BILL NUMBER:  AB 842
  VETOED	DATE: 09/27/2008




To Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 842 without my signature.

This bill would add ranking provisions to the Infill Incentive Grant
program and Transit-Oriented Development programs administered by the
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).  These
provisions would give preference if an applicant's general plan,
transportation plan, or regional blueprint provides for a 10-percent
reduction in the incremental growth in vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

The fundamental weakness of this bill is the absence of any generally
accepted, standardized tools for measuring changes in VMT that
accommodate in any meaningful and reliable way the varying social,
economic, and geographical conditions in the state.  Moreover, even
if there were such measures, this bill would provide no means of
monitoring whether the projected VMT reductions were achieved or any
sanction for failing to achieve the projected reductions.  Without
these elements, this bill is pointless.

Additionally, the bill is costly and duplicative.  The Infill
Incentive Grant program and Transit-Oriented Development programs are
programmatically structured to minimize automobile use.  The ranking
criteria for the programs currently include several measures that
incentivize and target reduced automobile usage.  This bill would
impose substantial costs on HCD and local planning agencies with
little, if any, prospect of achieving its goal of reducing automobile
use.

For the above reasons, I am returning the bill without my signature.

Sincerely,



Arnold Schwarzenegger