Amended in Senate April 11, 2016

Amended in Senate March 15, 2016

Senate BillNo. 824


Introduced by Senator Beall

January 7, 2016


An act to amend Section 75230 of, and to add Section 75231 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 824, as amended, Beall. Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Existing law continuously appropriates specified portions of the annual proceeds in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to various programs, including 5% for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, for expenditures to provide transit operating or capital assistance consistent with specified criteria. Existing law provides for distribution of available funds under the program by a specified formula to recipient transit agencies by the Controller, upon approval of the recipient transit agency’s proposed expenditures by the Department of Transportation.

This bill would authorize a recipient transit agency that does not submit a project for funding under the program in a particular fiscal year to retain its funding share for expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year. The bill would allow a recipient transit agency to loan or transfer its funding share in any particular fiscal year to another recipient transit agency within the same region, to pool its funding share with those of other recipient transit agencies, or to apply to the department to reassign, to other eligible expenditures under the program, any savings of surplus moneys from an approved and completed expenditure under the program or from an approved expenditure that is no longer a priority, as specified. The bill would also allow a recipient transit agency to apply to the department for a letter of no prejudice forbegin delete a capital project or component of a capital projectend deletebegin insert any eligible expenditures under the programend insert for which the department has authorized a disbursement of funds, and, if granted, would allow the recipient transit agency to expend its own moneys and to be eligible for future reimbursement from the program, under specified conditions. The bill would also require a recipient transit agency to provide additional information to the department to the extent funding is sought for capital projects.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 75230 of the Public Resources Code is
2amended to read:

3

75230.  

(a) The Low Carbon Transit Operations Program is
4hereby created to provide operating and capital assistance for transit
5agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve mobility,
6with a priority on serving disadvantaged communities.

7(b) Funding for the program is continuously appropriated
8pursuant to Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code from the
9Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established pursuant to Section
1016428.8 of the Government Code.

11(c) Funding shall be allocated by the Controller on a formula
12basis consistent with the requirements of this part and with Section
1339719 of the Health and Safety Code, upon a determination by the
14Department of Transportation that the expenditures proposed by
15a recipient transit agency meet the requirements of this part and
16guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (f), and that the
17amount of funding requested is currently available.

18(d) A recipient transit agency shall demonstrate that each
19expenditure of program moneys allocated to the agency reduces
20greenhouse gas emissions.

21(e) Moneys for the program shall be expended to provide transit
22operating or capital assistance that meets any of the following:

P3    1(1) Expenditures supporting new or expanded bus or rail
2services, new or expanded water-borne transit, or expanded
3intermodal transit facilities, and may include equipment acquisition,
4fueling, and maintenance, and other costs to operate those services
5or facilities. A recipient transit agency may use program moneys
6for the costs to operate new or expanded service in the fiscal year
7in which the service is first implemented, and in any subsequent
8fiscal year if the agency can demonstrate that additional reductions
9in greenhouse gas emissions can be realized.

10(2) Expenditures that directly enhance or expand transit service
11to increase mode share.

12(3) Any other expenditure for which the recipient transit agency
13can demonstrate that the expenditure reduces greenhouse gas
14emissions.

15(f) For recipient transit agencies whose service areas include
16disadvantaged communities as identified pursuant to Section 39711
17of the Health and Safety Code, at least 50 percent of the total
18moneys received pursuant to this chapter shall be expended on
19projects or services that meet requirements of subdivision (d) and
20benefit the disadvantaged communities, consistent with the
21guidance developed by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to
22Section 39715 of the Health and Safety Code.

23(g) The Department of Transportation, in coordination with the
24State Air Resources Board, shall develop guidelines that describe
25the methodologies that recipient transit agencies shall use to
26demonstrate that proposed expenditures will meet the criteria in
27subdivisions (d) and (f) and establish the reporting requirements
28for documenting ongoing compliance with those criteria.

29(h) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
30Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to
31the development of guidelines for the program pursuant to this
32section.

33(i) A recipient transit agency shall submit the following
34information to the Department of Transportation before seeking a
35disbursement of funds pursuant to this part:

36(1) A list of proposed expense types for anticipated funding
37levels.

38(2) The documentation required by the guidelines developed
39pursuant to this section to demonstrate compliance with
40subdivisions (d) and (f).

P4    1(j) For capital projects, the recipient transit agency shall also
2do all of the following:

3(1) Specify the phases of work for which the agency is seeking
4an allocation of moneys from the program.

5(2) Identify the sources and timing of all moneys required to
6undertake and complete any phase of a project for which the
7recipient agency is seeking an allocation of moneys from the
8program.

9(3) Describe intended sources and timing of funding to complete
10any subsequent phases of the project, through construction or
11procurement.

12(k) Before authorizing the disbursement of funds, the
13Department of Transportation, in coordination with the State Air
14Resources Board, shall determine the eligibility, in whole or in
15part, of the proposed list of expense types, based on the
16documentation provided by the recipient transit agency to ensure
17ongoing compliance with the guidelines developed pursuant to
18this section.

19(l) The Department of Transportation shall notify the Controller
20of approved expenditures for each recipient transit agency, and
21the amount of the allocation for each agency determined to be
22available at that time of approval.

23(m) A recipient transit agency that does not submit a project for
24funding in a particular fiscal year shall retain its funding share,
25and may accumulate and utilize that funding share in a subsequent
26fiscal year for a larger expenditure. The recipient transit agency
27shall specify the number of fiscal years that it intends to retain its
28funding share and the expenditure for which the agency intends
29to use these moneys. There shall be no limit on the number of
30fiscal years that a recipient transit agency may retain its funding
31share.

32(n) A recipient transit agency may, in any particular fiscal year,
33loan or transfer its funding share to another recipient transit agency
34within the same region for any identified eligible expenditure under
35the program, in accordance with procedures incorporated by the
36Department of Transportation in the guidelines developed pursuant
37to thisbegin delete section.end deletebegin insert section, which procedures shall be consistent with
38the requirement in subdivision (f).end insert

39(o) A group of recipient transit agencies may, in any particular
40fiscal year, enter into an agreement to pool the respective funding
P5    1shares of each member of the group for any identified eligible
2expenditure under the program, in accordance with procedures
3incorporated by the Department of Transportation in the guidelines
4developed pursuant to thisbegin delete section.end deletebegin insert section, which procedures shall
5be consistent with the requirement in subdivision (f).end insert

6(p) A recipient transit agency may apply to the Department of
7Transportation to reassign any savings of surplus moneys allocated
8under this section to the agency for an expenditure that has been
9 completed to another eligible expenditure under the program. A
10recipient transit agency may also apply to the Department of
11Transportation to reassign to another eligible expenditure any
12moneys from the program previously allocated to the agency for
13an expenditure that the agency has determined is no longer a
14priority for the use of those moneys.

15(q) The recipient transit agency shall provide annual reports to
16the Department of Transportation, in the format and manner
17prescribed by the department, consistent with the internal
18administrative procedures for use of fund proceeds developed by
19the State Air Resources Board.

20(r) The Department of Transportation and recipient transit
21agencies shall comply with the guidelines developed by the State
22Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 39715 of the Health and
23Safety Code to ensure that the requirements of Section 39713 of
24the Health and Safety Code are met to maximize the benefits to
25disadvantaged communities as described in Section 39711 of the
26Health and Safety Code.

27(s) The audit of public transportation operator finances already
28required under the Transportation Development Act pursuant to
29Section 99245 of the Public Utilities Code shall be expanded to
30include verification of receipt and appropriate expenditure of
31moneys from the program. Each recipient transit agency receiving
32moneys from the program in a fiscal year for which an audit is
33conducted shall transmit a copy of the audit to the Department of
34Transportation, and the department shall make the audits available
35to the Legislature and the Controller for review on request.

36

SEC. 2.  

Section 75231 is added to the Public Resources Code,
37to read:

38

75231.  

(a) A recipient transit agency under the program created
39pursuant to Section 75230 may apply to the Department of
40Transportation for a letter of no prejudice forbegin delete a capital project or
P6    1for any component of a capital projectend delete
begin insert any eligible expenditures
2under the programend insert
for which the department has authorized a
3disbursement of funds. If approved by the department, the letter
4of no prejudice shall allow the recipient transit agency to expend
5its own moneys for thebegin delete project or any component of the projectend delete
6begin insert expendituresend insert and to be eligible for future reimbursement from
7moneys available for the program.

8(b) The amount expended under subdivision (a) shall be
9reimbursed by the state from moneys available for the program if
10all of the following conditions are met:

11(1) Thebegin delete project or project componentend deletebegin insert expendituresend insert for which
12the letter of no prejudice was requestedbegin delete hasend deletebegin insert haveend insert commenced, and
13begin delete theend deletebegin insert anyend insert regional or localbegin delete expendituresend deletebegin insert expenditures, if applicable,end insert
14 have been incurred.

15(2) The expenditures made by the recipient transit agency are
16eligiblebegin delete expendituresend delete under the program. If expenditures made by
17the recipient transit agency are determined to be ineligible, the
18state has no obligation to reimburse those expenditures.

19(3) The recipient transit agency complies with all legal
20requirements for thebegin delete project,end deletebegin insert expenditures,end insert including the
21requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division
2213 (commencing with Sectionbegin delete 21000)).end deletebegin insert 21000)), if applicable.end insert

23(4) There are moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
24designated for the program that are sufficient to make the
25reimbursement payment.

26(c) The recipient transit agency and the Department of
27Transportation shall enter into an agreement governing
28reimbursement as described in this section. The timing and final
29amount of reimbursement shall be dependent on the terms of the
30agreement and the availability of moneys in the Greenhouse Gas
31Reduction Fund for the program.

32(d) The Department of Transportation, in consultation with
33recipient public transit agencies, may develop guidelines to
34implement this section.



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