BILL NUMBER: AB 1375 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 15, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Galgiani
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to repeal and add Division 19.5 (commencing with Section
185000) of the Public Utilities Code, relating to high-speed rail.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1375, as amended, Galgiani. High-speed rail.
Existing law, the California High-Speed Train Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed train
system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law,
the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st
Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4,
2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in
general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes.
This bill would revise and recast these provisions by repealing
and reenacting the California High-Speed Train Act. The bill would
continue the High-Speed Rail Authority in existence to establish
compensation of certain employees of the department, advise the
Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing and the Director of
the Department of Railroads concerning high-speed rail matters, and
annually adopt a 6-year high-speed train program for submission to
the Governor and the Legislature. The bill would create the
Department of Railroads within the Business, Transportation and
Housing Agency, which would succeed to most of the existing powers
and responsibilities of the authority and would be responsible for
implementing the high-speed train project. The director of the
department would be appointed by the Governor, who would serve at the
pleasure of the Governor, and the Governor would be authorized to
appoint up to 10 executive employees of the department who would be
exempt from civil service and serve at the pleasure of the director.
The bill would provide for acquisition and disposition by the
department of rights-of-way for the high-speed rail project. The
bill would limit the department's authority to use eminent domain to
th e powers previously granted to the authority in that
regard, as specified. The bill would transfer the existing
employees of the authority, other than the executive director, to the
department. The bill would enact other related provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of
the following:
(1) Further the transportation system of the state through the
successful development and construction of the 800-mile high-speed
train system described in Proposition 1A, approved by the voters on
November 4, 2008.
(2) Protect the state's interests and provide for the exercise of
continuing oversight of the funds to be invested in the high-speed
train project following voter approval of Proposition 1A.
(3) Ensure that an adequate public forum maintains the
transparency of the development of the high-speed train project.
(4) Provide an efficient governmental structure for the
development of high-speed train operations in the state.
(b) This act continues in existence the High-Speed Rail Authority,
creates a new Department of Railroads within the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency, apportions between the authority
and the new department existing as well as new powers, duties,
rights, and obligations, and defines the relationship between the
authority and the new department.
SEC. 2. Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) of the
Public Utilities Code is repealed.
SEC. 3. Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) is added to
the Public Utilities Code, to read:
DIVISION 19.5. CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL SERVICE
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS, FINDINGS, AND DEFINITIONS
185000. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California High-Speed Rail Act.
185002. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California, over the past decades, has built an extensive
network of freeways and airports to meet the state's growing
transportation needs.
(b) These facilities are not adequate to meet the mobility needs
of the current population.
(c) The population of the state and the travel demands of its
citizens are expected to continue to grow at a rapid rate.
(d) The cost of expanding the current network of highways and
airports fully to meet current and future transportation needs is
prohibitive, and a total expansion strategy would be detrimental to
air quality.
(e) Intercity train service, when coordinated with urban transit
and airports, is an efficient, practical, and less polluting
transportation mode that can fill the gap between future demand and
present capacity.
(f) Advances in rail and train technologies have allowed intercity
train systems in Europe and Japan to attain speeds of up to 220
miles per hour and compete effectively with air travel for trips in
the 200- to 500-mile range.
(g) Development of a high-speed train system is a necessary and
viable alternative to automobile and air travel in the state.
(h) In order for the state to have a comprehensive network of
high-speed intercity train systems by the year 2020, similar to
California's former freeway plan, it is necessary to designate an
entity with stable and predictable funding sources to implement the
plan.
(i) Utilizing existing human and manufacturing resources to build
a large network of high-speed trains will generate jobs and economic
growth for today's population and produce a transportation network
for future generations.
(j) Upon confirmation of the need and costs by detailed studies,
the private sector, together with the state, can build and operate
new high-speed intercity train systems utilizing private and public
financing.
185004. As used in this division, unless the context requires
otherwise, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Authority" means the High-Speed Rail Authority. The members
of the authority constitute the board of the authority.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Railroads.
(c) "High-speed train" means intercity passenger train service
that utilizes an alignment and technology that makes it capable of
sustained speeds of 125 miles per hour or greater.
(d) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Business, Transportation
and Housing.
CHAPTER 2. THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY
Article 1. Members of the Authority
185110. (a) The High-Speed Rail Authority in state government is
hereby continued in existence.
(b) (1) The authority is composed of nine members as follows:
(A) Five members appointed by the Governor.
(B) Two members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(C) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(2) For the purposes of making appointments to the authority, the
Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the
Assembly shall take into consideration geographical diversity to
ensure that all regions of the state are adequately represented.
(c) Members of the authority shall hold office for terms of four
years, and until their successors are appointed. A vacancy shall be
filled by the appointing power making the original appointment, by
appointing a member to serve the remainder of the term.
(d) The term of a member shall expire on December 31 of the fourth
year of the member's term.
(e) Members of the authority are subject to the Political Reform
Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000)).
(f) From among its members, the authority shall elect a
chairperson, who shall preside at all meetings of the authority, and
a vice chairperson to preside in the absence of the chairperson. The
chairperson shall serve a term of one year.
(g) Five members of the authority constitute a quorum for taking
any action by the authority. Nothing in the foregoing shall limit any
law requiring a vote of more than a simple majority for the taking
of any action by the authority.
(h) Nothing in this section shall require the existing membership
of the authority on the effective date of this section to be
reconstituted as of that date.
185112. (a) Each member of the authority shall receive
compensation of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day that the
member is attending to the business of the authority, but shall not
receive more than five hundred dollars ($500) in any calendar month.
(b) Members of the authority shall be reimbursed for their actual
travel expenses incurred in attending to the business of the
authority.
Article 2. Powers, Duties, and Responsibilities of the
Authority
185130. (a) The authority shall advise the secretary and the
director concerning high-speed rail matters, which advice shall be
considered by the department in exercising its powers and duties
pursuant to this division.
(b) The authority shall establish the compensation of certain
department employees as set forth in Section 185215.
185132. (a) The authority shall adopt and submit to the
Legislature and the Governor, not later than October 1 each year, a
high-speed train program. The program shall cover a period of six
fiscal years, beginning July 1 of the year following the year it is
adopted, and shall be a statement of intent by the department to
request funding in the annual Budget Act for the following six years.
(b) The high-speed train program shall include a listing of all
capital improvement projects that are expected to require
appropriation in the annual Budget Act, including state, federal,
local, and private funds, during the following six fiscal years.
(c) For each segment, the program shall specify the expenditure
amount and the expenditure year for each of the following project
components:
(1) Completion of all permits and environmental studies.
(2) Preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates.
(3) The acquisition of rights-of-way, including, but not limited
to, support activities.
(4) Construction and construction management and engineering,
including surveys and inspection.
(5) Any additional components the authority may deem to be
appropriate.
185134. The department shall provide staff support to the
authority. The duties of staff to the authority shall include, but
not be limited to, providing assistance in the conduct of the salary
surveys described in Section 185215.
185136. The authority may request and review reports of the
department that pertain to high-speed rail issues that the authority
determines require special study. The department shall supply any
reports and other information as the authority may reasonably request
for the exercise of the authority's powers and duties.
CHAPTER 3. DEPARTMENT OF RAILROADS
Article 1. Organization of the Department
185210. There is in the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency a Department of Railroads.
185211. The department is under the control of a director known
as the Director of Railroads.
185212. The director shall be appointed by the Governor, and hold
office at the pleasure of the Governor.
185213. The director shall perform all duties, exercise all
powers and jurisdiction, assume and discharge all responsibilities,
and carry out and effect all purposes vested by law in the
department, except as otherwise expressly provided by law.
185214. The director shall organize the department from time to
time in the manner the director deems necessary to properly segregate
and conduct the work of the department. The director may organize
the department into as many divisions as, in the director's judgment,
will provide for the efficient administration of the high-speed
train project and planning, construction, and operation of the
high-speed train system.
185215. (a) For purposes of overseeing the ongoing work of the
department, the organization of the department may include provision
for up to 10 employees exempt from civil service who shall constitute
the executive staff of the department, who shall be appointed by the
Governor, and who shall serve at the pleasure of the director.
(b) Notwithstanding Sections 19816 and 19825 of the Government
Code, the compensation of key exempt management, including the
director and the exempt positions described in subdivision (a), shall
be established by the authority board in amounts that are reasonably
necessary, in the discretion of the board, to attract and hold a
person of superior qualifications.
(c) (1) To determine the compensation for the positions described
in this section, the authority shall cause to be conducted, through
the use of independent outside advisers, salary surveys of both of
the following:
(A) Other state, regional, and local transportation agencies that
are most comparable to the department.
(B) Other relevant labor pools.
(2) The salaries so set by the board shall not exceed the highest
comparable salary for a position of that type, as determined by the
survey.
(d) The Department of Personnel Administration shall review the
methodology used in these salary surveys.
185216. The Governor, the secretary, and the department may enter
into any agreements, execute any documents, establish and manage any
accounts and deposits, and take any other action that may be
appropriate, in accordance with federal law and rules and
regulations, to receive and expend funds from the federal government
in connection with mass transportation programs and projects for
which federal funds are available.
185217. The department shall prepare and submit to the
Legislature and to the authority board an annual report, no later
than December 1 of each year. The report shall include a description
of the progress made on the high-speed train program adopted by the
authority.
185218. (a) The authorization and responsibility for planning,
construction, and operation of high-speed train passenger service at
speeds exceeding 125 miles per hour in this state is exclusively
granted to the department.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (a), nothing in this chapter
precludes other local, regional, or state agencies from exercising
powers provided by law with regard to planning or operating, or both,
passenger rail service.
Article 2. Powers and Duties of the Department
185220. (a) The department shall have all the powers, duties, and
responsibilities of the authority under the Safe, Reliable
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (Chapter 20
(commencing with Section 2704) of Division 3 of the Streets and
Highways Code), and the department shall be the successor of the
authority pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2704.01 of the
Streets and Highways Code for all purposes under that bond act.
However, nothing in this section modifies Section 2704.12 of the
Streets and Highways Code.
(b) Subject to the other provisions of this division, the
department shall have the powers and duties to do the following:
(1) Conduct engineering and other studies related to the selection
and acquisition of rights-of-way and the selection of a franchisee,
including, but not limited to, environmental impact studies,
socioeconomic impact studies, and financial feasibility studies.
(2) Evaluate alternative high-speed train technologies, systems
and operators, and select an appropriate high-speed train system.
(3) Award franchises in connection with the high-speed train
system or portions thereof.
(4) Accept grants, fees, and allocations from the state, from
political subdivisions of the state, or from the federal government,
foreign governments, and private sources.
(5) Select franchisees, routes, and terminal sites.
(6) Enter into contracts with public and private entities for the
preparation of high-speed train system plans.
(7) Prepare a detailed financing plan, including any necessary
taxes, fees, or bonds to pay for the construction of the high-speed
train network.
(8) Develop a proposed high-speed train financial plan, including
necessary taxes, bonds, or both, or other indebtedness, and submit
the plan to the Legislature and to the Governor.
(9) Keep the public informed of its activities.
(10) Enter into contracts with private or public entities,
including contracts for the design, construction, and operation of
high-speed trains. The contracts may be separated into individual
tasks or segments or may include all tasks and segments, including
any combination of one or more of such tasks as design, build,
finance, operate, and maintain.
(11) Acquire rights-of-way through purchase or eminent
domain .
(12) Subject to approval by the authority board, issue debt,
secured by pledges of state funds, federal grants, or project
revenues. The pledge of state funds shall be limited to those funds
expressly authorized by statute or voter-approved initiatives.
(13) Enter into cooperative or joint development agreements with
local governments or private entities.
(14) Relocate highways and utilities.
(15) Plan, construct, and operate the high-speed train system, or
enter into contracts for the planning, construction, or operation of
the system, including the acquisition of equipment, including rolling
stock, necessary for the operation of the system.
(16) Acquire, sell, and lease passenger rail rolling stock, power
units, and associated equipment.
(17) Acquire, lease, design, construct, and improve track lines
and related facilities, and contract with the private sector for the
design, improvement, or construction of track lines and related
facilities.
185222. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any
project along the high-speed rail network, the department may
contract with the Department of Transportation to perform project
design and engineering services, including construction inspection
services.
(b) For purposes of this section, "project design and engineering
services, including construction inspection services" means
preliminary engineering, planning, prebid services, right-of-way
acquisitions, preparation of environmental documents, preparation of
plans, specifications, and estimates, construction inspection
including surveying and materials testing, quality control inspection
including highway and utility relocation, and grade separations.
185224. The department may adopt, amend, and repeal rules and
regulations governing the exercise of its powers and duties and to
otherwise implement the provisions of this division as emergency
regulations in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 11346.1 of the Government
Code, for the purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, including
Section 11349.6, the adoption of the regulations shall be deemed to
be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. Notwithstanding
subdivision (e) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, any
regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall not remain in
effect more than 180 days unless the department complies with the
nonemergency rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure
Act.
185226. (a) The department shall establish an independent peer
review group for the purpose of reviewing the planning, engineering,
financing, and other elements of the authority's plans and issuing an
analysis of appropriateness and accuracy of the department's
assumptions and an analysis of the viability of the department's
financing plan, including the funding plan for each corridor required
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2704.08 of the Streets and
Highways Code.
(b) The peer review group shall include all of the following:
(1) Two individuals with experience in the construction or
operation of high-speed trains in Europe, Asia, or both, designated
by the Treasurer.
(2) Two individuals, one with experience in engineering and
construction of high-speed trains and one with experience in project
finance, designated by the Controller.
(3) One representative from a financial services or financial
consulting firm who shall not have been a contractor or subcontractor
of the authority for the previous three years, designated by the
Director of Finance.
(4) One representative with experience in environmental planning,
designated by the secretary.
(5) Two expert representatives from agencies providing intercity
or commuter passenger train services in California, designated by the
secretary.
(c) The peer review group shall evaluate the department's funding
plans and prepare its independent judgment as to the feasibility and
reasonableness of the plans, appropriateness of assumptions,
analyses, and estimates, and any other observations or evaluations it
deems necessary.
(d) The department shall provide the peer review group any and all
information that the peer review group may request to carry out its
responsibilities.
(e) The peer review group shall report its findings and
conclusions to the Legislature no later than 60 days after receiving
the plans.
Article 3. Rights-of-Way
185230. (a) If the department determines that real property or an
interest therein, previously or hereafter acquired by the state for
high-speed rail purposes, is no longer necessary for those purposes,
the department may sell or exchange the real property or interest
therein at fair market value in the manner set forth in this section.
(b) The department may sell the property to an adjoining landowner
if the director makes either of the following two findings:
(1) (A) That the property is of such size or shape that it is
below the average normal standard size and shape of other privately
owned properties in the immediate neighborhood, and that if the
property were sold to other than the adjoining owner, it would give
rise to a land use development thereof that would be below and not
consistent with the normal land use of other properties in that
neighborhood, (B) that the sale of the property to a party other than
the adjoining owner may cause an undue or unfair hardship to the
adjoining owner in the normal land use development or operation of
his or her property, (C) that the property considered as part of the
adjoining property would have a higher and better use than under
separate ownership, and (D) that the fair market value of the
property considered as part of the adjoining property would be higher
than under separate ownership.
(2) That the sale of the excess parcel to other than the adjoining
owner would deprive the adjoining owner of an existing vested right
of access to a public highway and thereby create a possible cause of
action against the department or the state.
A sale to an adjoining landowner pursuant to this subdivision may
be by contract to sell or trust deed. The payment period in a
contract of sale or sale by trust deed shall not extend longer than
10 years from the time the contract of sale or trust deed is
executed, and a transaction involving a contract of sale or sale by
trust deed to private parties shall require a downpayment of at least
30 percent of the purchase price.
(c) The department may sell the property to municipalities or
other local agencies at their request, without calling for
competitive bids, at a price representing the fair market value
thereof, and upon a determination that the intended use is for a
public purpose.
(d) If it is improved property, the property may be sold to a
former owner who has remained in occupancy, or to a residential
tenant of a tenure of five years or more with all rent obligations
current or paid in full.
(e) Any real property or interest therein may in like manner be
exchanged, either as whole or part consideration, for any other real
property or interest therein as needed for high-speed rail purposes.
This provision does not authorize exchanges where the value of the
state-owned property exceeds the value of the property the department
seeks to acquire, unless the excess value is incidental and
subdivision of the state-owned property, in order to produce a
smaller parcel of equal value to the value of the property the
department seeks to acquire, would reduce the total value of the
state-owned property.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, property shall
be sold either by receipt of competitive sealed bids, or at public
auction, whichever method is determined by the director to be more
likely to achieve the higher sales price.
185232. The director may sell or lease excess right-of-way
parcels to municipalities or other local agencies for public
purposes, and may accept as all or part of the consideration for the
sale or lease any substantial benefits the state will derive from the
municipality or other local agency's undertaking maintenance or
landscaping costs that would otherwise be the obligation of the
state.
185234. The director may lease nonoperating right-of-way areas to
municipalities or other local agencies for public purposes, and may
contribute toward the cost of developing local parks and other
recreational facilities on those areas. The director may accept as
all or part of the consideration for the lease or for the state
contribution any substantial benefits the state will derive from the
municipality or other local agency's undertaking maintenance or
landscaping costs that would otherwise be the obligation of the
state. Those leases shall contain a provision that whenever the
leased land is needed for high-speed rail operating purposes the
lease shall terminate. The department is authorized to classify
portions of high-speed rail rights-of-way as nonoperating.
185236. (a) The department may acquire, by purchase, lease, or
eminent domain, any property necessary for the development and
implementation of the state's high-speed train program. The
power of eminent domain shall be exercised in accordance with Title 7
(commencing with Section 1230.010) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(b) Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the authority constitutes the department'
s "governing body" within the meaning of Section 1245.210 of the Code
of Civil Procedure, for purposes of the adoption of resolutions of
necessity. All provisions of Title 7 (commencing with Section
1230.010) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to the
authority and the department. department's authority
to use eminent domain shall not exceed, but shall be equivalent to,
the powers previously granted to the authority in that regard
pursuant to former Section 185036, as repealed by the act enacting
this section, and pursuant to Section 13 of Chapter 267 of the
Statutes of 2008.
(c)
(b) To the extent that the activities authorized by
subdivision (a) exceed the capacity of the department's existing
workforce, the department may contract with qualified individuals or
firms for engineering, surveying, and related technical services in
exercising its authority pursuant to subdivision (a).
CHAPTER 4. LEGAL MATTERS
185300. The department may employ its own legal staff or contract
with other state agencies for legal services, or both. The
department's legal counsel may represent the authority and the
department in any judicial proceeding.
185302. Any legal or equitable action brought against the
authority or the department shall be brought in a court of competent
jurisdiction in the County of Sacramento. For purposes of this
section, subdivision (1) of Section 401 of the Code of Civil
Procedure does not apply.
CHAPTER 5. TRANSITION PROVISIONS
185400. The department shall assume and shall observe, keep, and
perform all of the responsibilities, liabilities, and obligations of
the authority existing, as of the effective date of this division,
under any law, except as otherwise set forth in this division, and
under any contract, bond, indenture, or other document, and the
assumption of those responsibilities, liabilities, and obligations of
the authority shall occur without any execution or filing of any
paper or any further act. Any reference to the authority in any law,
except as otherwise set forth in this division and subject to Section
185220, and in any contract, bond, indenture, or other document
shall be deemed, on and after the effective date of this division, to
mean the department.
185402. All persons employed by the authority immediately prior
to the effective date of this division, except the executive
director, shall become employees of the department on the effective
date of this division on the same terms and conditions of employment.
185404. If, as of the effective date of this division, the
Governor has not appointed a person to serve as director of the
department, the person
serving as executive director of the authority immediately prior to
the effective date of this division shall become the director on the
effective date of this division. If, as of the effective date of this
division, the Governor has appointed a person to serve as director
of the department, that person shall become the director upon the
effective date of this division, and upon taking office, and the
person serving as executive director of the authority immediately
prior to the effective date of this division shall serve as interim
director of the department until the Governor's appointee takes
office.