BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1472 Hearing Date: 4/19/2016
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|Author: |Mendoza |
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|Version: |4/11/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Manny Leon |
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SUBJECT: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority
DIGEST: This bill expands the governing board of the Los
Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) from 14 to
16 members, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
METRO is a multimodal transportation agency providing a variety
of transportation-related services and functions for Los Angeles
County. These services/functions include transportation
planning, transit services (both bus and light rail), capital
construction projects, and administering several local sales tax
measures.
Existing law:
1)Establishes the County Transportation Commissions Act, which
provides for the creation of county transportation commissions
in the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San
Bernardino, and Ventura, with various powers and duties
relative to transportation planning and funding, as specified.
2)Establishes METRO, which is the successor agency to the
Southern California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles
County Transportation Commission.
3)Provides METRO with specified powers and duties relative to
SB 1472 (Mendoza) Page 2 of ?
transportation planning, programming, and operations in the
County of Los Angeles.
4)Specifies the METRO Board of Directors is comprised of 14
members consisting of:
a) Five members of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors
b) The Mayor of Los Angeles
c) Two public members and one Los Angeles City Council
Member, appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles
d) Four members selected by the Los Angeles County City
Selection Committee
e) One non-voting member appointed by the Governor
This bill:
1)Expands the METRO governing board from 14 to 16 members with
one voting member appointed by the Speaker of the California
State Assembly and one voting member appointed by the Senate
Rules Committee.
2)Requires that the two abovementioned appointed members reside
in Los Angeles County and are not to hold residence in the
same city as any other METRO Board member at the time of
appointment.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author notes, "as the regional transportation
planner for all of Los Angeles County, METRO serves more than
9.6 million people - nearly one-third of California's
residents - who live, work, and play within its
1,433-square-mile service area. METRO develops and oversees
transportation plans, policies, funding programs, and both
short-term and long-range solutions that address the County's
increasing mobility, accessibility, and environmental needs.
It is critical that the Board delivers on the needs of
residents across the entire county. Currently, transportation
decisions and investments made by the METRO must be aligned
with the California Transportation Plan in an effort to meet
statewide transportation needs. Under current law, METRO must
seek authority from the state to impose, with voter approval,
additional sales tax revenues for transportation projects and
programs because L.A. County has reached its transactions and
use tax limit."
SB 1472 (Mendoza) Page 3 of ?
The author further asserts, "This bill ensures that the
distribution of members on the METRO Board of Directors fairly
represents the entire County of Los Angeles by adding two
public members who will reside in a city other than those
already represented by sitting board members. This will
improve the County's ability to develop a regional transit
plan and provide for the transit needs of all county
residents."
2)Other local transportation boards. The governing boards of
local transportation agencies vary across the state. For
example, the Orange County Transportation Authority is
comprised of 18 board members that include members from the
County Board of Supervisors; members selected by the city
selection committee, with several board members selected based
on population and several others based on city representation;
two public members appointed by the board; and the State
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) district director
(nonvoting member). Whereas the Bay Area Metropolitan
Transportation Commission (MTC) is comprised of 21
commissioners that include members from various Bay Area
counties and cities, Mayor's appointees from the cities of
Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, a member representing
the Council of Governments, and the Caltrans district director
for the region (non-voting member). Thus, the board
composition of these respective agencies is reflective of the
regional needs and functions they carry out and is typical of
other local transportation agencies throughout the state.
3)State's existing role. Governing boards for local county
transportation commissions (CTC) and regional transportation
planning agencies (RTPA) are identified in statute and
primarily consist of locally elected officials and public
members who are either appointed by an elected official,
selected by a county/city selection committee, or who have a
designated seat specified in statue (e.g., Mayor of Los
Angeles). While the Governor does have a designated
appointment on most CTCs and RTPAs throughout the state, those
appointments are non-voting (ex officio) board members and are
typically the State Department of Transportation's (Caltrans)
district director for that specific region/county. Currently,
there is not a local transportation or transit governing board
that has a state-appointed voting board member.
SB 1472 (Mendoza) Page 4 of ?
4)Legislature's role? Presently, both the Assembly Speaker and
Senate Rules Committee do in fact have the authority to
appoint members to various state boards and commissions. For
example, both have the authority to appoint a member to the
California Transportation Commission. Under the existing
framework, the Governor appoints nine members to the
Commission, while the Senate Rules Committee and Assembly
Speaker each appoint one member. In addition to these 11
voting members, two ex officio, non-voting members sit on the
CTC, which are the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly
Transportation Committees. This bill, on the other hand,
directs both the Speaker of the State Assembly and the Senate
Rules Committee to each appoint a governing board member with
voting authority to METRO, a local transportation agency. As
a result, this bill would set a precedent by expanding the
Legislature's role into participating in the governance
structure of a local transportation agency.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 13, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
None received
OPPOSITION:
None received
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