BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING Senator Jim Beall, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 461 Hearing Date: 4/21/2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Hernandez | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |4/6/2015 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Eric Thronson | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: State Highway Route 164: relinquishment DIGEST: This bill authorizes the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to relinquish to Los Angeles County a segment of State Route (SR) 164 south of Temple City. ANALYSIS: Existing law identifies the California state highway system through a description of segments of the state's regional and interregional roads that are owned and operated by the Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Technically, a state highway is any roadway that Caltrans is legislatively authorized to acquire, lay out, construct, improve, or maintain. Existing law specifies that it is the intent of the Legislature for the routes of the state highway system to connect the communities and regions of the state and that they serve the state's economy by connecting centers of commerce, industry, agriculture, mineral wealth, and recreation. Further, existing law provides a two-step process for the state to expand or delete a section of the state highway system that begins with the Legislature amending existing law and then CTC making findings that it is in the best interest of the state to include or delete a specified portion of roadway from the system. This is known as the state highway relinquishment process. This bill: SB 461 (Hernandez) Page 2 of ? 1.Authorizes CTC to relinquish to Los Angeles County the portion of SR 164 from Gallatin Road near Pico Rivera to the southern city limits of South El Monte, upon terms and conditions approved by CTC. 2.Provides that the relinquishment will become effective immediately following the county recordation of the relinquishment resolution. 3.Specifies that following the effective date of relinquishment, the relinquished segment will no longer be a state highway and may not be considered for future adoption as a state highway. 4.Requires Los Angeles County to maintain signage directing motorists to the continuation of SR 164. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose. According to the author, the goal of this bill is to relinquish a 2.6-mile segment of SR 164, also known as Rosemead Boulevard, to the County of Los Angeles for the purpose of realizing a community-driven vision for a Complete Streets corridor project. This corridor project fully accommodates safe and convenient travel for all users of the road, especially vulnerable roadway users such as people with disabilities, seniors, youth, pedestrians and cyclists. This project also aims to compliment the surrounding Whittier Narrows Recreational Area - the largest park in the region - by enhancing recreation opportunities and access to the park. 2.Relinquishments. Each session, the Legislature passes and the governor signs numerous bills authorizing CTC to relinquish segments of the state highway system to local jurisdictions. Relinquishment transactions are generally preceded by a negotiation of terms and conditions between the local jurisdiction and Caltrans. Once an agreement has been established, CTC typically approves the relinquishment and verifies its approval via a resolution. That is the case with this bill; Caltrans has negotiated an agreement with Los Angeles County for this segment of SR 164, and this bill authorizes CTC to relinquish the road to the county. Of interest, the administration proposed budget trailer bill language this year intending to streamline the state's SB 461 (Hernandez) Page 3 of ? relinquishment process. According to the governor's budget summary, a number of routes are still part of the state highway system that no longer serve an interregional purpose, and instead serve primarily regional or local purposes. The proposed trailer bill language broadens and streamlines the state process for relinquishing these portions of the statewide system that primarily serve regional or local purposes. This could be a win-win proposal, with both locals and the state benefiting. On one hand, shifting ownership of these segments, many of which run through a downtown area, will increase local flexibility to add stoplights and make better use of valuable real estate to support transit-oriented development. Meanwhile, additional relinquishments reduce the state's long-term costs for ongoing maintenance and repair of the state system. There is merit in a proposal streamlining the relinquishment process; however, it seems that such a proposal should be considered through the policy bill process and not as an add-on to the state's annual budget. 3.SR 164 history. The Legislature originally designated SR 164 a state highway in 1963 as a roughly 10-mile segment of road from Route 605 near Pico Rivera to Route 210 near Pasadena. At some point this state highway became known as Rosemead Boulevard, and the Legislature has relinquished portions of it to local jurisdictions through a number of bills. If this bill were to become law and the CTC relinquished the segment of SR 164 described in this bill, the remaining segments of the highway would amount to a 0.1-mile stub between SR 210 and Foothill Boulevard and a roughly two-mile segment between Temple City and South El Monte. This seems to be an excellent example of the need for a streamlined relinquishment system, as it is unclear why these small highway segments are of state importance and therefore the state's responsibility to operate and maintain. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on SB 461 (Hernandez) Page 4 of ? Wednesday, April 15, 2015.) SUPPORT: None received. OPPOSITION: None received. -- END --