BILL ANALYSIS
AB 644
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 644 (Caballero) - As Introduced: February 25, 2009
SUBJECT : Monterey-Salinas Transit District Act.
SUMMARY : Creates the Monterey-Salinas Transit District Act.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Creates the Monterey-Salinas Transit District (District).
2)Specifies that the jurisdiction of the district extends
throughout the Monterey County (County)
3)States that on and after January 1, 2010, the Monterey-Salinas
Transit Joint Powers Agency (Agency) is dissolved and the
District succeeds to, and is vested with, all of the rights,
powers, duties, and obligations of the agency.
4)Provides that the District is the successor to the Agency's
interests in any property, its rights and obligations under
any contract, any outstanding indebtedness of the Agency, and
its rights under any grants, without the necessity of any
further action.
5)Requires the District to assume the duties of public transit
provider performed by the agency.
6)States that on and after January 1, 2010, the Cities of
Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Pacific
Grove, Salinas, and Seaside and the County of Monterey are
included within the District.
7)Provides that the District will act as the consolidated
transportation services agency for the County and the regional
transportation planning agency.
8)States that upon dissolution of the Agency, employees of the
Agency shall be deemed to be employees of the district without
any break in service or any loss or reduction of compensation
or benefits, except as may be imposed by express action of the
Board of Directors of the Monterey-Salinas Transit District
(Board).
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9)States that District shall be governed by an eight-member
Board.
10)Requires that the Board be composed of one representative
from each member jurisdiction which includes the Cities of
Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Pacific
Grove, Salinas, and Seaside, and the County of Monterey.
11)Provides that each member of the Board shall have one vote.
12)Requires each member jurisdiction to appoint one regular
member and one alternate member to the Board.
13)Requires the City of Gonzales to appoint a person to serve as
a nonvoting, ex officio member.
14)States that each member shall serve solely at the pleasure of
the appointing member jurisdiction.
15)Requires Board members to be either elected officials or
officers or employees of the appointing member jurisdiction.
16)Requires the Board to do all of the following:
a) Adopt an annual budget;
b) Adopt an administrative code, by ordinance, which
prescribes the powers and duties of the District officers,
the method of appointment of the district employees, and
methods, procedures, and systems of operation and
management of the district;
c) Cause an audit of the financial transactions and records
of the District to be made at least annually by a certified
public accountant; and,
d) Do any and all things necessary to carry out the
purposes of this act.
17)Requires the Board to adopt priorities reflecting the
District's goals.
18)Requires the Board to select a president and a vice president
at each of its organizational meetings.
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19)Specifies that the meetings of the Board are subject to the
Ralph M. Brown Act.
20)States that a majority of the total membership of the Board
is a quorum.
21)Requires acts of the Board to be expressed by motion,
resolution, or ordinance.
22)Authorizes the District to hire an independent staff of its
own or contract with any department or agency of the United
States or with any public agency.
23)Authorizes the District to contract with private entities in
conformance with applicable procurement procedures for the
procurement of engineering, project management, and contract
management services.
24)Requires the Board to fix the compensation of the District's
officers and employees.
25)States that the District may sue and be sued.
26)Requires the District to notice the time and place of a
public hearing on the adoption of the annual budget not less
than 15 days prior to the day of the hearing.
27)Authorizes the District to enter into contracts.
28)Requires the District to adopt procurement procedures that
comply with Federal Transit Administration Circular relative
to third-party contracting.
29)Authorizes the District to submit to voters of the District
ballot measures for the imposition of property, sales,
general, or special taxes.
30)Authorizes the District, if approved, to impose and
administer fees and other funding sources secured for
transportation system operation, maintenance, and improvement.
31)Authorizes the Board to set fares for public transit service.
32)Specifies that the District may issue bonds to pay for
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capital facilities.
33)States that the District may advocate and act on behalf of
all District member jurisdictions with their concurrence to
further Monterey County transportation system interests,
funding, projects, and priorities.
34)Authorizes the District to promulgate a plan for funding
transportation projects within its jurisdiction.
EXISTING LAW establishes transit districts.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) is a Joint Powers Agency (JPA)
that provides public transit services to citizens of and
visitors to communities that comprise its member
jurisdictions. In addition, MST operates transit services
under contract to other communities in Monterey County as well
as connecting services to other transit providers at
Watsonville, Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose.
2)According to the author, MST is a critical part of the
Monterey region's transportation network allowing tens of
thousands of passengers to work, school and medical
appointments each day. Since 2001 MST has seen its ridership
grow 20% achieving a record number of five million annual
boardings. The MST "RIDES" program has seen its ridership grow
60% in just the past year as cuts in the MediCal system has
driven large numbers of MediCal clients to the MST "RIDES"
system for transportation to dialysis treatments and other
essential medical services. Furthermore, the workers that
support Monterey's tourism industry, along with the elderly,
the disabled, and students all depend on a fully funded,
functional public transit system.
3)Given the billions of dollars in cuts to state transit
assistance in recent years, plus the complete elimination of
the state transit assistance program in future years, MST must
seek alternative ways of funding its transit services locally.
AB 644 transforms the MST JPA into a transit district which
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will give MST the flexibility that it currently lacks to ask
the voters of Monterey County to approve a continuous local
funding source for public transit services. Moreover, AB 644
will also allow the District to have bonding capabilities. As
a JPA, MST has secured financing in the private markets to
fund its bus replacement program. While MST has received
competitive rates from the private markets, it is possible
that interest rates would be even lower through bond
financing.
4)Legislative history: AB 2420 (Hannigan), Chapter 457, Statues
of 1996, created the Yolo County Transportation District Act.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Cities of: Carmel by the Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzales,
Greenfield, King City, Marina,
Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Seaside, and Soledad
County of Monterey
Monterey-Salinas Transit
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958