Amended in Senate August 17, 2016

Amended in Senate August 2, 2016

Amended in Senate June 9, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 15, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2170

Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

(Coauthors: Senators Hueso and Huff)

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Sections 2192 and 2192.2 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2170, as amended, Frazier. Trade Corridors Improvement Fund: federal funds.

The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B) created the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund and provided for allocation by the California Transportation Commission of $2 billion in bond funds for infrastructure improvements on highway and rail corridors that have a high volume of freight movement, and specified categories of projects eligible to receive these funds. Existing law continues the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund in existence in order to receive revenues from sources other than the bond act for these purposes.

This bill would require revenues apportioned to the state from the National Highway Freight Program established by the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act to be allocated for trade corridor improvement projects approved pursuant to these provisions.

Existing law requires the commission, in determining projects eligible for funding, to consult various state freight and regional infrastructure and goods movement plans and the statewide port master plan.

This bill would delete consideration of the State Air Resources Board’s Sustainable Freight Strategy and the statewide port master plan and would instead include consideration of the applicable port master plan begin delete and, for the nonfederal funds, end delete begin insert and end insert the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan begin insert end insert begin insert of July 2016 end insert when determining eligible projects for funding. The bill would also expand eligible projects to include rail landside access improvements, landside freight access improvements to airports, and certain capital and operational improvements. begin insert The bill would require the commission to use existing guidelines for the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund in allocating available funding but would authorize the commission to adopt amendments to the guidelines by April 1, 2017, and would impose various other requirements on the commission. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 2192 of the Streets and Highways Code
is amended to read:

2192.  

(a) (1) The Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, created
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8879.23 of the Government
Code, is hereby continued in existence to receive revenues from
state sources other than the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction,
Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006.

(2) Revenues apportioned to the state under Section 167 of Title
23 of the United States Code from the National Highway Freight
Program, pursuant to the federal Fixing America’s Surface
Transportation Act (“FAST Act”; Public Law 114-94) shall be
allocated for projects approved pursuant to this chapter.

(b) This chapter shall govern expenditure of those state and
federal revenues described in subdivision (a).

(c) The funding described in subdivision (a) shall be available
upon appropriation for allocation by the California Transportation
Commission for infrastructure improvements in this state on
federally designated Trade Corridors of National and Regional
Significance, on the Primary Freight Network, and along other
corridors that have a high volume of freight movement, as
determined by the commission. In determining the projects eligible
for funding, the commission shall consult the Transportation
Agency’s state freight plan as described in Section 13978.8 of the
Government begin delete Code, and the trade infrastructure and goods
movement plan submitted to the commission by the Secretary of
Transportation and the Secretary for Environmental Protection. end delete
begin insert Code and the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan released
in July 2016 pursuant to Executive Order B-32-15. end insert The commission
shall also consult trade infrastructure and goods movement plans
adopted by regional transportation planning agencies, adopted
regional transportation plans required by state and federal law, and
the applicable port master plan when determining eligible projects
for funding. begin delete The commission shall also consult the California
Sustainable Freight Action Plan when determining eligible projects
for funding with funds other than those described in paragraph (2)
of subdivision (a). end delete Eligible projects for the funding described in
subdivision (a) begin insert shall further the state’s economic, environmental,
and public health objectives and goals for freight policy, as
articulated in the plans to be consulted pursuant to this subdivision,
and may end insert include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Highway capacity improvements, rail landside access
improvements, landside freight access improvements to airports,
and operational improvements to more efficiently accommodate
the movement of freight, particularly for ingress and egress to and
from the state’s land ports of entry, rail terminals, and seaports,
including navigable inland waterways used to transport freight
between seaports, land ports of entry, and airports, and to relieve
traffic congestion along major trade or goods movement corridors.

(2) Freight rail system improvements to enhance the ability to
move goods from seaports, land ports of entry, and airports to
warehousing and distribution centers throughout California,
including projects that separate rail lines from highway or local
road traffic, improve freight rail mobility through mountainous
regions, relocate rail switching yards, and other projects that
improve the efficiency and capacity of the rail freight system.

(3) Projects to enhance the capacity and efficiency of ports.

(4) Truck corridor and capital and operational improvements,
including dedicated truck facilities or truck toll facilities.

(5) Border capital and operational improvements that enhance
goods movement between California and Mexico and that
maximize the state’s ability to access funds made available to the
state by federal law.

(6) Surface transportation and connector road improvements to
effectively facilitate the movement of goods, particularly for
ingress and egress to and from the state’s land ports of entry,
airports, and seaports, to relieve traffic congestion along major
trade or goods movement corridors.

(d) (1)  begin delete Except as provided in paragraph (2), the end delete begin insert In selecting
projects for inclusion in the program of projects to be funded with
funds described in subdivision (a), the commission shall evaluate
the total potential costs and total potential economic and
noneconomic benefits of the program to California’s economy,
environment, and public health. The commission shall consult with
the State Air Resources Board in order to utilize the appropriate
models, techniques, and methods to develop the parameters for
evaluation of projects. The end insert commission shall allocate the funding
described in subdivision (a) for trade infrastructure improvements
consistent with Section 8879.52 of the Government Code and the
Trade Corridors Improvement Fund (TCIF) Guidelines adopted
by the commission on November 27, 2007, or as amended by the
commission, and in a manner that (A) addresses the state’s most
urgent needs, (B) balances the demands of various land ports of
entry, seaports, and airports, (C) provides reasonable geographic
balance between the state’s regions, (D) places emphasis on
projects that improve trade corridor mobility and safety while
reducing emissions of diesel begin delete particulate end delete begin insert particulates, greenhouse
gases, end insert and other begin delete pollutant emissions, end delete begin insert pollutants, end insert and reducing other
negative community impacts, and (E) makes a significant
contribution to the state’s economy. begin insert The commission shall adopt
any amendments to the 2007 guidelines on or before April 1, 2017. end insert

begin delete

(2) The commission shall allocate the federal freight funding,
specifically, pursuant to the original TCIF Guidelines, as adopted
by the commission on November 27, 2007, and in the manner
described in (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1).

end delete begin insert

(2) In adopting amended guidelines, and developing and
adopting the program of projects, the commission shall do all of
the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Accept nominations for projects to be included in the
program of projects from regional and local transportation
agencies and the Department of Transportation.

end insert begin insert

(B) Recognize the key role of the state in project identification
and support integrating statewide goods movement priorities into
the corridor approach.

end insert begin insert

(C) Make a finding that adoption and delivery of the program
of projects is in the public interest.

end insert

(3) In addition, the commission shall also consider the following
factors when allocating these funds:

(A) “Velocity,” which means the speed by which large cargo
would travel from the land port of entry or seaport through the
distribution system.

(B) “Throughput,” which means the volume of cargo that would
move from the land port of entry or seaport through the distribution
system.

(C) “Reliability,” which means a reasonably consistent and
predictable amount of time for cargo to travel from one point to
another on any given day or at any given time in California.

(D) “Congestion reduction,” which means the reduction in
recurrent daily hours of delay to be achieved.

SEC. 2.  

Section 2192.2 of the Streets and Highways Code is
amended to read:

2192.2.  

The commission shall allocate funds made available
by this chapter to projects that have identified and committed
supplemental funding from appropriate local, federal, or private
sources. The commission shall determine the appropriate amount
of supplemental funding each project should have to be eligible
for moneys based on a project-by-project review and an assessment
of the project’s benefit to the state and the program. Funded
improvements shall have supplemental funding that is at least equal
to the amount of the contribution under this chapter. The
commission may give priority for funding to projects with higher
levels of committed supplemental funding.