BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 64 (Liu) - California Transportation Plan ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: May 6, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 10 - 1 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 18, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 64 would require the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to review each release of the five-year California Transportation Plan (CTP) and make recommendations for transportation system improvements, as specified. Fiscal Impact: CTC workload costs in the range of $130,000 every five years to review the CTP and make recommendations, beginning in 2016. (State Highway Account) Background: Existing law requires the Department of Transportation SB 64 (Liu) Page 1 of ? (Caltrans) to update the CTP by December 31, 2015, and every five years thereafter, that describes the integrated multimodal transportation system necessary to meet AB 32 greenhouse gas emission reductions. The plan must include a policy element that describes state policies and system performance objectives, a strategies element that synthesizes the regional transportation plans' concepts and strategies, and a recommendations element that includes economic forecasts and recommendations to achieve the plan's objectives. Existing law requires Caltrans to coordinate with CTC, the Strategic Growth Council, and the Air Resources Board, among others, when drafting the CTP. Proposed Law: SB 64 would require CTC to review recommendations in the update to the CTP prepared by Caltrans in 2015, and every five years thereafter, and prepare specific action-oriented and pragmatic recommendations for transportation system improvements. The bill also requires CTC to submit a report of the recommendations to the Legislature and Governor by December 31, 2016 and every five years thereafter. Related Legislation: SB 486 (DeSaulnier), Chap 917/2014, streamlined the state transportation planning process, and authorizes CTC to prescribe study areas for analysis and evaluation by Caltrans, and to establish guidelines for preparing CTP updates, in cooperation with Caltrans. Staff Comments: Since the CTP is prepared or updated every five years, SB 64 would require CTC to incur additional expenditures on a five year cycle for workload to review the plan and formulate recommendations. A report of the recommendations would be submitted as part of the CTC's annual report to the Legislature and Governor. In addition, the CTC expects to use its recommendations to the adopted plans to formulate updated guidance for subsequent CTPs to ensure that priority areas and recommended actions are addressed in future planning cycles. The CTC was provided with a two-year limited term Supervising Transportation Planner following the passage of SB 486. This SB 64 (Liu) Page 2 of ? staff may be sufficient to review and provide recommendations to the 2015 CTP, but moving beyond the 2016 timeframe, it is unlikely that CTC would be able to absorb the workload related to this bill. Additional resources may be required to provide the direction and guidance in the development of future CTPs to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements of both SB 64 and SB 486. -- END --