BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1284
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1284 (Baker) - As Amended April 8, 2015
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| |Local Government | |9 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Toll Bridge Project Oversight Committee
(TBPOC), formed by the Caltrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority
(BATA), to be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible fiscal impact.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The TBPOC consists of the Director of Caltrans,
the BATA executive director (who is also the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission's executive director), and the
executive director of the California Transportation Commission
(CTC). AB 144 (Hancock), Chapter 71, Statutes of 2005,
established TBPOC to provide project oversight and project
control for the Toll Bridge Seismic Safety Retrofit Program in
California. Provisions of AB 144 specifically exempted the
TBPOC from state agency open meeting act requirements
(Bagley-Keene Act). SB 66 (Torlakson), Chapter 375, Statutes
of 2005, a follow-up measure to AB 144, exempted the TBPOC
from local agency open meeting act requirements (Brown Act).
An analysis for SB 66 stated that the TBPOC by its nature is
an oversight entity only, providing review and monitoring
services, evaluating project change orders and developing cost
estimates and risk assessments. The directors of Caltrans,
CTC and the Bay Area Toll Authority are subject to open
meeting requirements.
Current law allows for public agencies to meet in closed
session, but only under narrow, specified circumstances and
with prescribed notification procedures. The courts have
narrowly construed closed meeting exceptions contained in both
Bagley-Keene and Brown Act. Both Acts contain procedural
requirements, including agenda and notice requirements before
a closed session may be held legally. The Bagley-Keene Act
and the Brown Act contain additional requirements on reporting
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after a closed session is held depending on the purpose of the
closed session. TBPOC's open meeting policy, on the other
hand, provides for broad closed sessions, as determined
necessary by the members of the committee, and allows the
committee to limit reporting on closed sessions at subsequent
regular meetings.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "The TBPOC adopted an 'open
meetings policy' but the policy adopted allows the committee
to meet in closed session on 'any matter' for any reason
deemed by themselves to be in the public interest. TBPOC can
similarly expunge the record so that there is no report that a
meeting took place or action was taken. This bill ensures
much-need transparency."
The work of the TBPOC will be ending shortly. All of the
state-owned toll bridges under its oversight have achieved
seismic safety and the one remaining project, the demolition
of the old east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge,
is due to be completed next year.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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