BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 277
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: ammiano
VERSION: 5/11/09
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 16, 2009
SUBJECT:
Local sales and use transaction tax: Bay Area
DESCRIPTION:
This bill specifies how the governing board of transportation
agency using the Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation
Funding Act will be designated.
ANALYSIS:
The Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act
establishes procedures for the formation of a county
transportation authority when pursuing the imposition of a voter
approved transportation sales tax. This procedure applies to the
nine counties that comprise the San Francisco Bay Area.
Existing law:
Establishes a procedure for counties in the Bay Area to
place a transportation sales tax ordinance before the
voters. Included in the materials made available to the
voters is an expenditure plan describing how the sale tax
revenues will be used.
Specifies that a county in the Bay Area may establish a
county transportation authority by stating the members of
the authority in the expenditure plan or in the sales tax
ordinance that is placed before the voters for approval.
The members of the authority are then appointed by each
city council and the board of supervisor within 45 days
after the authority is created. Each local city in a county
and the county board of supervisors shall appoint.
AB 277 (AMMIANO) Page 2
This bill deletes the option of specifying the members of a
transportation authority in the sales tax ordinance and limits
the identification of the authority members to the expenditure
plan.
COMMENTS:
1. Background . There are three statutory schemes for
placing a local transportation sales tax on the ballot. A
county may seek specific legislation establishing the sales
tax agency and authoring it to place a sales tax ordinance
on the ballot. This approach was used at the outset of the
sales tax program when Santa Clara County obtained
authorization to create a sales agency and seek voter
approval for a sales tax. The second scheme is general
legislative authorization to organize a local agency to
seek a sales tax. This approach is used by most counties.
Lastly, there is a general authorization which applies
exclusively to the nine county Bay Area, The Bay Area
County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act. Only one
county, the City and County of San Francisco, has taken
advantage of this act. The other counties have had specific
legislation enacted or have taken advantage of the general
enabling statute.
SB 987 (Migden), Chapter 83, Statutes of 2005, made several
changes to the County Traffic and Transportation Funding
Act. Among the changes was a provision that the governing
board of the sales tax authority to be identified either in
the expenditure plan or in the sales tax ordinance that is
placed before the voters. Prior to SB 987, authority
membership was identified only n the expenditure plan.
In 2008, a slate of proposed changes to city sales tax
ordinances was on the November ballot in San Francisco. One
of these measures, Proposition P, would have radically
changed the composition of the San Francisco County
Transportation Authority (SFCTA) governing board by taking
advantage of the provision in SB 987 allowing the sales tax
ordinance to specify the composition of the governing
board. If approved, Proposition P would have changed the
current composition of the Board from, the 11 county
supervisors, to just five members: San Francisco Mayor,
President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors, San
Francisco Treasurer, one elected official appointed by the
San Francisco Mayor, and one elected official appointed by
AB 277 (AMMIANO) Page 3
the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Additionally, the Proposition would have urged the SFCTA to
change its staffing model, which previously relied on a
small staff supplemented with contract consultants, to
greater reliance on existing city/county agency staff.
Accordingly, several board members formed an opposition
campaign, and prevailed, defeating Proposition P 67 percent
opposed to 32 percent in support.
2. Purpose . This bill restores the requirement that the
board members of a local transportation authority
established by the County Traffic and Transportation
Funding Act be identified only in the expenditure plan.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 50-29
Local Gov: 5-2
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 10, 2009)
SUPPORT: San Francisco County Transportation Authority
(Sponsor)
Contra Costa Transportation Authority
Self-Help Coalition
OPPOSED: None received.