BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 231 Hearing Date: 4/28/2015
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|Author: |Gaines |
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|Version: |4/20/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Erin Riches |
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SUBJECT: Transportation funding: ferries
DIGEST: This bill clarifies that ferries are eligible for
funding under the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities
Program and the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program and
revises the State Transit Assistance formula to increase funding
to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
ANALYSIS:
The 2014-15 budget agreement established the Affordable Housing
and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC) under the Strategic
Growth Council. This program provides grants to local agencies
for projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through land
use, housing, transportation, and agricultural land
preservation. Eligible projects include infill housing
development, transit projects to support ridership, and active
transportation projects. The 2014-15 budget agreement provides
for a continuous appropriation of 20% of cap-and-trade funds to
AHSC beginning in 2015-16.
The 2014-15 budget agreement also established the Low Carbon
Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) under the California State
Transportation Agency. This program provides operating and
capital assistance to transit agencies to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and improve mobility. Eligible projects include
expanded, new, or enhanced transit services; conversion or
retrofit of transit vehicles and equipment to zero-emission;
expanded intermodal transit facilities; and infrastructure to
SB 231 (Gaines) Page 2 of ?
support zero-emission or plug-in hybrid vehicles. The 2014-15
budget agreement provides for a continuous appropriation of 5%
of cap-and-trade funds to LCTOP beginning in 2015-16.
The State Transit Assistance program (STA) provides funding for
local transit operations and capital improvements. This program
is funded by diesel sales tax revenues, which are deposited into
the Public Transportation Account and allocated to local
recipients (primarily transit operators) through a statutory
formula based on population and operating revenues.
This bill:
1)Makes commuter ferries eligible for funding under AHSC and
LCTOP.
2)Establishes a population in statute for the Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency (TRPA), on which the STA funding formula will
be based beginning in 2015-16. Requires the Controller to
make any additional allocations to TRPA, as required by the
formula, solely from the state portion of revenues in the
Public Transportation Account.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author states that although the Tahoe Basin has
a resident population of approximately 55,000, the area's
transportation system must accommodate up to 350,000 visitors
on a "peak" day due to its popularity as a recreation
destination and its proximity to major urban areas. Although
Tahoe is classified as a rural area, it needs an urban level
of transportation infrastructure to adequately serve its
visitors and residents. This bill establishes a TRPA
population of 145,000, which the Tahoe Transportation
District, the sponsor of this bill, determined based on
annualized visitor travel to the region. The higher
population level will help TRPA obtain needed additional
transit funding. This bill also expressly makes ferry transit
systems throughout the state eligible for AHSC and LCTOP,
which could help fund the Tahoe Transportation District's
north-south ferry project.
2)Expansion of AHSC and LCTOP? While ferries are not
specifically listed in the LCTOP authorizing statute, they are
mentioned multiple times in the program guidelines. The AHSC
SB 231 (Gaines) Page 3 of ?
guidelines do not reference ferries and focus primarily on
transit stations; ferry eligibility would likely be limited to
ferry terminals. In both cases, this bill does not
appropriate any funds to ferries, but makes ferry projects
eligible for these programs. Commuter ferries are generally
considered transit, and this bill uses the statutory term
"water-borne transit" to ensure that tourist ferries continue
to be excluded from funding eligibility.
3)Winners and losers? The STA provision of this bill
specifically requires that any additional revenues allocated
to TRPA based on the revised population shall come from the
state portion of the Public Transportation Account rather than
the local portion. The author and sponsor state that this
requirement is intended to ensure that no local transit
operators are negatively impacted by an increase in funds to
TRPA. The state portion of Public Transportation Account
funds goes primarily to state planning efforts and the
Intercity Rail Program. Note, however, that by revising the
STA formula to increase funding to TRPA, this bill effectively
also increases LCTOP funding to TRPA, since LCTOP funding is
based on the STA formula.
4)Opposition. The California Association for Coordinated
Transportation, writing in opposition to this bill, states
that "There are many operators that experience significant
population increases on a daily or weekly basis due to job
centers or tourism demands. SB 231 would select one agency to
receive a bump in transit operating funds without taking into
consideration the needs of other operators. This would set a
dangerous precedent, which would force all transit operators
to seek similar dispensation." The committee may wish to
consider the policy merits of making an exception for one
agency in a statewide formula.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 22, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
SB 231 (Gaines) Page 4 of ?
Tahoe Transportation District (sponsor)
California Tahoe Alliance
City of South Lake Tahoe
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
North Lake Tahoe Resort Association
San Francisco Water Emergency Transportation Authority
Tahoe City Public Utility District
Tahoe Resource Conservation District
OPPOSITION:
California Association for Coordinated Transportation
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