BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2620|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2620
Author: Dababneh (D), et al.
Amended: 8/29/16 in Senate
Vote: 27
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Passenger rail projects: funding
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) to reallocate funds from the Proposition 116
(1990) program, if they are not encumbered or expended by 2020,
for other existing passenger rail projects with existing rail
service.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Enacts Proposition 116, the Clean Air and Transportation
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Improvement Act, which authorized $1.99 billion in general
obligation bonds for specific projects, purposes, and
geographic jurisdictions, primarily for passenger rail capital
projects.
2)Allows the Legislature to reallocate funds not expended or
encumbered by July 1, 2010, to any passenger rail project in
the state by a two-thirds vote in each house.
3)Creates the CTC, with specified powers and duties relative to
the programming of transportation capital improvement projects
and the allocation of transportation revenues.
This bill authorizes the CTC to reallocate funds from the
Proposition 116 program, if they are not encumbered or expended
by 2020, for other existing passenger rail projects with
existing rail service. This bill additionally prohibits
reallocated Proposition 116 funds being used for the high-speed
rail project, as specified.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author notes, "During a time when many are
looking for a funding source and solution to maintain and
repair California's transportation infrastructure, California
should better utilize existing funding sources. In the case
of Prop. 116, money has been allocated, yet some of these
funds have not been utilized, and if they remain unused for an
extended period of time, the state should reallocate the funds
to projects which will move forward. While there has been
little activity related to the use of these funds, the
additional administrative cost to the state can be avoided if
the program were to sunset and the funds were redirected to
existing projects."
2)A brief history of Proposition 116. Proposition 116, which
was approved by voters in 1990, authorized $1.99 billion in
general obligation bonds for a variety of intercity passenger
rail, commuter rail, transit, and other projects.
Specifically, $1.852 billion was authorized for the
preservation, acquisition, construction, or improvement of
rail rights-of-way, rail terminals and stations, rolling stock
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acquisition, grade separations, rail maintenance facilities,
and other capital expenditures for rail purposes.
Additionally, $73 million was authorized for 28 non-urban
counties for various rail projects, the purchase of
paratransit vehicles, and other capital facilities for public
transportation. Finally, for non-rail projects, $20 million
was available for a competitive bicycle program for capital
outlay for bicycle improvement projects and $30 million for a
water-borne ferry program. Proposition 116 is administered by
the California Department of Transportation and CTC and is
programmed and allocated in a two-step process similar to the
process used for the State Transportation Improvement Program.
First, CTC programs the funds for projects eligible under the
original authorization, which it does by approving project
applications that define a project's scope, schedule, and
funding. Then CTC allocates the funds when the project is
ready for funding.
3)CTC's report to the Legislature. As part of its 2015 Annual
Report to the California Legislature, the CTC urged the
Legislature to enact legislation to sunset the Proposition 116
program and reallocate any funds remaining at that time to
other passenger rail projects. The CTC reports the most
recent action for allocating funds from the program occurred
in 2014-15, and as of June 30, 2015, of the amounts programmed
only $12.7 million remains unallocated.
4)Status of Proposition 116 funds. CTC is working with the
remaining local agencies on their programmed projects to try
to finalize any Proposition 116 allocations. AB 2620 allows
CTC to continue this process until 2020 before any
reallocation would occur. CTC would then be able to
reallocate any unallocated funds to other passenger rail
projects in the state as outlined in the proposition. As the
state continues to grapple with funding shortfalls in all
modes of transportation, utilizing existing, unused
Proposition 116 revenues for other rail projects seems
appropriate.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.:
YesLocal: No
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, reallocation
of up to $12.8 million in general obligation bond funds,
potentially resulting in additional General Fund costs for debt
service payments in the mid-hundreds of thousands annually for
30 years, to the extent these bonds remain unsold absent this
bill.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/30/16)
California Transportation Commission
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/30/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, 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, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, 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
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by:Manny Leon / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/30/16 19:59:46
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