BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó

                                                                    AB 2289


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          Date of Hearing:  April 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION


                                 Jim Frazier, Chair


          AB 2289  
          (Frazier) - As Introduced February 18, 2016


          SUBJECT:  Department of Transportation:  capital improvement  
          projects


          SUMMARY:  Clarifies that capital improvement projects relative  
          to operations on the state highway system are eligible for  
          inclusion in the State Highway Operation and Protection Program  
          (SHOPP).


          EXISTING LAW:  Directs the Department of Transportation  
          (Caltrans) to prepare the SHOPP to guide expenditure of  
          transportation funds for major capital improvements that are  
          necessary to protect the state highway system.  The SHOPP is  
          specifically limited to capital improvement projects related to  
          maintenance, safety, and rehabilitation of state highways and  
          bridges that do not add a new traffic lane to the system.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown, however, any cost should be minimal  
          since the bill codifies existing practice.


          COMMENTS:  For nearly 20 years, Caltrans has been statutorily  
          required to prepare the SHOPP to guide investments in state  
          highways and bridges owned by the state.  Projects to improve  
          traffic operations, such as ramp meters and changeable message  
          signs, have always been included in the SHOPP.  The SHOPP  
          specifically excludes projects that increase the capacity of the  
          state highway system.  However, operational improvements that  




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          increase capacity by virtue of improving operational  
          efficiencies in the existing system are, and always have been,  
          included in the SHOPP.   





          Oddly, despite past practices, statutes governing preparation of  
          the SHOPP do not explicitly include operational improvements in  
          the types of projects to be included in the SHOPP.  AB 2289  
          remedies this inconsistency by specifically providing that  
          operational improvements are to be included in the SHOPP. 





          AB 2289 is a technical cleanup bill.  It will not have any  
          significant impact in the way the SHOPP has always been  
          developed.  However, as the state is increasingly looking to  
          traffic operations improvements to provide greater efficiencies  
          in the operation of the state highway system, AB 2289 makes it  
          abundantly clear that these operational improvements are to be  
          included in the SHOPP.  





          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          Automobile Club of Southern California


          California Transportation Commission





                                                                    AB 2289


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          Opposition


          None on file




          Analysis Prepared by:Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093