BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 914| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 914 Author: Brown (D), et al. Amended: 9/4/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/23/15 AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 7/13/15 AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza NOES: Bates, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-7, 5/28/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Toll facilities: County of San Bernardino SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill authorizes the San Bernardino County Transportation Commission to conduct, administer, and operate a value-pricing program on Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County. Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 insert contingent enactment language, requiring both this bill and AB 194 (Frazier, 2015) to be enacted for either bill to become law. Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/15 clarify what state department agreements are necessary in order for the San Bernardino County Transportation Commission to operate its proposed value pricing AB 914 Page 2 program. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Restricts the state and regional transportation agencies from collecting tolls on public highways without explicit statutory authority. For example, in 1989, the Legislature authorized the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to enter into contractual agreements with private entities for the construction and operation of toll roads. The toll facility on State Route 91 in Orange County is a result of this authorization. 2)Authorizes a particular type of toll facility, called high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane facilities, in Alameda, San Diego, and Santa Clara counties. An agency operating a HOT lane essentially sells excess capacity in undersubscribed high-occupancy vehicle lanes to single-occupant vehicle drivers by charging a toll. HOT lanes typically employ a pricing method known as value pricing or congestion pricing. Under this scheme, the amount of the toll varies in accordance with the level of congestion in that particular lane, such that as congestion increases, so too will the toll amount. As the price to use the lane goes up, fewer people presumably will choose to use it, thereby reducing demand for the facility and maintaining free-flow travel conditions. With this mechanism, an agency can ensure that operation of the toll facility does not undermine the intended benefits of promoting carpooling with access to the faster high-occupancy vehicle lane. 3)Authorizes, in addition to the three counties with specific HOT lane authority, regional transportation agencies to apply to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to develop and operate HOT lanes until 2012. This authority limited CTC to approving up to four HOT lane projects, two in Northern California and two in Southern California. The CTC approved HOT lane facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County under this provision. 4)Creates the San Bernardino County Transportation Commission (also known as San Bernardino Association of Governments or AB 914 Page 3 SANBAG) to oversee transportation planning and coordination in the county. This bill: 1)Authorizes SANBAG to conduct, administer, and operate a value-pricing program on Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, including HOT lanes or other toll facilities. 2)Authorizes SANBAG to set and levy tolls in amounts to cover at least the following expenses: a) Capital outlay, including design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction. b) Operations and maintenance of the facilities. c) Repair and rehabilitation. d) Indebtedness, including related financial costs. e) Reserves. f) Administration, not to exceed 3% of the revenues. 3)Requires SANBAG to use any excess revenues exclusively for the benefit of the corridors and to adopt an expenditure plan describing how it plans to spend excess revenue. 4)Requires agreements between SANBAG, Caltrans, and the California Highway Patrol. 5)Requires SANBAG to enter into agreements with neighboring counties providing for the coordination of the toll facilities operated by each county, and to develop the projects pursuant to a cooperative agreement with Caltrans. 6)Authorizes SANBAG to issue bonds to finance the projects pursuant to a majority vote of its governing board. 7)Requires SANBAG to submit a report to the Legislative Analyst's Office not later than three years after beginning toll collection that summarizes its findings, conclusions, and recommendations relating to the value-pricing program. 8)Becomes law only if AB 194 also becomes law. Comments AB 914 Page 4 Purpose. According to the author, the Inland Empire is the fastest growing region in Southern California. As a result, the Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 corridors are amongst the most congested in the state, seeing up to 260,000 and 223,000 vehicles per day respectively. In 2045, these volumes are expected to reach 668,500 vehicles per day combined, a 38% increase. These routes are also utilized as important goods movement corridors, seeing up to 47,500 trucks per day combined. The author argues that alternative ways of managing congestion must be utilized to serve the growing needs in this area. This bill - by authorizing SANBAG to establish an express lane program - will work to meet these growing needs and help alleviate congestion. HOT lanes vs. express lanes. While similar, HOT lanes and express lanes are at the heart very different. HOT lanes are high-occupancy vehicle lanes that, when not fully subscribed by high-occupancy vehicles, can be accessed by single-occupant vehicles for a toll. Express lanes, on the other hand, are toll roads that may allow high-occupancy vehicles access for a reduced rate or no toll. HOT lanes are designed to maximize passenger throughput; if successful then a HOT lane collects few tolls and moves the most people through a corridor. Express lanes are more focused on raising revenues through tolls, resulting in moving more vehicles through a corridor, and not necessarily more people. According to SANBAG, with this authority it intends to convert roughly eight miles of an existing high-occupancy vehicle lane to a HOT lane and then construct 62 miles of additional tolled express lanes. While the planning process isn't complete, SANBAG suggests that it may only allow reduced-rate access to its express lanes for vehicles with three or more occupants. Some would argue that this type of scheme does not really encourage carpooling, but does ensure more capacity for single-occupant toll payers and therefore more revenue generation. Studies show that building more lanes to increase the number of vehicles through a corridor does not ultimately reduce congestion but instead inevitably induces more demand for the AB 914 Page 5 facility. This higher vehicle throughput can lead to expansive land use characterized by sprawl. Alternatively, focusing on better corridor management and the effective throughput of people and goods can lead to less environmental impacts and better land management, consistent with the Legislature's priorities of the last 15 years. Related/Prior Legislation AB 194 (Frazier, 2015) extends indefinitely CTC's authority to administratively authorize HOT lanes and expands the authority to include other toll facilities. AB 194 provides an avenue for SANBAG to seek authority to develop a value-pricing program. However, AB 194 could not practically be implemented in time to give SANBAG the statutory authority it needs to apply for federal financing programs in a timely manner; hence SANBAG is seeking the standalone authority in this bill. AB 194 is currently pending on the Senate Floor. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Unknown costs and revenue gains for SANBAG to develop and operate HOT lanes and express lanes (local funds). For illustrative purposes, HOT lanes administered by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency generate approximately $17 million annually. Caltrans costs for ongoing maintenance and California Highway Patrol costs for ongoing enforcement of new toll lane facilities would be fully recovered from toll revenues, pursuant to required agreements with SANBAG. SUPPORT: (Verified9/8/15) American Council of Engineering Companies of California California Asphalt Pavement Association City of Ontario City of San Bernardino CH2MHILL AB 914 Page 6 Inland Empire Chapter of Women in Transportation Inland Action Mobility 21 Orange County Business Council Riverside County Transportation Commission San Bernardino Associated Governments San Diego Association of Governments Self Help Counties Coalition Southern California Association of Governments OPPOSITION: (Verified9/8/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-7, 5/28/15 AYES: Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NOES: Brough, Gatto, Gonzalez, Harper, Levine, Salas, Weber NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Bloom, Grove, Kim Prepared by:Eric Thronson / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121 9/8/15 20:56:30 **** END ****