BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1889| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1889 Author: Mullin (D), et. al Amended: 8/19/16 in Senate Vote: 21 PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 6-4, 6/28/16 AYES: Beall, Allen, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Wieckowski NOES: Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Roth NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/11/16 AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza NOES: Bates, Nielsen SUBJECT: High-Speed Rail Authority: high-speed train operation SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill allows for the expenditure of bond proceeds identified in specified funding plans prepared by the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) on a high-speed rail corridor or usable segment if the project would enable high-speed trains to operate either immediately or after additional planned investments are made, as specified. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 requires HSRA to include information on how bond proceeds used for "bookend" projects as appropriated by the 2012 Budget Act are consistent with the HSRA's most recent business plan and advances the development of the Phase 1 blended system as identified in the business plan. AB 1889 Page 2 ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the HSRA and vests in it the responsibility to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in California. 2)Enacts the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (Prop 1A, 2008). Prop 1A provides $9.95 billion in general-obligation bond authority to fund the planning and construction of a high-speed passenger train system and complementary improvements to other specified rail systems in the state. 3)Appropriates, continuously, 25% of the state's cap-and-trade program funds for the high-speed rail project. 4)Appropriates, per SB 1029 (Budget Act of 2012), an estimated $8 billion in federal and state funds to construct the first high-speed rail segments in the Central Valley and fund 15 bookend and connectivity projects throughout California. SB 1029 also enacted a number of reporting requirements, including the issuance of a Project Update Report every two years. 5)Requires HSRA to prepare a Project Update Report on March 1, 2017, and every two years thereafter, that includes a number of reporting requirements, as specified. 6)Requires HSRA, prior to seeking an initial appropriation of bond funds for a specific corridor or usable segment using bond funds, to submit a detailed funding plan to the Director of Finance, the HSRA Peer Review Group, and the Legislature on the specific corridor or usable segment. 7)Requires HSRA, prior to committing bond funds for construction or real property/equipment acquisition for a specific corridor AB 1889 Page 3 or usable segment that has been appropriated, to obtain a report or reports by one or more financial consulting firms that includes an analysis on a number of elements, including whether the corridor or usable segment will be suitable and ready for high-speed train operation upon completion of construction. 8)Requires the state Director of Finance to approve the funding plan, with the abovementioned reports included, prior to HSRA entering any commitments to expend bond funds for a specific corridor or usable segment. This bill: 1)Specifies that for purposes of a funding plan required to be prepared by HSRA for each usable segment of the high-speed rail project, that a corridor or usable segment is "suitable and ready for high-speed train operation" if bond proceeds are used for capital project costs that would enable high-speed trains to operate immediately or after additional planned investments on the corridor or usable segment, and passenger train service providers will benefit from the project in the near-term. 2)Requires HSRA to include information on how bond proceeds used for bookend projects as appropriated by the 2012 Budget Act are consistent with the HSRA's most recent business plan and advances the development of the Phase 1 blended system as identified in the business plan. Comments 1)Purpose. The author asserts, "Prop 1A is unclear when it comes to the initial investments that can be made in a corridor while still allowing a plan to go forward that would enable the [HSRA] to declare the investments as making the corridor 'suitable and ready' Therefore, AB 1889 would clarify the Legislature's intent in appropriating these moneys: build the early investments that facilitate longer term high-speed train operations that can be used by commuter/intercity services in the meantime." AB 1889 Page 4 2)HSRA. The California HSRA was established in 1996 to direct development and implementation of intercity high-speed rail service that is fully coordinated with other public transportation services. In 2008, HSRA responsibilities increased as voters approved Prop 1A, authorizing $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for the high-speed rail project. Prop 1A additionally included a number of reporting requirements. 3)Funding plans. Amongst a variety of reporting requirements specified in the bond act, Prop 1A required HSRA to develop and submit a funding plan for a specific corridor or usable segment prior to HSRA seeking its initial request for appropriation of Prop 1A funds. HSRA completed this funding plan and submitted it to the Legislature, the peer review group, and the state Director of Finance in late 2011. Prop 1A further requires HSRA to prepare, approve, and submit to the Director of Finance and to the Legislature a detailed funding plan on a specific corridor or usable segment prior to committing any proceeds from the appropriated funds. This funding plan must include a report(s) from an independent financial firm(s) indicating the particular segment can be completed within budget, is suitable and ready for high-speed train operation, will not require an operating subsidy, etc. Thus, in order for HSRA to provide funding for bookend projects in both the northern and southern regions of the state, HSRA will have to provide a funding plan accordingly. 4)HSRA Project Update Report: SB 1029 (Budget Act of 2012) appropriated almost $8 billion in federal and state funds to construct the first high-speed rail segments in the Central Valley and fund 15 bookend and connectivity projects throughout California. This appropriation of $1.1 billion for bookend/connectivity projects would allow, in various corridors, for a "blended" system between high-speed and other forms of passenger rail service as described in the HSRA's 2012 business plan. SB 1029 further included extensive reporting requirements to increase legislative oversight over the high-speed rail project. The Project Update Report is required to include a number of elements, including, but not limited to: AB 1889 Page 5 a) A summary of the progress on the project b)The baseline budget for all project phase costs by segment or contract c)The current and projected budget for all project phase costs d)All expenditures to date for all project costs 5)Clarification. This bill provides clarity that the 2012 appropriation of $1.1 billion in Prop 1A bond funds for "bookend" investments was intended to be consistent with the blended-system strategy identified in the HSRA's 2012 Business Plan. The blended system provides for incremental investments in a bookend corridor that benefit regional rail in the short term and both regional and intercity high-speed rail in the long term. Thus, this bill aims to provide clarification to existing law to allow HSRA to proceed with submitting funding plans for various projects and proceed with expending existing bond allocations while ensuring HSRA is in compliance with the provisions specified in Prop 1A. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potential accelerated expenditure of $1.1 billion in previously appropriated bond funds, relative to current law (High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund). This bill would explicitly allow for expenditure of bond funds in the near-term for projects that benefit passenger train service without providing all necessary funding for investments in a usable segment that would be necessary for the immediate operation of high-speed trains. Absent the bill, these funds may not be available for project expenditures prior to the expiration of the June 30, 2018, encumbrance limitation tied to the previous appropriation of bond funds. SUPPORT: (Verified8/19/16) AB 1889 Page 6 Bay Area Council Metropolitan Transportation Commission Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board Silicon Valley Leadership Group Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority San Mateo County Transit District San Mateo County Transportation Authority Southern California Association of Governments OPPOSITION: (Verified8/19/16) The California Rail Foundation The Community Coalition on High Speed Rail Transportation Solution Defense and Education Fund ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines Prepared by:Manny Leon / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121 8/22/16 22:10:18 **** END **** AB 1889 Page 7