BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1813 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1813 (Frazier) - As Introduced February 8, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Transportation |Vote:|16 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bills adds one member of the Assembly, appointed by the Assembly Speaker, and one member of the Senate, appointed by Senate Rules, as ex-officio, non-voting members of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 1813 Page 2 Negligible fiscal impact. COMMENTS: 1)Background. The authority is currently composed of nine voting members: five appointed by the Governor, two appointed by the Speaker, and two appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. 2)Purpose. According to the author, the State of California and its voters have committed billions of dollars of public funds to the largest infrastructure project in the United States, and the oversight of its ongoing development and construction is of utmost importance to the Legislature. To that end, adding an Assemblymember and Senator, respectively, as ex-officio members of the High-Speed Rail Authority will provide enhanced oversight of the development and construction of the system. Additionally, the ex-officio members can serve as direct liaisons to the Legislature for Members to have a better understanding of the workings of the project and offer counsel and assistance from the legislative branch perspective. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 AB 1813 Page 3