BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1403
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Eng
VERSION: 4/28/09
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 23, 2009
SUBJECT:
Local transportation funds: planning and programming
DESCRIPTION:
This bill deletes the $1 million cap on the annual allocation of
Transportation Development Account (TDA) funds to the Southern
California Association of Governments (SCAG) for funding SCAG's
planning and programming responsibilities.
ANALYSIS:
The Legislature enacted the Transportation Development Act
(TDA), Senate Bill 325, Chapter 1400, Statutes of 1971, in order
to ensure "the efficient and orderly movement of people and
goods in the urban areas of the state." The TDA authorized the
boards of supervisors in each county to impose a -percent local
sales tax for transportation purposes. All counties imposed the
tax in 1972, because if they had not, the state, under
California's uniform tax law would not have collected the
one-percent local sales tax that supports the general funds of
cities and counties.
Existing law authorizes statutorily-created regional
transportation planning agencies to allocate to themselves up to
three percent of TDA funds that the Board of Equalization (BOE)
distributes to the counties within the regions for planning and
programming. The county transportation commissions in Orange,
Riverside, and San Bernardino counties may allocate to
themselves up to three percent of their TDA revenues for
planning and programming. The Los County Metropolitan
Transportation Commission may allocate to itself one percent of
AB 1403 (ENG) Page 2
the TDA revenue generated in the county for planning and
programming. The Southern California Association of Governments
(SCAG), a multicounty regional transportation planning agency
that includes all of the above county transportation
commissions, may annually receive up to three-quarters of one
percent of the TDA revenues generated in the above counties, but
not more than $1 million dollars, for transportation planning
and programming.
This bill authorizes SCAG to continue to receive the
three-quarters of one percent of TDA revenues from the county
transportation commissions but removes the $1 million cap on the
amount SCAG may receive.
COMMENTS:
Purpose . At the time the county transportation commissions were
created in 1977, the responsibility for allocating TDA revenues
to the transit operators in each county remained with SCAG. In
1979, the Legislature shifted the TDA responsibility to the
county commissions, resulting in the management of TDA being
focused on the county level rather than regionally. With this
action, local officials believed SCAG no long needed a three
percent allocation of TDA funds, since it no longer managed the
TDA program. Legislation was enacted reflecting this conclusion.
In the intervening thirty years, the responsibilities of SCAG
have been increased. According to SCAG it is necessary to remove
the $1 million dollar cap on its allocation of TDA revenue
because its regional transportation planning responsibilities
have substantially increased since the cap was imposed. Among
its added responsibilities is the modeling of alternative
regional transportation investment portfolios in order to
demonstrate conformity with federal air quality standards, and
the planning requirements that are derived from SB 375
(Steinberg), Chapter 728, statutes of 2008, which mandates SCAG
to prepare and evaluate a Sustainable Communities' Strategy as
part of the regional transportation planning process.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 79-1
Trans: 14-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 17, 2009)
AB 1403 (ENG) Page 3
SUPPORT: Southern California Association of Governments
(sponsor)
City of Moreno Valley
Orange County Transportation Authority
San Bernardino Associated Governments
OPPOSED: None received.