system.

(c) Adoption and implementation of a deficiency plan pursuant
to Section 65089.4.

SEC. 6.  

Section 65089.4 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

65089.4.  

(a) If the agency determines that a county or its cities
is not conforming to the congestion management plan, a local
jurisdiction shall prepare a deficiency plan. The deficiency plan
shall be adopted by the city or county at a noticed public hearing.

(b) The agency shall calculate the impacts subject to exclusion
pursuant to subdivision (f), after consultation with the regional
agency, the department, and the local air quality management
district or air pollution control district. If level of service standards
are used in a congestion management program, and if the calculated
traffic level of service following exclusion of these impacts is
consistent with the level of service standard, the agency shall make
a finding at a publicly noticed meeting that no deficiency plan is
required and shall notify the affected local jurisdiction.

(c) The agency shall be responsible for preparing and adopting
procedures for local deficiency plan development and
implementation responsibilities, consistent with the requirements
of this section. The deficiency plan shall include all of the
following:

(1) An analysis of the cause of the deficiency. This analysis
shall include the following:

(A) Identification of the cause of the deficiency.

(B) Identification of the impacts of those local jurisdictions
within the jurisdiction of the agency that contribute to the
deficiency. These impacts shall be identified only if traffic level
of service standards are used in the congestion management
program and if the calculated traffic level of service following
exclusion of impacts pursuant to subdivision (f) indicates that the
level of service standard has not been maintained, and shall be
limited to impacts not subject to exclusion.

(2) A list of improvements, programs, or actions, and estimates
of costs, that will (A) measurably improve multimodal
performance, using measures defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 65089, and (B) contribute to significant
improvements in air quality, such as improved public transit service
and facilities, improved nonmotorized transportation facilities,
high occupancy vehicle facilities, parking cash-out programs, and
transportation control measures. The air quality management
district or the air pollution control district shall establish and
periodically revise a list of approved improvements, programs,
and actions that meet the scope of this paragraph. If an
improvement, program, or action on the approved list has not been
fully implemented, it shall be deemed to contribute to significant
improvements in air quality. If an improvement, program, or action
is not on the approved list, it shall not be implemented unless
approved by the local air quality management district or air
pollution control district.

(3) An action plan, consistent with the provisions of Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 66000), that shall be implemented,
consisting of improvements, programs, or actions identified in
paragraph (2), that are found by the agency to be in the interest of
the public health, safety, and welfare. The action plan shall include
a specific implementation schedule. The action plan shall include
implementation strategies for those jurisdictions that have
contributed to the cause of the deficiency in accordance with the
agency’s deficiency plan procedures. The action plan need not
mitigate the impacts of any exclusions identified in subdivision
(f). Action plan strategies shall identify the most effective
implementation strategies for improving current and future system
performance.

(d) A local jurisdiction shall forward its adopted deficiency plan
to the agency within 12 months of the identification of a deficiency.
The agency shall hold a noticed public hearing within 60 days of
receiving the deficiency plan. Following that hearing, the agency
shall either accept or reject the deficiency plan in its entirety, but
the agency may not modify the deficiency plan. If the agency
rejects the plan, it shall notify the local jurisdiction of the reasons
for that rejection, and the local jurisdiction shall submit a revised
plan within 90 days addressing the agency’s concerns. Failure of
a local jurisdiction to comply with the schedule and requirements
of this section shall be considered to be nonconformance for the
purposes of Section 65089.5.

(e) The agency shall incorporate into its deficiency plan
procedures, a methodology for determining if deficiency impacts
are caused by more than one local jurisdiction within the
boundaries of the agency.

(1) If, according to the agency’s methodology, it is determined
that more than one local jurisdiction is responsible for causing a
deficient segment or intersection, all responsible local jurisdictions
shall participate in the development of a deficiency plan to be
adopted by all participating local jurisdictions.

(2) The local jurisdiction in which the deficiency occurs shall
have lead responsibility for developing the deficiency plan and for
coordinating with other impacting local jurisdictions. If a local
jurisdiction responsible for participating in a multi-jurisdictional
deficiency plan does not adopt the deficiency plan in accordance
with the schedule and requirements of paragraph (a) of this section,
that jurisdiction shall be considered in nonconformance with the
program for purposes of Section 65089.5.

(3) The agency shall establish a conflict resolution process for
addressing conflicts or disputes between local jurisdictions in
meeting the multi-jurisdictional deficiency plan responsibilities
of this section.

(f) The analysis of the cause of the deficiency prepared pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall exclude the following:

(1) Interregional travel.

(2) Construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance of facilities that
impact the system.

(3) Freeway ramp metering.

(4) Traffic signal coordination by the state or multi-jurisdictional
agencies.

(5) Traffic generated by the provision of low-income and very
low income housing.

(6) Traffic generated by any mixed use development located
within a transit priority project area or infill opportunity zone. For
purposes of this paragraph, “mixed use development” means
development that integrates compatible commercial or retail uses,
or both, with residential uses, and that, due to the proximity of job
locations, shopping opportunities, and residences, will discourage
new trip generation.

(7) Traffic generated by any transit priority project, as defined
in Section 21155 of the Public Resources Code.

(8) Improvements to facilities for bicyclists, pedestrians, and
public transportation.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a local
agency to implement improvements to reduce delay at intersections
or roadway segments that the local agency determines would
impede the development of a balanced, multimodal transportation
network that meets the needs of all users of the streets, roads, and
highways for safe and convenient travel in a manner set forth in
the circulation element of the local agency’s general plan.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SECTION end insert begin insert 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 53909 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 53909. end insert   

(a) A city, county, city and county, or special district
shall, within six months of the close of the fiscal year, post a link
on the homepage of its Internet Web site that contains the names,
positions, and total compensation, including a breakdown of the
types of compensation provided, of each elected official within
that entity for the previous fiscal year and the 10 employees with
the greatest total compensation, determined pursuant to subdivision
(b). If a city or special district does not have an Internet Web site,
it shall work with the relevant county to post the information on
the county’s Internet Web site.

(b) The city, county, city and county, or special district shall
aggregate the total compensation for an employee, including all
positions held by that employee during the fiscal year, to determine
the 10 employees with the greatest total compensation.

(c) For purposes of this section “total compensation” includes
payments for salaries, overtime, unused vacation time, stipends,
pension contributions, retirement contributions, health premium
contributions, automobile allowances, phone allowances, and
technology allowances. Any other type of compensation that the
city, county, city and county, or special district provides shall also
be included and specified. “Total compensation” does not include
reimbursements or payments for work-related travel expenses.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 7. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

begin delete

SEC. 8.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to reduce the financial burden and hurdles to
development caused by duplicative transportation and land use
planning analyses, and to give local agencies flexibility to quickly
update their plans to provide for a safe transportation system for
all users, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

end delete