BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2170
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2170 (Frazier) - As Amended March 15, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires that federal funding for freight-related
infrastructure projects apportioned to California from the
Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act be deposited
into the Trade Corridor Improvement Fund (TCIF) and apportioned
to state, regional, and local transportation entities by the
California Transportation Commission (CTC).
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Allocates federal revenues estimated to average $116 million
annually over five years to the CTC, for allocation to the state
and local entities.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The CTC, pursuant to AB 14 (Lowenthal), Chapter
223, Statutes of 2013, has developed a California Freight
Mobility Plan (CFMP) in accordance with federal guidelines.
The CFMP addressed the state's strategic goals for freight
transportation and identified a total of $138 billion worth of
freight system projects across the state with a total of 94
projects, totaling nearly $31 billion, identified as Tier 1
projects.
Enacted in December 2015, the FAST Act became the first
federal transportation bill to emphasize goods movement
projects, by dedicating up to $6.2 billion nationally for
freight-related projects over 5 years. Of this total,
California expects to receive an annual average of $116
million per year over five years for freight projects
identified the CFMP.
Beyond the requirement that projects be included in a state
freight plan, however, the FAST Act did not specifically
outline how the federal freight funding should be distributed.
Recently, Caltrans indicated their intent to distribute the
funds using what the department describes as a historic,
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formulaic division whereby 60% of the funds are allocated to
the state and 40% to the regions.
2)Purpose. The author believes that dividing designated federal
freight funding in the above manner would dilute the capacity
to use the funds to their fullest advantage. Specifically, the
author notes that the TCIF provides a proven model of
collaboration between the state and regions, with an equitable
distribution of transportation funds across the state. The
TCIF program, administered by the CTC, was created after
voters approved Proposition 1B in 2006-a $19.9 billion
transportation general obligation bond measure, which included
$2 billion to fund transportation corridor improvements.
In support of the bill, the Southern California Association of
Government asserts that, by utilizing the TCIF process, both
the state and regions will be able to quickly and efficiently
develop priority projects identified in the CFMP, without
needing to "reinvent the wheel," and the leveraging power
provided by TCIF program will ensure that the greatest numbers
of projects are developed.
3)Related Legislation. AB 1780 (Medina), also on today's
committee agenda, continuously appropriates 20% of annual GGRF
proceeds to the TCIF, to be distributed by the CTC in
accordance with established TCIF guidelines.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 2170
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