BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2170
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|Author: |Frazier |
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|Version: |6/9/2016 |Hearing |6/29/2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rebecca Newhouse |
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SUBJECT: Trade Corridors Improvement Fund: federal funds.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Pursuant to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality,
and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B),
establishes the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund (TCIF) and
provides for transfer of $2 billion of general obligation bond
proceeds to TCIF for infrastructure improvements along
federally designated Trade Corridors of National Significance
or other high-volume freight corridors in California.
(Government Code §8879.23 et seq.).
2) Authorizes the TCIF to receive funding from sources other than
Proposition 1B. (Streets and Highways Code §2192)
3) Requires that the California Transportation Commission (CTC),
in determining projects eligible for funding under TCIF,
consult the California Transportation Agency's freight plan,
the California Air Resources Board's (ARB) Sustainable Freight
Strategy, the trade infrastructure and goods movement plan
submitted by the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary
of Environmental Protection, trade infrastructure and goods
movements plans adopted by regional transportation planning
agencies, adopted regional transportation plans, and the port
master plan.
This bill:
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1) Requires federal freight funds apportioned to California under
the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to be
allocated to projects through the TCIF.
2) Deletes the requirement for the CTC to consult the ARB's
Sustainable Freight Strategy.
3) Adds to the list of transportation projects eligible for TCIF
funding, including capital and operational improvements to
truck corridors and borders.
4) Adds improving trade corridor safety and making a significant
contribution to the state's economy to the criteria the CTC
must follow in allocating funds.
5) Makes other changes related to transportation funding under
TCIF.
Background
1) The Sustainable Freight Action Plan. Governor Brown's Executive
Order B-32-15 directs the Secretary of California State
Transportation Agency (CALSTA), Secretary of the California
Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), and the Secretary of
the Natural Resources Agency to lead other relevant State
departments in developing an integrated action plan by July
2016 that "establishes clear targets to improve freight
efficiency, transition to zero-emission technologies, and
increase competitiveness of California's freight system." The
participating State departments are the California Air
Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans), California Energy Commission, and the Governor's
Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
As directed by the Executive Order, the action plan will
identify State policies, programs, and investments The EO
directs that the action plan be informed by broad stakeholder
input and existing state agency strategies, including the
California Freight Mobility Plan, Sustainable Freight Pathways
to Zero and Near-Zero Emissions, and the Integrated Energy
Policy Report.
To ensure progress toward a sustainable freight system, the
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participating departments are also ordered to initiate work on
corridor-level freight pilot projects within the State's
primary trade corridors that integrate advanced technologies,
alternative fuels, freight and fuel infrastructure, and local
economic development opportunities.
A discussion draft was released of the California Sustainable
Freight Action Plan in May of this year. According to the
draft, "modernizing California's freight transport system in a
manner that improves safety and reduces pollution is essential
to improve public health and meet our environmental
imperatives. Freight transportation in California generates a
high portion of local pollution in parts of the State with poor
air quality. Reducing these harmful pollutants is an important
local, regional, and State priority, as well as a matter of
compliance with the federal Clean Air Act."
In April of 2015, ARB released their own draft plan,
Sustainable Freight: Pathways to Zero and Near-Zero Emissions,
to inform the multi-agency Sustainable Freight Action Plan.
2) Prop 1B and TCIF. Proposition 1B, the Highway Safety, Traffic
Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, was
approved by California voters in November 2006. Proposition 1B
authorized the issuance of $19.9 billion in general obligation
bonds to fund a variety of transportation projects. Of this
amount, $2 billion was allocated to the TCIF for infrastructure
improvements along federally designated "Trade Corridors of
National Significance" or other high-volume freight corridors.
In determining project eligibility under the TCIF, the
California Transportation Commission (CTC) is required to
consult various plans, including the California State
Transportation Agency's (CalSTA) state freight plan (also
termed the California Freight Mobility Plan, or CFMP), the
ARB's Sustainable Freight Strategy, and the statewide port
master plan developed by the California Marine and Intermodal
Transportation System Advisory Council (Cal-MITSAC), among
others. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to,
improvements to highway capacity and operations, the freight
rail system, ports, truck corridors, and border access, as well
as improvements to surface transportation to facilitate goods
movement to and from airports. TCIF applicants must provide at
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least a 50% match from local, federal, or private sources.
TCIF funds have been fully programmed, however SB 1228 (Hueso,
Chapter 787, Statutes of 2014) authorized continuation of the
program so it could receive funds in the future.
3) Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. The new federal
transportation funding authorization, the FAST Act, was signed
into law in December 2015. The FAST Act establishes a new
Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects Program and
is the first time a federal transportation authorization has
included a dedicated source of funding for freight projects.
This program will provide competitive grants to projects such
as highway freight projects on the National Highway Freight
Network, highway or bridge projects on the National Highway
System, railway-highway grade crossings or grade separation
projects, and freight intermodal projects. Pursuant to the
FAST Act, California is slated to receive $116 per year for
five years. The FAST Act requires a state receiving funds to
develop a freight plan, and deems that in order to be eligible
for freight funds a project must be included in the freight
plan.
Comments
1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "By utilizing the
TCIF process to distribute federal freight funding, the state
and regions will be encouraged to collaborate and identify
priority goods movement projects in the [California Freight
Mobility Plan] without needing to 'reinvent the wheel.' This
bill will also ensure that the federal dollars are leveraged to
the maximum extent practicable with state, local, and private
investments to ensure that the greatest numbers of goods
movement projects are developed to relieve congestion, reduce
emissions, and improve California's economy."
2) Removing consideration of ARB's Sustainable Freight Strategy.
According to the author local and regional transportation
agencies have expressed their desire to have the federal
freight funds distributed using the highly successful TCIF
model that was used to distribute Prop1B funds. They state
that the TCIP process enabled significant leveraging of funds,
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and fostered collaboration between the regions to establish
project priorities, and ensured projects stayed on schedule.
The author states that the FAST Act requires that the federal
freight funding under the Act be expended on freight projects
included in state freight plans. The author also argues that
the California Transportation Agency's state freight plan (also
known as the California Freight Mobility Plan, or CFMP),
constitutes California's state freight plan for the purposes of
allocating federal freight funding. Because the CFMP
identifies a list of projects from regional planning documents
that are fully vetted and meet all environmental requirements,
the author argues that federal freight funds could be used most
efficiently and effectively by placing them in the TCIF and
directing them toward projects identified in the CFMP.
The bill also requires CTC to consult other plans, in addition
to CFMP, when considering projects eligible for funding.
According to the author, all plans listed in the bill are
essentially components of the CFMP, except for ARB's
Sustainable Freight Strategy, which was struck from the bill in
earlier amendments.
However, the bill removes ARB's freight strategy from
consideration for all funds that TCIF may receive-not just for
federal FAST funds. As discussed earlier, TCIF was originally
established by Prop 1B, but was continued indefinitely through
SB 1228 (Hueso) to receive additional funds from other sources.
Specifically, SB 1228 (Hueso) contemplated TCIF receiving
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) moneys from cap-and-trade
auction proceeds, although it has not received any funds from
GGRF(or other funds other than Prop 1B funds, which are now
exhausted) to date.
3) Amendment. As previously noted in the background, various
agencies and departments are working on a Sustainable Freight
Action Plan, which will incorporate drafts and concepts from
various agencies, including ARB's own sustainable freight draft
plan. The interagency Sustainable Freight Action Plan is
intended to be a single integrated action strategy for
California's freight system that establishes clear targets to
improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emissions
technologies and increase competitiveness. The draft plan has a
clear focus on environmental quality and states that
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"modernizing California's freight transport system in a manner
that improves safety and reduces pollution is essential to
improve public health and meet our environmental imperatives."
A requirement for consideration of the Sustainable Freight
Action Plan for certain moneys directed to TCIF may put needed
focus on infrastructure that not only improves freight
efficiency and increases capacity of the system, but that
provides necessary air quality benefits to improve public
health outcomes in areas of the state with the worst pollution
problems in the nation.
For these reasons, an amendment is needed to require CTC, for
non FAST Act moneys, to consult the Sustainable Freight Action
Plan when determining projects eligible for funding under TCIF.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1288 (Hueso, Chapter 787, Statutes of 2014) continues the
existence of TCIF in order to receive revenues from new funding
sources, and governs the expenditure of those funds.
DOUBLE REFERRAL:
This measure was heard in Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee on June 21, 2016, and passed out of committee with a
vote of 10-0.
SOURCE: Southern California Association of Governments
SUPPORT:
Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority
Automobile Club of Southern California
California Asphalt Pavement Association
California Association of Port Authorities
California Railroad Industry
California Trade Coalition
Imperial County Transportation Commission
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Mobility 21
Orange County Transportation Authority
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
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Port of Long Beach
Port of Los Angeles
Port of San Diego
Riverside County Transportation Commission
San Bernardino Associated Governments
San Diego Association of Governments
San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments
Solano Transportation Authority
Ventura County Transportation Commission
OPPOSITION:
California Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT: Supporters state that AB 2170 represents a
culmination of the state's decade long effort to address the
increased growth of
congestion along California's major freight corridors. They state
that the TCIF
process has fostered regional collaboration and successfully
leveraged funds. They
further add that directing federal FAST Act through TCIF would
allow the state to
move as efficiently as possible to develop projects that are ready
for construction.
ARGUMENTS IN
OPPOSITION: The Department of Finance (DOF) states
that this bill is premature. DOF states that it is working with
stakeholders to
identify the best uses for any new federal funding, and expresses
concern that this
bill could potentially circumvent that process and prevent
Caltrans from directing
new federal funds to important state transportation priorities.
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