BILL ANALYSIS
SB 391
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
SB 391 (Liu) - As Amended: May 4, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 23-15
SUBJECT : California Transportation Plan
SUMMARY : Modifies requirements of the California Transportation
Plan (CTP). Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the lack
of a statewide, comprehensive, multimodal plan for achieving
California's greenhouse gas emissions targets and pollution
standards.
2)Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to update the CTP, consistent with requirements
added by this bill.
3)Requires the first update to be completed by December 31,
2015, and additional updates every five years thereafter.
4)Requires the policy element of the CTP to reflect additional
legislative intent related to greenhouse gas emission targets.
5)Requires that the CTP consider all the following subject areas
for the movement of people and freight:
a) Mobility and accessibility;
b) Integration and connectivity;
c) Efficient system management and operation;
d) Existing system preservation;
e) Safety and security;
f) Economic development, including productivity and
efficiency; and,
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g) Environmental protection and quality of life.
6)Requires Caltrans, in developing the CTP, to address how the
state will achieve maximum feasible emissions reduction to
attain a statewide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,
taking into consideration the use of alternative fuels, new
vehicle technology, tailpipe emissions reductions, and
expansion of public transit, commuter rail, intercity rail,
bicycling, and walking. The CTP is required to identify the
statewide integrated multimodal transportation system needed
to achieve these results.
7)Requires Caltrans to complete an interim report by December
31, 2012, and to include an overview of all sustainable
communities strategies and assess how implementation of the
sustainable communities strategies will influence the
configuration of the statewide integrated multimodal
transportation system.
8)Requires the interim report be submitted to the California
Transportation Commission (CTC) and the Chairs of the Senate
Committee on Transportation and Housing, Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality, Senate Committee on Local Government,
Assembly Committee on Transportation, Assembly Committee on
Natural Resources, and Assembly Committee on Local Government.
9)Requires Caltrans to consult with and coordinate its
activities with CTC, the Strategic Growth Council, State Air
Resources Board, the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, air quality management districts, and
public transit operators, in addition to the already-required
regional transportation planning agencies. Caltrans is also
required to provide an opportunity for input by the general
public.
10)Requires Caltrans to make a final draft of the CTP available
to the Legislature and Governor, prior to the Governor
adopting the CTP or any updates.
EXISTING LAW :
11)Mandates, under federal law, the development of a 20-year
state and regional long-range transportation plan as a
pre-requisite for receipt of federal transportation funds.
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The plan is required to be developed in cooperation with the
state's metropolitan planning organizations, local
transportation officials, Native American Tribal Governments,
and other interested parties. It is also to be coordinated
with development of the transportation portion of the State
Implementation Plan, as required by the federal Clean Air Act.
12)Declares, in state law, the intent of the Legislature that it
is in the best interest of California to have an integrated
state and regional transportation planning process, including
development of a long-range transportation plan.
13)Defines elements to be included in the CTP, including:
a) A policy element that describes the state's
transportation policies and system performance objectives;
b) A strategies element that incorporates the broad system
concepts and strategies synthesized from adopted regional
transportation plans; and,
c) A recommendation element that includes economic
forecasts and recommendations to the Legislature and the
Governor to achieve the plan's broad system concepts,
strategies, and performance objectives.
14)Finds and declares that in all cases, regional and local
expressions of transportation goals, objectives, and policies
that reflect the unique characteristics and aspirations of
various areas of the state should be recognized in
transportation planning, tempered, by consideration of
statewide interests, however.
15)Establishes the Strategic Growth Council (Council), requires
the Council to take certain actions with regard to
coordinating specified programs of member state agencies, and
requires the Council to manage and award grants and loans to
support the planning and development of sustainable
communities.
16)Establishes the Council, consisting of the Director of the
State Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the Secretary of
the Resources Agency, the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, the Secretary of Business, Transportation, and
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Housing, the Secretary of California Health and Human
Services, and one member of the public to be appointed by the
Governor, provides for the Council's staff, chair, and
meetings, and allocates $500,000 of Proposition 84 funds for
support of the Council.
17)Vests the Governor's Office of Planning and Research with
responsibility to serve the Governor and his or her Cabinet as
staff for long-range planning and research, and constitute the
comprehensive state planning agency for California.
18)Creates the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council, within
the Office of Planning and Research to engage in the
formulation, evaluation and updating of long-range goals and
policies for land use, population growth and distribution,
urban expansion, development, open space, resource
preservation and utilization, air and water quality, and other
factors that shape statewide development patterns and
significantly influence the quality of the state's
environment.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, $500,000 in federal planning funds for consultant
contracts through 2015.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is an effort to
incorporate recently enacted legislation, AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter
488, Statutes of 2006, SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes
of 2007, and SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008,
into integrated statewide planning to secure a sustainable
future for California.
The author contends that "Over the last several years, the
direction in California environmental preservation,
transportation, housing, and infrastructure financing policy has
been to break down the silos created by single purpose
bureaucratic organization and legislative mandates. The 21st
Century goal is to produce integrated planning processes that
recognize the relationships among residential,
commercial/industrial, and agricultural land use; transportation
and housing; air quality; and energy planning, regulatory, and
infrastructure funding processes. Much of this motivation comes
from the acceptance of climate change as a reality and
California's desire to be a leader in the field of addressing
this global issue. A fundamental element of this direction has
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been to recognize the need for local, regional, and state
coordination. In short, the new paradigm needs to emphasize
both vertical and horizontal integration of the state's
planning, regulatory, and funding processes."
The last version of the CTP was published by Caltrans in April
of 2006 and was intended to "provide a vision for California's
transportation system and explore major trends that will likely
influence travel behavior and transportation decisions over the
next 20-plus years. In the context of these future trends and
challenges, [the CTP] then provides goals, policies, and
strategies to reach the vision."
Yet another plan? It is not clear how the author intends this
bill to inter-relate with the Strategic Growth Council
established pursuant to last year's SB 732. The Council is
vested with the responsibility to:
19)Identify and review activities and funding programs of member
state agencies that may be coordinated to improve air and
water quality, improve natural resource protection, increase
the availability of affordable housing, improve
transportation, meet the goals of AB 32, encourage sustainable
land use planning, and revitalize urban and community centers
in a sustainable manner;
20)Review and comment on the state's five-year infrastructure
plan and Environmental Goals and Policy Report;
21)Recommend policies and investment strategies to the Governor,
Legislature, and appropriate state agencies to encourage the
development of sustainable communities;
22)Provide, fund, and distribute data and information to local
governments and regional that will assist in developing and
planning sustainable communities; and,
23)Manage and award grants and loans to support the planning and
development of sustainable communities, pursuant to the
provisions of this bill, for which specified implementation
actions may be employed.
The committee may wish to ascertain the author's vision of how
the proposed CTP would be integrated with the work of the
Strategic Growth Council, the Planning Advisory and Assistance
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Council, or the Office of Planning and Research, particularly
as it relates to oversight of sustainable communities
strategies.
Related legislation : SB 406 (DeSaulnier) would update the
duties and responsibilities of the Planning Advisory and
Assistance Council and require it to work with the Strategic
Growth Council in the state's land use planning processes, in
part by working with state agencies to facilitate coordination
between state planning and funding decisions and regional
blueprints. That bill is currently in the Assembly Local
Government Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093