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
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Author:   |Gaines                                                |
          |----------+------------------------------------------------------|
          |Version:  |4/20/2015                                             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Consultant|Erin Riches                                           |
          |:         |                                                      |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          

          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 



                                      -- END --