BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1757 Hearing Date: June 14,
2016
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|Author: |Waldron |
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|Version: |5/5/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Manny Leon |
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SUBJECT: North County Transit District
DIGEST: This bill increases the North County Transit District's
(District) compensation limits for the District's Board of
Directors (Board).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires each member of the Board, including alternate members
that are appointed, to be paid $75 for each day the member or
alternate attends meetings of the Board, not to exceed $300 in
any month, as well as necessary and reasonable expenses in
performing duties as a Board member.
2)Authorizes the Board, by resolution, to compensate members and
alternates, in addition to the abovementioned compensation,
for representing the Board at specified meetings of other
governmental entities and public agencies. Allows
compensation to be in the same amounts as specified above.
This bill:
1)Increases, from $75 to $150, the compensation to be paid to
Board members and their alternates for each day the member or
AB 1757 (Waldron) Page 2 of ?
alternate attends meetings of the Board, and increases the
maximum compensation from $300 per month to $750 per month.
2)Removes a requirement that the Board adopts a resolution
before allowing Board members and alternates to receive
compensation for representing the Board at meetings of other
governmental entities and public agencies, and increases the
compensation for these activities to the same amounts as
specified above.
3)Provides technical clean-up changes relative to the District
contracting with a private patrol operator.
4)Provides that no reimbursement is required by this bill
because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency
are the result of a program for which legislative authority
was requested by that local agency, as specified.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Currently, District Board
Members are compensated at $75 per meeting, an amount that has
remained unchanged since 1988. This amount is also only half
of what representatives of other local and regional boards
receive for the same commitment of time. In addition, Board
Members routinely serve on other regional boards on behalf of
the District, where their counterparts receive compensation
that is double their amount. This proposal would ensure
compensation for Board Members is commensurate with that of
other regional entities they serve on for the District."
2)A brief history of the District. The District was created in
1975 through state legislation. At that time, the District's
board was created to plan, construct, and operate, directly or
through a contractor, public transit systems in specific
portions of the San Diego region. In January of 2003, SB 1703
(Peace, Chapter 743, Statutes of 2002), was enacted and
transferred future transit planning, programming, development,
and construction to the San Diego Association of Governments,
San Diego's regional planning agency. However, the District
AB 1757 (Waldron) Page 3 of ?
continued to operate transit services throughout its
jurisdiction. In 2005, the Legislature passed and the
Governor signed AB 1238 (Plescia, Chapter 743, Statutes of
2005), which renamed the District the North County Transit
District, with the name change becoming effective January 1,
2006. Presently, the District moves more than 12 million
passengers annually by providing public transportation for
North San Diego County. Several transit services the District
provides include: COASTER commuter rail service, SPRINTER
light rail, BREEZE bus system, FLEX rural and on-demand
service, and LIFT paratransit.
3)Comparable board compensation? As mentioned, the author
asserts that surrounding public transportation agencies
compensate their board members at a rate higher than the
District. Below are the per meeting compensation rates for
various transportation agencies in the Southern California
region:
a) San Diego Metropolitan Transit System/$150
b) San Diego Association of Governments/$150
c) Orange County Transportation Authority/$100
d) Metrolink/$100
e) Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority/$150
Assembly votes:
Floor: 57-5
Approps: 15-0
Local Gov: 7-0
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 8, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
North County Transit District (sponsor)
OPPOSITION:
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None recieved
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