BILL ANALYSIS
AB 726
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 726 (Nielsen) - As Introduced: February 26, 2009
SUBJECT : Transportation programming: local road rehabilitation
projects
SUMMARY : Provides that state and local road rehabilitation
projects are eligible for transportation capital improvement
funds, pursuant to the State Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP) process.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to
prepare, and the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to
adopt, a Fund Estimate every two years. The Fund Estimate is
an estimate of all federal and state funds reasonably expected
to be available during the following five fiscal years.
2)Provides that expenditures for Caltrans' administration,
maintenance, and operations of the state highway system,
rehabilitation of the state highway system, and local
assistance are subtracted from the total amount of
transportation dollars available. The remaining funds are
programmed for transportation capital improvements.
3)Divides funds available for transportation capital
improvements as follows:
a) 25% for interregional improvements; and,
b) 75% for regional improvements.
4)Identifies types of regional projects that are eligible for
funding from STIP funds, including but not limited to: state
highways, local roads, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian
facilities, and grade separations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Existing CTC policy authorizes the use of STIP
dollars for local road rehabilitation projects. In fact, dozens
of local road rehabilitation projects were included in the
adopted 2008 STIP, under existing CTC policy. This bill would
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codify that policy and local agencies could continue to program
local rehabilitation projects in the STIP, thereby decreasing
funds available for capacity-enhancing transportation capital
improvements.
COMMENTS : Cities and counties are responsible for maintaining,
operating and improving the local network of streets, roads, and
highways within their respective jurisdictions. Funds to
maintain and improve local roads come from a variety of sources,
including gasoline excise and sales taxes, local general funds,
bond proceeds, local sales taxes, local general funds,
development fees, and other sources.
Under current law, county transportation commissions and
regional transportation planning agencies (RTPAs) may utilize
funds in the STIP for transportation improvement projects that
are needed to improve transportation within the region. The
projects may include, but are not limited to, improving state
highways, local roads , public transit, intercity rail,
pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and grade separation,
transportation system management, transportation demand
management, soundwall projects, intermodal facilities, safety,
and providing funds to match federal funds.
In 1998, CTC adopted guidelines that allow the STIP to include
local road rehabilitation projects. Since then, hundreds of
millions of dollars in local rehabilitation projects have been
added to the STIP, with many of these in rural counties. The
need to include local street rehabilitation projects in the STIP
is particularly acute for rural counties, as most of the
transportation distribution formulas place greater emphasis on
population as a formula factor than county road miles,
disadvantaging rural counties that have lower populations and a
greater number of county road miles.
According to CTC's 2007 annual report to the Legislature,
"Rehabilitating and maintaining the existing investment in
transportation infrastructure is among the most urgent needs for
enhanced funding. Agencies at all levels of government in
California are under pressure to keep up with maintenance, let
alone rehabilitation. Caltrans' inventory of distressed lane
miles in the state highway system increased, while the available
funding for maintenance and rehabilitation barely covered half
of the annual need in 2007. This is a trend that started
earlier in the decade and shows no signs of reversing any time
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soon. And, cities and counties experience the same challenge."
Sponsors of AB 726, the California State Association of Counties
and the Regional Council of Rural Counties, write in support of
this bill: "Counties and cities own and maintain 82% of
California's maintained miles...While not a significant portion
of the STIP, regional transportation agencies and local
jurisdictions must retain the opportunity to seek funding for
critical rehabilitation projects from the STIP to help meet
their ongoing needs.
Related legislation : AB 726 is the third identical bill to be
introduced on this subject. The other bills were:
1)AB 2295 (Arambula of 2008) that was vetoed by the Governor.
In his veto message, the Governor wrote:
"This is the second time I have vetoed similar legislation.
Current California Transportation Commission (CTC) policy
guidelines already provide that local road rehabilitation
projects are eligible for State Transportation Improvement
Projects funding. This bill is duplicative of existing
guidelines and unnecessarily reduces the ability of the CTC to
modify its guidelines to reflect future changes in available
funding and transportation policy."
2)AB 2295 (Arambula of 2006) was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Association of Counties (co-sponsor)
Regional Council of Rural Counties (co-sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093