BILL NUMBER: AB 2579 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Evans
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Title 18.2 (commencing with Section 99090) to the
Government Code, relating to infrastructure financing and
development.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2579, as introduced, Evans. Master Plan for Infrastructure
Financing and Development Commission.
The California Constitution regulates the issuance of debt by the
state and requires that debt in excess of $300,000 for which the
state will be generally obligated be submitted to, and approved by,
the voters.
This bill would create the Master Plan for Infrastructure
Financing and Development Commission, the mission of which would be
to develop and recommend a plan to be presented to the Governor and
Legislature that provides for building and maintaining the
infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of Californians from the
present to the year 2050, and to establish a process for periodically
adjusting and adapting the plan in coming years to meet changing
circumstances. The bill would require that the commission consist of
11 members: the Treasurer or his or her designee, and members
appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the
Senate Committee on Rules. The bill would authorize the Governor to
appoint the chair of the commission who would work full-time on
commission business for an unspecified salary. The bill would
authorize the chair, with the concurrence of the commission, to
appoint an executive director, who would be exempt from civil service
and be paid an unspecified salary. The bill would require that
funding for the operating costs of the commission be available upon
appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the chair of
the commission to appoint the members of specified task force
committees, to be composed of both members and nonmembers of the
commission, and would require commission members to chair at least
one task force committee in which they have expertise. The bill would
provide that the subject matter responsibilities of these task force
committees include, but not be limited to, planning and financing,
transportation, housing, natural resources and conservation, and
education. The commission would be required to establish a timeline
for submission of periodic reports on their findings to the Governor
and Legislature, provide opportunity for public comment and
participation, and to incorporate the "Governor's Five Year
Infrastructure Plan" and the "State Environmental Goals and Policy
Report" into its long-term planning recommendations. The bill would
require the commission to submit its final report to the Governor and
Legislature no later than December 1, 2012, and to be dissolved 30
days after issuance of the final report.
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. Title 18.2 (commencing with Section 99090) is added to
the Government Code, to read:
TITLE 18.2. Master Plan for Infrastructure Financing and
Development Commission
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
99090. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) By 2050, an estimated 60 million people will call California
home, twice as many people as lived here in 2003, while our current
infrastructure of schools, universities, roads, housing, and water
delivery was built to serve 25 million residents.
(b) The Governor's Strategic Growth Plan estimates that the state
has approximately $500 billion in infrastructure needs over the next
20 years. While the state needs $500 billion of infrastructure
investment, experts conclude that public funds, including state and
local dollars, can only finance up to of $300 billion in projects,
leaving approximately $200 billion in unfunded infrastructure needs.
(c) California cannot solely rely on general obligation or lease
revenue bonds to pay for infrastructure, and must examine ways to
close the infrastructure financing gap through other types of
innovative financing available.
(d) Our state lacks a systematic process of analyzing and
prioritizing the myriad of infrastructure needs. While it is arguable
that long-term plans are in place for transportation, and perhaps
water, no single plan is in place that takes into account all of
California's needs. For this reason, it is necessary to create a
master plan to assess infrastructure needs and establish priorities
to guide policymakers in making future decisions that relate to
infrastructure projects.
(e) It is the mission of the Master Plan for Infrastructure
Financing and Development Commission to develop and recommend a plan
to be presented to the Governor and Legislature that provides for
building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to meet the
needs of Californians from the present to the year 2050, and to
establish a process for periodically adjusting and adapting the plan
in coming years to meet changing circumstances.
99091. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Master Plan
for Infrastructure Financing and Development Commission provide
long-term guidelines for our state's infrastructure needs and a
prioritized plan that meets those needs by doing all of the
following:
(a) Project population, social, and economic trends through 2050.
(b) Utilizing the projections established pursuant to subdivision
(a), assess the state's capital needs for transportation, education,
housing, and water through 2050, including the need for private
capital to augment or complement public financing.
(c) Assess the availability of private and public funds to support
jointly sponsored projects throughout the period from the present to
2050.
(d) Assess the status and fiscal value of dedicating future
revenues to specific infrastructure construction and maintenance,
including transportation and schools.
(e) Recommend a financing plan for the capital needs through 2050,
with a priority plan for each five-year interval, including
evaluation and recommendations of various financing methods that are
feasible and may be of benefit to state and local government.
99092. For purposes of this title, "commission" means the Master
Plan for Infrastructure Financing and Development Commission.
CHAPTER 2. COMMISSION STRUCTURE AND STAFF
Article 1. Commission Structure
99095. The commission shall consist of 11 members, to be selected
as follows:
(a) The Treasurer or his or her designee who has a public finance
background.
(b) Four members appointed by the Governor:
(1) One private sector representative from organized labor.
(2) One private sector representative from a statewide
organization representing California businesses.
(3) One member representing the public.
(4) One member of the administration who is a director of a state
agency or department.
(c) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly who
have the following qualifications:
(1) One member with expertise in transportation.
(2) One member with expertise in natural resources and
conservation.
(3) One member with expertise and experience in the financing of
large public works projects.
(d) Three members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules who
have the following qualifications:
(1) One member with expertise in education infrastructure
planning.
(2) One member with experience in housing, urban planning, or
financing.
(3) One member who is an economist with demonstrated
accomplishment in understanding and interpreting the California
economy.
99096. (a) The Governor shall appoint the chair of the
commission. The chair of the commission shall devote his or her
full-time attention to the responsibilities of the position during
the term of the commission's existence. Salary for the chair shall be
____.
(b) The Treasurer or his or her designee shall be the vice chair
of the commission.
99097. (a) The commission may adopt bylaws for the regulation of
its affairs and the conduct of its business.
(b) The commission shall meet on the call of the chairperson or at
the request of a majority of the members. A majority of all members
of the commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of
business. All members shall have a vote.
(c) The commission is subject to the provisions of the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2) and the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section
81000)).
(d) The commission may delegate to staff the authority to enter
into contracts for services on its behalf, including interagency
agreements, subject to relevant state law.
99098. Funding for the operating costs of the commission shall be
available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
Article 2. Commission Staff
99100. The chair of the commission, with the concurrence of the
commission, who appoint an executive director, who shall be exempt
from civil service. Salary for the executive director shall be ____.
99101. Commission staff may be loaned from relevant agencies, and
the executive director shall examine ways to provide for loan of
staff from local government and private nonprofit organizations who
have relevant expertise through partnerships, subject to approval and
direction by the commission and the chair.
99105. Except as otherwise provided in this title, members of the
commission shall not receive a salary, and shall be entitled to a
per diem allowance of fifty dollars ($50) for each day's attendance
at a meeting of the commission not to exceed three hundred dollars
($300) in any month, and reimbursement for expenses incurred in the
performance of their duties under this chapter, including travel and
other necessary expenses.
Article 3. Commission Duties
99110. (a) The chair of the commission shall appoint the members
on the task force committees described in Article 4 (commencing with
Section 99120), which shall be composed of both members and
nonmembers of the commission. Commission members shall chair at least
one task force committee in which they have expertise.
(b) The commission shall submit its final report to the Governor
and Legislature no later than December 1, 2012, and shall wind up 30
days after issuance of the final report. To the extent necessary, the
commission shall recommend a method to track the state's
infrastructure progress and to reassess the master plan periodically.
(c) All commission products shall incorporate the "Governor's Five
Year Infrastructure Plan" and the "State Environmental Goals and
Policy Report" into their long-term planning recommendations.
(d) The commission shall have authority to call on experts to
assist them or the task force committees in developing the master
plan.
(e) All commission products shall incorporate opportunity for
public comment and participation.
(f) The commission shall establish a timeline for submission of
periodic reports on their findings to the Governor and Legislature
prior to issuance of the final report.
Article 4. Commission Task Force Committees
99120. (a) The commission shall establish working task force
committees that will assess, inventory, and report on the state's
long-term needs and financing alternatives. The task force committees
will include, but not limited to the following:
(1) Planning and financing.
(2) Transportation.
(3) Housing.
(4) Natural resources and conservation.
(5) Education.
(b) Each committee shall include the following:
(1) Chair of the task force, who shall be a commission member with
expertise in the task force's particular study area.
(2) Appropriate experts on the task force's particular study area,
who also have background experience in the following:
(A) Public finance.
(B) Working knowledge of local government.
(C) Working knowledge of state government.
(3) Representatives from the following communities:
(A) Labor.
(B) Business.
(C) Environmental.
(D) Building industry.
(E) Consumer organization.
(F) Taxpayer organization.
(4) Additional expert or experienced people knowledgeable about
the task force's particular study area as deemed necessary by the
chair, in consultation with the commission.
99121. (a) The chair of each task force committee, with the
concurrence of the commission, shall develop a work plan, assign
responsibilities and deadlines for performance, and shall convene
meetings of the task force committees. Task force committees shall
meet at least once each month.
(b) Task force committee members shall establish a method for
reaching consensus on their findings and recommendations to the
commission. The chair of each task force committee shall be
responsible of presenting the committee's final recommendations to
the commission.
(c) At the direction of the chair, the task force committees shall
provide analyses and commentary to the commission in a timely matter
for all commission products.