BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 914
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
914 (Brown) - As Amended April 29, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes the San Bernardino County Transportation
Commission to operate a value-pricing program on the Interstate
10 and Interstate 15 corridors within the county. Specifically,
this bill:
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1)Authorizes the commission to levy and collect tolls for
construction, operation, and maintenance expenditures related
to the value-pricing program, and requires any excess revenues
generated by the program to benefit the two corridors pursuant
to an expenditure plan adopted by the commission.
2)Requires the commission to carry out the program in
cooperation with the Caltrans pursuant to a cooperative
agreement as specified.
3)Requires the commission, within three years after first
collecting tolls, to report to the Legislative Analyst on its
findings, conclusions, and recommendations concerning the
transportation facilities.
4)Declares that the provisions of this bill do not authorize the
conversion of any existing non-tolled or nonuser-fee lanes,
except than a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane may be
converted to a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Any costs to the commission are nonreimbursable, as they would
be incurred only to the extent the commission elects to exercise
the authority provided in the bill. Any costs to the Caltrans
would be absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Value-priced toll facilities (e.g., HOT lanes) are
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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 an HOV lane for a fee while
maintaining free or reduced travel to qualifying HOVs.
Although value-pricing programs 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.
2)Purpose. The San Bernardino Association of Governments
(SANBAG), which is also legally organized as the county
transportation commission, is proposing two projects for which
it is seeking authority to impose tolls:
a) The proposed I-10 Corridor Project consists of improving
all or a portion of the existing 35-mile stretch of I-10
from the City of Pomona to the City of Redlands. As a
major regional east-west freeway corridor, I-10 is heavily
used by travelers between Los Angeles and San Bernardino
counties and it is also a major truck route between
southern California and the rest of the nation.
b) The proposed I-15 Corridor Project consists of
improvements on the 35-mile stretch of I-15 in San
Bernardino County. As a major regional north-south freeway
corridor, I-15 is heavily used by commuters and
recreational travelers, and is also a major goods-movement
corridor.
SANBAG hopes to have statutory authority in place to develop
toll facilities (including HOT lanes) before it begins the
process of applying for financing under the federal
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Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act
(TIFIA). The TIFIA program provides federal credit assistance
in the form of direct loans, loan guarantees, and standby
lines of credit to finance surface transportation projects of
national and regional significance. In the case of HOT lanes,
the federal government requires legal authority to be
established prior to beginning the process of applying for
TIFIA financing.
This bill is similar to prior legislation providing similar
authority for HOT lane facilities in Alameda, San Diego, and
Santa Clara counties.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081