BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2014
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2014 (Melendez) - As Amended April 13, 2016
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|Policy |Transportation |Vote:|16 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill:
1)Requires Caltrans, in coordination with the CHP and local
entities, to publish a statewide assessment, as specified, of
the Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) program by June 30, 2018, and
every five years thereafter.
2)Requires that the assessment include a recommendation
regarding state funding needed to meet the needs identified in
the assessment, and requires the annual Budget Act to include
AB 2014
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a line-item within Caltrans' and the CHP's budget identifying
the amount of local assistance and state operations funding in
support of the FSP.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Intermittent costs, every five years, of around $300,000 (State
Highway Account) to Caltrans for two engineering staff to
complete the required assessment and report. While Caltrans
indicates it currently produces an annual performance report on
the program, the bill would require more analysis,
recommendations, and reporting on the 2,100 miles of freeways
unserved by FSPs and on the potential underservice of the 1,800
miles of freeways with existing FSPs. The CHP's participation
would cost another $75,000 (Motor Vehicle Account).
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law authorizes the establishment of
Service Authorities for Freeway Emergencies (SAFEs) in any
county upon approval of the county board of supervisors and
city councils of a majority of the cities within a county. The
FSP-a joint program provided by Caltrans, the CHP, and
SAFEs-is a free service of privately owned tow trucks
patrolling designated routes on congested urban freeways. The
FSP goal is to maximize the effectiveness of the freeway
transportation system by expeditiously removing disabled
and/or stranded vehicles. Currently, over 350 tow trucks
operated by CHP-trained, certified and supervised drivers,
patrol in excess of 1,750 miles of the most congested freeways
in California. Studies have repeatedly shown that FSPs are
one of the most cost-effective incident management strategies
available.
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Caltrans funding for the FSP program, which has remained flat
since 2006, is about $25 million annually, including $4
million to support CHP functions. In addition to the $4
million reimbursement from Caltrans, CHP spends over $1
million in additional funds to support the program.
Furthermore, local agencies statewide contribute an 85% match
to the program.
2)Purpose. The author asserts that existing FSP resources have
not kept up with increased demand for this service. She cites
an example wherein the Riverside County Transportation
Commission sought to add three FSP routes but CHP did not have
the personnel available to supervise the new routes because of
inadequate funding for the program. The author believes that
the assessment called for in this bill will provide a venue
for state and local partners to collaboratively maintain
institutional focus on sustaining and growing the program
appropriately.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081