BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2196
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
AB 2196
(Low) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
SUMMARY: Makes several changes to the statutes which govern the
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Clarifies that the mayor of a city is authorized to serve on
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) Board of
Directors (Board of Directors) in the same manner as city
councilmembers.
2)Prohibits VTA from levying any tax unless approved by electors
voting on the measure in accordance with Article XIII C of the
California Constitution at a special election called for that
purpose by the Board of Directors.
3)Replaces references to the authority or district with VTA.
4)Replaces references to VTA's executive director with general
manager.
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5)Deletes obsolete and outdated provisions of law regarding
reorganization and labor disputes.
6)Makes other technical and conforming changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Act (Act) which governs the formation, governance, taxing
authority, and powers for VTA.
2) Establishes the composition of the twelve-member Board of
Directors, as follows:
a) Two representatives of Santa Clara County (County) and
one alternate. Requires those representatives to be
members of the County Board of Supervisors appointed by the
Board of Supervisors
b) Five representatives of the City of San Jose and one
alternate. Requires those representatives to be members of
the San Jose City Council and appointed by the City
Council.
c) Five representatives of cities in the County, other than
the City of San Jose. Requires those representatives to be
City Council members selected based on agreements, as
specified.
3)Prohibits the District from levying any tax unless a majority
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of electors voting on the measure vote to authorize the levy
of the tax at a special election called for that purpose by
the Board of Supervisors.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
1)Background and Bill Summary. VTA is an independent special
district which provides transit services and transportation
planning within Santa Clara County. VTA provides bus,
shuttle, light rail, and paratransit services and partners
with other governmental agencies on regional commuter and rail
ventures. Additionally, VTA provides countywide
transportation planning and congestion management. Since its
inception in 1995 as the Santa Clara County Transit District,
VTA has undergone reorganization (merging Santa Clara County
Transit District and the Santa Clara County Congestion
Management Agency) and has been tasked with additional duties
by the Legislature.
Now known as the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority,
VTA is seeking additional changes to their Act to update,
provide consistency, and delete obsolete provisions of law.
This bill is sponsored by VTA.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "A comprehensive
review and clean-up of the underlying state statutes governing
VTA has not been done since the reorganization occurred more
than 20 years ago. Therefore, AB 2196 has been introduced to
make a series of technical, non-substantive, clean-up changes
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to VTA's enabling statutes that are intended to update
provisions that are outdated, delete provisions that are
obsolete or inoperable, and modify provisions that are unclear
or inconsistent."
3)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue that this bill makes
technical non-substantive changes to VTA's enabling statutes
to be consistent with historical changes and provide more
clarity in the Act.
4)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
5)Double-Referral. This bill was heard in the Transportation
Committee on April 4, 2016, where it passed on consent with a
16-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) [SPONSOR]
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
AB 2196
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Misa Lennox / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958