BILL NUMBER: AB 2332 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to add Section 14528.2 to the Government Code, relating to
transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2332, as introduced, Eduardo Garcia. Transportation.
Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare
a State Highway Operation and Protection Program every other year for
the expenditure of transportation capital improvement funds for
projects that are necessary to preserve and protect the state highway
system, excluding projects that add new traffic lanes. Existing law
provides for the programming of transportation capital improvement
funds for other objectives through the State Transportation
Improvement Program administered by the California Transportation
Commission, which includes projects recommended by regional
transportation planning agencies through adoption of a regional
transportation improvement program and projects recommended by the
department through adoption of an interregional transportation
improvement program, as specified.
This bill, by January 1, 2018, would require the California
Transportation Commission to establish a process whereby the
department and local agencies receiving funding for highway capital
improvements from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program
or the State Transportation Improvement Program prioritize projects
that provide meaningful benefits to the mobility and safety needs of
disadvantaged community residents, as specified. The bill would
require the commission to adopt guidelines to implement these
provisions and would authorize the commission to withhold future
funding allocations to an applicant from these programs if it
determines that previous use of funding by the applicant has not
adequately furthered the objectives of these provisions. The bill
would require the commission to report biannually to the Legislature
in this regard.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14528.2 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
14528.2. (a) On or before January 1, 2018, the commission shall
establish a process whereby the department and local agencies
receiving funding for highway capital improvements from the State
Highway Operation and Protection Program or the State Transportation
Improvement Program prioritize projects that provide meaningful
benefits to the mobility and safety needs of disadvantaged community
residents as identified by the community through strong public
participation. Projects that provide meaningful benefits in this
regard shall include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Construction of new walkways, bikeways, and crossing
facilities, or improvements to existing bikeways, walkways, and
crossing facilities, that improve mobility, access, and safety for
nonmotorized users in disadvantaged communities, and that connect
residents to community-identified amenities such as transit stops,
employment centers, schools, medical facilities, grocery stores, and
other community services.
(2) Transit capital improvements that address community-identified
mobility and safety needs, including, but not limited to, shelters,
benches, and lighting.
(3) Open space preservation adjoining parallel active
transportation routes, providing for recreation and wildlife
connectivity, or buffers to minimize impacts of air pollution.
(4) Pedestrian or bicycle traffic control devices to improve the
safety of nonmotorized users.
(b) In order to implement subdivision (a), the commission shall do
all of the following:
(1) Establish a funding floor where no less than 35 percent of
rehabilitation and reconstruction projects are located in urban and
rural disadvantaged communities and provide meaningful benefits to
community residents in those disadvantaged communities.
(2) Include robust public stakeholder engagement on the
development of guidelines relating to prioritization of projects in
disadvantaged communities. The engagement shall include at least two
public hearings in each region around the state at locations that are
accessible by public transit and that are held at times that are
convenient for disadvantaged community residents, with the provision
of translation services to ensure meaningful participation by
non-English-speaking residents. "Region," for the purpose of this
paragraph, means southern California, the Inland Empire, northern
California, and the San Joaquin Valley.
(3) Adopt guidelines and performance criteria for the department
and local agencies relative to social, economic, and regional equity
and public health impacts of highway projects funded from the State
Highway Operation and Protection Program or the State Transportation
Improvement Program.
(4) Require the lead agency on each project to provide a
description of how a proposed project located in a disadvantaged
community provides meaningful benefits to the community. The location
of a project in a disadvantaged community by itself does not mean
that the project provides meaningful benefits to that community in
the absence of a well-grounded description. In order for a benefit to
be meaningful, it shall be direct and assured.
(5) Prioritize projects that recruit, hire, and train low-income,
formerly incarcerated, or disconnected youth and adults and other
individuals with barriers to employment pursuant to Section 14005 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code, including projects that utilize
community workforce agreements, project labor agreements with
targeted hire commitments, and partnerships with community-based
workforce training entities preparing low-income youth and adults for
employment.
(6) Require the lead agency on each project to report to the
commission with documentation on each of the following upon
completion of the project:
(A) A description of and the location of the project, including a
map that delineates the location of targeted persons that will
benefit from the project in relationship to the project site.
(B) The amount of funds expended on the project.
(C) The completion date of the project.
(D) The project's estimated useful life.
(E) A description of mobility benefits provided as a result of the
project to transit, bicycling, and pedestrians.
(F) A description of the community engagement process and its
accessibility to disadvantaged community residents, and the
contribution of that process to identification of benefits to those
residents from the project and resident engagement in implementation
of project.
(G) An analysis of how mobility benefits of the project are
accessible to disadvantaged community residents within the project
area.
(H) A description and, if feasible, a quantification of the public
health and safety, economic, and environmental cobenefits resulting
from the project. To the extent the performance criteria for each
cobenefit category have not been met, documentation shall be provided
that identifies any statutory or regulatory barriers, or
alternatively, a demonstrated absence of need.
(I) Documentation of the number of disadvantaged project area
residents or individuals with employment barriers who were employed
by the project or were provided workforce training opportunities
through the project, including hours worked, hourly wage, types of
benefits, occupation or trainee classification, and documentation of
any partnerships with community based workforce training entities
preparing low-income youth and adults for employment.
(J) Levels of particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and sulphur
oxides in the project area prior to completion of the project, and
projected levels upon completion of the project.
(K) An analysis of the air pollution burden on low-income and
disadvantaged community residents within the project area.
(7) Evaluate the documentation provided pursuant to paragraph (6)
to determine the effectiveness of each completed project relative to
all of the following:
(A) Improvement of access and mobility for disadvantaged community
residents and connection to community-identified amenities.
(B) Improvement of public health and air quality in the project
area, and particularly benefits and burdens on disadvantaged
community residents.
(C) Improvement of access to workforce development opportunities
and living wage jobs and careers for individuals with barriers to
employment and disadvantaged community residents.
(c) The commission may withhold future funding allocations to an
applicant from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program and
the State Transportation Improvement Program if it determines that
previous use of funding by the applicant has not adequately furthered
the objectives of subdivision (a).
(d) The commission shall provide a biannual report to the
Legislature on the implementation of this section. The report shall
be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e) As used in this section, "disadvantaged community" means a
community with any of the following characteristics:
(1) An area with a median household income less than 80 percent of
the statewide median household income based on the most current
census tract-level data from the American Community Survey.
(2) An area identified as among the most disadvantaged 25 percent
of areas in the state according to the California Environmental
Protection Agency, based on the latest version of the California
Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen)
scores.
(3) An area where at least 75 percent of public school students
are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals under the
National School Lunch Program. To the extent the characteristics of
this paragraph are used to determine that an area is disadvantaged,
the applicant shall either demonstrate how the proposed project
benefits those public school students in the project area or, if the
proposed project does not provide meaningful benefits to those public
school students, demonstrate how the characteristics are applicable
in determining that the larger community is disadvantaged.