BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2579
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2579 (Evans) - As Amended: April 19, 2010
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:6-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes an Infrastructure Financing and
Development Commission, which is charged with developing and
recommending a plan to the governor and Legislature that
provides for financing, building, and maintaining the
infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of Californians up
until 2050. Specifically, the bill
1)Specifies the commission consists of 11 members, including the
treasurer, four members appointed by the governor, three
members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and three
members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
3)Contains numerous administrative and governance requirements,
including that the commission establish task forces on
planning and finance, transportation, housing, natural
resources, and education.
4)Requires the commission to develop long-term guidelines for
our state's infrastructure needs and a prioritized plan that
meets those needs. Key components include projections of
population and economic trends, assessments of capital needs
for various areas, and development of a recommended financing
plan.
5)Requires that the Commission submit its final report to the
governor and Legislature no later than December 1, 2012, and
to wind up 30 days after the issuance of the report.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 2579
Page 2
Operational and staffing costs for the commission of about
$500,000 in 2010-11, $1.2 million in 2011-12, and $600,000 in
2012-13.
1)Estimate assumes one executive director and four full time
staff positions to develop long term projections, assess
capital outlay needs and financing sources, provide support to
task force working groups, and develop and prepare report.
2)Actual costs could be higher or lower, depending on, among
other things, the extent to which the commission is able to
rely on borrowed staff and existing studies for its work.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is sponsored by State Treasurer Bill
Lockyer, who asserts that the Infrastructure Commission will
help recommend a new and better process for periodically
adjusting and adapting the infrastructure financing and
development plan in future years to meet changing
circumstances. The author states that California needs a
strategic infrastructure plan that prioritizes investments
while identifying new mechanisms to finance construction over
the long term. She asserts that, while government-wide
planning currently exists, it is typically segmented by
department or by the type of infrastructure investment. It
does not often account for overarching goals like AB 32
(Nunez/Pavley), Chapter 488, Statues of 2006, or SB 375
(Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statues of 2008, or rank projects by
need.
2)Background . Existing law requires the governor to annually
submit a five-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature.
The plan must contain Identification of infrastructure
requested by agencies; aggregate funding for transportation;
infrastructure needs for K-12; instructional facility needs
for UC, CSU, and the Community Colleges; and the cost of
providing the infrastructure, sources of funding, and impact
on the state's debt position. The governor's most recent plan
was released in 2008.
3)Fiscal Issue. Given the experience and expertise within the
AB 2579
Page 3
Department of Finance and other state agencies, a key question
raised by this bill is whether it makes sense to "reinvent the
wheel" by requiring a newly formed commission to essentially
duplicate many of the activities that are required by current
law.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081