BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1364
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1364 (Linder) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Transportation |Vote:|16 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill removes the California Transportation Commission (CTC)
from the California Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and
re-establishes the commission as an independent entity within
state government.
AB 1364
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible fiscal impact. The 2010 reorganization that placed
the CTC within CalSTA, which this bill would reverse, resulted
in no changes to the commission's budget.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The Legislature established the CTC in 1978 as a
result of concerns that the state lacked a single, unified
transportation policy. The 13-member commission oversees and
coordinates the activities of the state's transportation
sector, including planning and allocating money for the
construction of highway, rail, and transit improvements
throughout California. The commission is statutorily vested
with the responsibility to advise both the Governor and the
Legislature on transportation issues.
In 2012, Governor Brown undertook a major restructuring of the
Executive Branch, presumably to improve clarity, organization,
and accountability by eliminating agencies, forming new
agencies around better focused missions, and bringing more
state activities under agency structures for greater
administrative efficiency. This restructuring included
disbanding the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency,
creating CalSTA, and including the CTC within CalSTA.
In response, the Legislature enacted AB 1458 (Buchanan),
Chapter 138/Statutes of 2012, stating that the CTC shall
retain its status as an independent entity to perform its
duties and the functions prescribed to it under existing law.
2)Purpose. Despite the provisions of AB 1458, questions remain
AB 1364
Page 3
as to whether the CTC is sufficiently able to act
independently or whether it is subject to undue influence by
the Administration. AB 1364 is intended to ensure that the
CTC is able to independently perform its duties with autonomy
from the Governor and Legislature. According to the author,
"As the Legislature continues to discuss how to best address
our struggling infrastructure, we must look at all options.
While funding is often times talked about the most, the
Legislature must reexamine how we do business as well.
Ensuring the CTC is an independent agency will allow them to
be free from any political whims of the Legislature and
Administration while continuing to make decisions based on
need."
3)Related Legislation. SBX1 12 (Runner), pending in Senate
Appropriations, in part contains a provision similar to this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081