BILL ANALYSIS
AB 266
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 266 (Carter) - As Amended: April 20, 2009
SUBJECT : Transportation Needs Assessment
SUMMARY : Requires the California Transportation Commission
(CTC) to develop an assessment of transportation funding and
needs, as prescribed, every five years. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires CTC, on an every five-year basis, to assess the
following:
a) The total costs of programmed state transportation
projects and federally earmarked projects in the state,
including projects in the state transportation improvement
program (STIP), the Traffic Congestion Relief Program
(TCRP), bond-funded projects, and projects specifically
identified for funding in the federal Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (SAFETEA-LU) or other federal laws;
b) The unfunded portions of programmed state projects and
federally earmarked projects;
c) Total funding provided from state and federal sources
for transportation projects;
d) Statewide unmet transportation project needs, including
public transportation needs and local street and road
system needs; and,
e) Recommendations by the CTC on how state and local
transportation agencies should address shortfalls and unmet
needs identified in the assessment.
2)Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to assist in conducting the assessment.
3)Requires CTC to consult with regional transportation planning
agencies (RTPAs), the California Transit Association, the
League of California Cities, and the California State
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Association of Counties.
4)Requires CTC to submit a report to the Legislature on or
before March 1, 2011, the results from the initial assessment;
subsequent reports are to be submitted every five years
thereafter.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates CTC and makes it responsible for programming
allocating funds for the construction of transportation
projects in the state.
2)Requires, by August 15 of each odd-numbered year, CTC to
adopt a five-year estimate, in annual increments, of all state
and federal funds reasonably expected to be available during
the following five fiscal years.
3) Requires each RTPA to prepare and adopt a regional
transportation plan (RTP). The plan is to be action-oriented
and pragmatic and consider both short-term and long-term
policy guidance. RTPs are to include:
a) A policy element that describes the transportation
issues in the region, identifies and quantifies regional
needs, and describes the desired short-range and long-range
(20 years) transportation goals;
b) An action element that describes the programs and
actions necessary to implement the plan and assigns
implementation responsibilities. The action element may
describe all projects proposed for development during the
20-year life of the plan; and,
c) A financial element that summarizes the cost to
implement the plan, constrained by a realistic projection
of available revenues.
RTPs may, but are not required to, include needs assessments.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis of last session's nearly identical AB 945
(Carter), moderate costs, approximately $250,000 (State Highway
Account) initially and every five years thereafter, to the CTC
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to develop the assessments required by this bill.
COMMENTS : This bill is consistent with the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO) annual recommendations for legislation.
In its recommendation, the LAO cites: "The first step in
identifying a solution to a problem is identifying the scope of
the problem. Yet, when it comes to transportation, there is
currently no requirement that Caltrans or any other state entity
assess and report on the state's overall transportation needs on
a regular basis.
"While Caltrans and RTPAs must regularly update funding and
scheduling documents, such as the State Transportation
Improvement Program and the State Highway Operation and
Protection Program, these documents provide no information about
unfunded needs. Similarly, RTPAs are required to adopt 20-year
long range planning documents under both state and federal law,
but these documents are not compiled to provide a view of the
state's needs as a whole."
In 1999, CTC released the "Inventory of Ten-Year Funding Needs
for California's Transportation Systems." The study was
completed in response to SR 8 (Burton of 1999) and noted the
following: "The report demonstrates substantial unfunded need
for reinvesting in California's existing transportation system.
It also demonstrates the substantial funding requirements to
expand those systems, both through lower cost operational
improvements and through more costly capacity increases. These
costs, while substantial, reflect the challenges of aging
transportation systems and "catching up" with three decades of
population growth that out-paced highway and roadway capacity
increases by a factor of over two, and growth in vehicle miles
traveled that have out-paced population by a factor of nearly
three."
Previous legislation: Last session, Assembly Member Carter
introduced AB 945, which was nearly identical to this bill. AB
945 passed the Legislature on a party- line vote and was
ultimately vetoed by the Governor, who stated in his veto
message, "Californians do not need another report to tell them
that the state's transportation needs are great."
In 2005, Senator Torlakson introduced SB 275 that would have
required CTC to submit a 10-year needs assessment plan on the
state's transportation system to the Legislature, on or before
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October 1, 2006, and on a 10-year rolling basis thereafter. SB
275 also passed the Legislature and was ultimately vetoed by the
Governor for reasons similar to his veto message for AB 945.
Writing in support of this bill, the California Transit
Association (CTA) asserts that the state's transportation needs
have neared $200 billion and that, even with the influx in
transportation dollars as a result of passage of Proposition 1B,
transportation needs continue to go unmet. CTA suggests that a
needs assessment is necessary to not only reduce traffic
congestion but also to improve air quality statewide.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Transit Association
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
State Building and Construction Trades Council
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093