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 --