BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2170|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2170
Author: Frazier (D), et al.
Amended: 8/17/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/21/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wieckowski
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/29/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 5/31/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Trade Corridors Improvement Fund: federal funds
SOURCE: Southern California Association of Governments
DIGEST: This bill establishes procedures for the allocation of
freight funding under the federal Fixing America's Surface
Transportation (FAST) Act through the Trade Corridors
Improvement Fund (TCIF) program.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law, the FAST Act, was signed into
law in December 2015. The FAST Act establishes a new Nationally
Significant Freight and Highway Projects Program - the first
time a federal transportation authorization has included a
dedicated source of funding for freight projects. This program
will provide competitive grants, known as FASTLANE grants, or
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credit assistance 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. The FAST Act requires a state receiving FASTLANE
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.
Existing state law:
1)Authorizes, pursuant to Proposition 1B, the Highway Safety,
Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of
2006, which was approved by California voters in November
2006, 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 program for
infrastructure improvements along federally designated "Trade
Corridors of National Significance" or other high-volume
freight corridors.
2)Requires the California Transportation Commission (CTC), in
determining project eligibility under the TCIF, to consult
various plans, including the California State Transportation
Agency's (CalSTA) state freight plan (see Background below),
the state Air Resources Board's (ARB) Sustainable Freight
Strategy, and the statewide port master plan, 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 least a 50% match from local, federal, or private
sources. TCIF funds have been fully programmed, but SB 1228
(Hueso, 2014) (see "Related/Prior Legislation" below)
authorized continuation of the program so it could receive
funds in the future.
3)Establishes the State Highway Operation and Protection Program
(SHOPP), which guides the expenditure of funds for capital
improvements necessary to manage, preserve, and protect the
state highway system. The SHOPP receives state and federal
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funding from taxes and fees placed on vehicle fuels. In order
to anticipate and schedule future needs, Caltrans develops a
SHOPP plan that identifies goal-based needs over a 10-year
period, and updates the plan every two years. The SHOPP is
primarily limited to capital improvement projects related to
maintenance, safety, and rehabilitation of state highways and
bridges.
4)Establishes the State Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP), a multi-year capital improvement program of
transportation projects on and off the State Highway System,
funded from the State Highway Account. The STIP is composed
of two categories: 75% of STIP funds go toward projects in the
Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) and 25% go
to the Interregional Transportation Improvement Program
(ITIP). Each STIP covers a five-year period and adds two new
years of programming capacity. Additionally, each new STIP
includes projects carried forward from the previous STIP, plus
new projects from among those proposed by regional
transportation planning agencies in their RTIPs and by
Caltrans in its ITIP.
This bill:
1)Requires the CTC to allocate federal freight funds under the
FAST Act through the TCIF program.
2)Requires the CTC, in determining projects eligible for funding
through TCIF, to consult the California Freight Mobility Plan
and the Sustainable Freight Action Plan, as well as regional
trade infrastructure and goods movement plans, regional
transportation plans, and port master plans.
3)Requires that eligible projects must 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 bill.
4)Adds rail landside access improvements (e.g., rail access to
ports), landside freight access improvements to airports, and
rail terminals to the list of projects eligible for funding,
as well as capital and operational improvements to truck
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corridors and borders.
5)Requires the CTC, in selecting projects for funding, to
evaluate the total potential costs and total potential
economic and non-economic benefits of the projects to the
state's economy, environment, and public health. Requires the
CTC to consult with ARB to develop parameters for project
evaluation.
6)Adds reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the criteria for
project funding allocation.
7)Requires the CTC to adopt any amendments to the 2007 TCIF
guidelines by April 1, 2017.
8)Requires the CTC, in adopting amended guidelines and in
developing and adopting the program of projects, to accept
nominations for projects from regional and local
transportation agencies and Caltrans; recognize the key role
of the state in project identification and support integrating
statewide goods movement priorities into the corridor
approach; and make a finding that adoption and delivery of the
program of projects is in the public interest.
Background
California Freight Mobility Plan (CFMP)
The federal transportation funding authorization act of 2012,
the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 20th Century Act (MAP-21),
required the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a
national freight strategic plan and encouraged states to develop
their own freight plans. AB 14 (Lowenthal, 2013) (see
"Related/Prior Legislation" below) required CalSTA to develop a
state freight plan and to establish a freight advisory committee
made up of federal, state, local, and regional representatives
as well as private sector and other interest groups, to guide
the development of the plan. The CFMP was adopted in December
2015.
Sustainable Freight Action Plan
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Through an executive order in July 2015, Governor Brown directed
CalSTA, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the
Natural Resources Agency, ARB, the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), the Energy Commission, and the
Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to
develop an integrated action plan that establishes targets to
improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emission
technologies, and increase the competitiveness of California's
freight system. This plan is to be informed by existing state
strategies such as the CFMP. The Executive Order also directed
departments to initiate work on specified freight pilot projects
within the state's primary freight corridors. The plan was
released in July 2016.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author states that the highly successful TCIF
program encouraged transportation stakeholders to collectively
identify important trade corridor improvement projects and
required funding recipients to provide at least 50% in
matching funds, resulting in the construction of scores of
significant trade corridor projects across California. The
CTC's management of TCIF resulted in on-time, on-budget
transportation improvements throughout the state, and $2
billion in TCIF funds resulted in the construction of $7.2
billion of transportation improvements along California's
trade corridors. Using this proven methodology for the
approximately $116 million per year that California is
expected to receive in FAST Act freight funds will help the
state develop critically needed freight projects and increase
leveraging of this funding so that more projects can be
completed.
2)Which freight plan? The state currently has a number of
freight plans, including the CFMP, ARB's Sustainable Freight
Strategy, and the new Sustainable Freight Action Plan. The
author states that the FAST Act requires federal freight funds
to be allocated to projects in the CFMP, which was created for
that specific purpose pursuant to MAP-21. The CFMP identifies
a list of projects that was developed by Caltrans with input
from the freight advisory committee. These projects came from
regional planning documents and are therefore fully vetted and
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meet all environmental requirements. The author states 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.
3)Opposition concerns. 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 SHOPP and STIP
priorities. The author notes that the Administration has
indicated, through budget proposals, its intent to give 50% of
the federal funds to the state (Caltrans) and 50% to the
regions. The author states that this distribution would not
result in significant leveraging of the funds, achieve
geographic balance, or ensure that monies are put toward
priority freight projects, as would occur through the TCIF.
4)Recent amendments. This bill was amended in the Senate
Appropriations Committee to delete an existing requirement for
the CTC to consult the now-outdated Goods Movement Action
Plan, which was developed for distribution of Proposition 1B
funds, in determining project eligibility; require eligible
projects to further the state's economic, environmental, and
public health objectives and goals for freight policy; require
the CTC, in selecting projects for funding, to evaluate the
total potential costs and total potential economic and
non-economic benefits of the projects to the state's economy,
environment, and public health, and to consult with ARB in
developing the parameters for project evaluation; add
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the criteria for
project funding allocation; delete an explicit requirement for
CTC to allocate federal funding through TCIF guidelines as
adopted in 2007 and instead authorize CTC to adopt amendments
to the guidelines; require the CTC to adopt any amendments to
the 2007 TCIF guidelines by April 1, 2017; and add several
requirements for the CTC in adopting amended guidelines and in
developing and adopting the program of projects.
Related/Prior Legislation
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SB 1228 (Hueso, Chapter 787, Statutes of 2014) continued the
existence of TCIF in order to receive revenues from new funding
sources, and governed the expenditure of those funds.
AB 14 (Lowenthal, Chapter 223, Statutes of 2013) required CalSTA
to develop a state freight plan and to establish a freight
advisory committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Caltrans estimates it would incur annual costs in the range of
$300,000 to $600,000 annually for 2-4 PY of staff to
administer federal funds and support the CTC in selecting
projects eligible for funding. (federal funds)
Ongoing CTC costs of approximately $55,000 (1/2 PY) to update
TCIF guidelines and continue to administer the program.
(federal funds)
Staff notes that California is expected to receive
approximately $116 million annually over five years for
freight projects through the FAST Act. The Act requires
states receiving these funds to develop a freight plan, and
requires a project to be included in the freight plan in order
to receive an allocation of federal funds. Caltrans notes
that the bill directs all federal funding to regional
priorities and does not provide for statewide priorities. In
addition, it relies on TCIF guidelines that are nearly 10
years old, and include outdated information and timelines.
CTC indicates it would update the guidelines. Caltrans
estimates that it would need 2-4 PY of staff to administer the
program, at an annual cost of $300,000 to $600,000. Staff
notes that some of these costs would likely be incurred to
administer federal freight funding, regardless of the
requirements in the bill.
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SUPPORT: (Verified8/22/16)
Southern California Association of Governments (source)
Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority
Alameda County Transportation Commission
Automobile Club of Southern California
California Asphalt Pavement Association
California Association of Port Authorities
California Trade Coalition
Imperial County Transportation Commission
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Mobility 21
Orange County Transportation Authority
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
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
Ventura County Transportation Commission
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/17/16)
Department of Finance
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 5/31/16
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, Beth
Gaines, 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,
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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
Prepared by:Erin Riches / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/22/16 10:41:53
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