Amended in Senate April 26, 2016

Amended in Senate March 17, 2016

Senate Bill No. 951

Introduced by Senator McGuire

February 4, 2016

An act begin delete to amend Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code, and end delete to add and repeal Part 4 (commencing with Section 75240) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code, relating to begin delete transportation, and making an appropriation therefor. end delete begin insert transportation. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 951, as amended, McGuire. Transportation: Golden State Patriot Passes Program.

begin delete

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 10% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and 5% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.

end delete begin insert

Existing law creates various state transportation agencies, including the Department of Transportation, with specified powers and duties, including, but not limited to, coordinating and assisting, upon request of, the various public and private transportation entities to strengthen their development and operation of balanced integrated mass transportation, highway, aviation, maritime, railroad, and other transportation facilities and services in support of statewide and regional goals.

end insert

This bill would begin delete appropriate $3,000,000 annually until the 2020-21 fiscal year from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the Golden State Patriot Passes Program, which the bill would create, end delete begin insert create the Golden State Patriot Passes Program end insert to be administered by the Department of Transportation to provide veterans with free access to transit services. The bill would require the begin delete department, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, end delete begin insert department end insert to develop guidelines that describe the methodologies that a participating transit operator would use to demonstrate that proposed expenditures would begin delete reduce greenhouse gas emissions, end delete increase veteran begin delete mobility, end delete begin insert mobility end insert and fulfill specified requirements. The bill would require the department to select 3 transit operators to participate, and would require a transit operator selected to participate in the program to match any state moneys that it receives through the program with local moneys. The bill would require the participating transit operators and the department to report on the program. The bill would repeal the program on January 1, 2022.

Vote: majority. Appropriation:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Golden State Patriot Passes Program.

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

39719.  

(a) The Legislature shall appropriate the annual
proceeds of the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in this state in accordance with the requirements of
Section 39712.

(b) To carry out a portion of the requirements of subdivision
(a), annual proceeds are continuously appropriated for the
following:

(1) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 35 percent of annual
proceeds are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal
years, for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities
programs as following:

(A) Ten percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2
(commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code.

(B) Five percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Low Carbon Transit Operations
Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of
Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Funds shall be allocated
by the Controller, according to requirements of the program, and
pursuant to the distribution formula in subdivision (b) or (c) of
Section 99312 of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of, the Public
Utilities Code.

(C) Twenty percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Strategic Growth Council for the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created
by Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the
Public Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this
subparagraph, no less than 10 percent of the annual proceeds, shall
be expended for affordable housing, consistent with the provisions
of that program.

(2) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual
proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the
High-Speed Rail Authority for the following components of the
initial operating segment and Phase I Blended System as described
in the 2012 business plan adopted pursuant to Section 185033 of
the Public Utilities Code:

(A) Acquisition and construction costs of the project.

(B) Environmental review and design costs of the project.

(C) Other capital costs of the project.

(D) Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the
project.

(c) In determining the amount of annual proceeds of the fund
for purposes of the calculation in subdivision (b), the funds subject
to Section 39719.1 shall not be included.

(d) There is hereby appropriated three million dollars
($3,000,000) annually for the 2017-18 to 2020-21, inclusive, fiscal
years from the proceeds of the fund to the Golden State Patriot
Passes Program created pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with
Section 75240) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Part 4 (commencing with Section 75240) is added to
Division 44 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

 

PART 4.  Golden State Patriot Passes Program

 

75240.  

(a) The Golden State Patriot Passes Program is hereby
created as a pilot program to provide veterans with free access to
transit services and begin delete thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions and end delete
increase veteran mobility.

(b) The Department of Transportation shall administer the
program.

(c) Moneys appropriated by the Legislature for this part shall
be allocated by the Controller, upon a determination by the
Department of Transportation that the expenditures proposed by
a participating transit operator meet the requirements of this part
and guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (d).

(d) (1) The Department of begin delete Transportation, in coordination with
the State Air Resources Board, end delete begin insert Transportation end insert shall develop
guidelines that describe the methodologies that a participating
transit operator shall use to demonstrate that proposed expenditures
would begin delete reduce greenhouse gas emissions, end delete increase veteran begin delete mobility, end delete
begin insert mobility end insert and fulfill the requirements specified in subdivisions (e)
and (f).

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

(e) (1) By January 1, 2018, the Department of Transportation
shall select three transit operator applicants to receive moneys
through the pilot program.

(2) If there are sufficient applicants, all of the following
requirements shall apply to the selection of transit operator
applicants:

(A) The Department of Transportation shall not select a transit
operator applicant that, at that time, provides veterans with free
access to transit services in its service area.

(B) The Department of Transportation shall select applicants
that serve entirely different counties.

(C) The Department of Transportation shall select one applicant
that primarily serves an urban area, one applicant that primarily
serves a suburban area, and one applicant that primarily serves a
rural area. For purposes of this part, the department shall determine
which areas are urban, suburban, and rural, based on United States
Census data.

(3) Only a public agency, including, but not limited to, a transit
operator within a city or county or city and county, shall be eligible
to participate in any manner in the program.

(f) (1) A transit operator selected to participate in the program
shall match any state moneys that it receives through the program
with local moneys made available to it for purposes consistent
with the program.

(2) The participating transit operator primarily serving an urban
area shall not receive more than two million dollars ($2,000,000)
in state moneys per fiscal year under the program.

(3) The participating transit operator primarily serving a
suburban area shall not receive more than nine hundred thousand
dollars ($900,000) in state moneys per fiscal year under the
program.

(4) The participating transit operator primarily serving a rural
area shall not receive more than one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) in state moneys per fiscal year under the program.

(g) In order to receive free access to the transit services offered
pursuant to this part, a veteran shall provide a veterans
identification card issued by a veterans service organization, or a
driver’s license or identification card, identifying the holder as a
veteran and issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant
to paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 12811 of the Vehicle
Code.

begin delete

(h) In selecting applicants, the Department of Transportation
shall ensure that benefits are provided by the pilot program to
disadvantaged communities consistent with the requirements of
Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code.

end delete

75245.  

(a) Each participating transit operator shall prepare
and submit a report regarding the pilot program to the Department
of Transportation by February 1, 2021.

(b) The Department of Transportation shall prepare and submit
a report based on the reports of the participating transit operators
to the Legislature by August 1, 2021.

(c) The reports specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall include,
but not be limited to, a discussion of all of the following issues:

(1) Cost.

(2) Use of moneys.

begin delete

(3) Estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

end delete begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Ridership.

75249.  

This part shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2022, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.