BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 914|
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                                   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  








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          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  







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            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







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          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  







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          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







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          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


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