BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 409|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 409
Author: Ducheny (D)
Amended: 5/21/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/9/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
SUBJECT : Department of Railroads
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill creates a Department of Railroads in
the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency,
consolidating the rail programs currently administered by
the Department of Transportation, the High-Speed Rail
Authority, and the Public Utilities Commission.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Creates the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in
the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BT&H).
CONTINUED
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An undersecretary of the BT&H is required to oversee
Caltrans matters.
2. Requires the Governor to appoint a director of Caltrans
subject to confirmation by the Senate, who holds office
at his pleasure.
3. Creates within Caltrans a division of rail, which is
responsible for the development of a comprehensive rail
passenger system and the preparation of the rail
passenger development plan.
4. Authorizes Caltrans to:
A. Contract with Amtrak for passenger rail service
and related feeder bus services and with railroad
corporations for the use of tracks and other
facilities for passenger services.
B. Provide intermodal facilities along corridors on
which services is operated under contract to the
state.
C. Prepare marketing strategies for intercity
passenger rail services and the feeder-bus services.
D. Purchase, lease, and sell passenger rail
equipment, including passenger cars and locomotives.
E. Acquire, lease, design, construct, and improve
track lines and related facilities.
F. Purchase, lease, or condemn property necessary for
the development and implementation of the state's
rail passenger plan.
G. Prepare and submit to the Legislature every two
years a State Rail Plan consisting of a passenger
rail element and a freight rail element. Prior to
submitting the plan to the Legislature, Caltrans must
submit the plan to the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) for its advice and consent. The
Plan is required under federal law in order for
California to be eligible for certain capital funds
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for passenger rail services.
5. Assigns Caltrans responsibility for developing intercity
passenger rail service with speeds up to 125 miles per
hour.
6. Prohibits Caltrans from operating railroads.
7. Requires capital expenditures for intercity rail
projects funded from the state's Public Transit Account
to be included in the State Transportation Improvement
Program, which is a five-year state transportation
capital outlay program, adopted every two-years by CTC.
8. Authorizes that the state rail program be funded from
the Public Transit Account for state operations and from
the State Highway Account for the grade separation
program and the grade crossing program.
9. Authorizes $400 million for rail capital programs from
Proposition 1B, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction,
Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, and
$190 million for capital programs from 2008's
Proposition 1A, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger
Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.
10.Authorizes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to
allow, close, and regulate railroad at-grade crossings
and grade separations between railroads, local streets
and roads, and light rail transit systems, to regulate
the crossing of one railroad with another, to authorize
the installation and maintenance of grade-crossing
devices, and to apportion cost for the construction and
maintenance of such devices and grade separations.
11.Requires the PUC to establish a priority list of grade
separation projects based on criteria it adopts to be
funded by the Grade Separation Fund (Fund) in the State
Highway Account.
12.Authorizes the CTC to fund projects from the priority
list prepared by the PUC with revenue from the Fund,
based on a recommendation made by Caltrans.
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13.Establishes the California High-Speed Rail Authority
(HSRA), which is governed by five members appointed by
the Governor, two members appointed by the Senate Rules
Committee, and two members appointed by the Speaker of
the Assembly.
This bill:
1. Creates the Department of Railroads (DOR) in the BT&H
and requires an undersecretary of the BT&H be assigned
to give attention to rail matters.
2. Requires the Governor to appoint a director for the DOR
who is subject to confirmation by the Senate, and who
holds office at his pleasure. The Director of DOR shall
be paid the same salary as the Director of Caltrans.
3. Transfers the HSRA to the DOR and the HSRA a division
within DOR and authorizes the Director of DOR to
nominate a chief of the division of high speed rail who
shall be approved by the board of the HSRA and whose
position shall be exempt from civil service.
4. Designates the Director of DOR to be the chair of the
HSRA.
5. Authorizes the Governor to appoint a deputy director for
DOR, upon the recommendation of the Director.
6. Transfers from Caltrans to DOR the powers, prohibitions,
and responsibilities identified in #4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
in existing law above.
7. Transfers from the PUC to DOR the powers and
responsibilities identified in #10 and 11 above.
8. Creates a division of railroad-highway grade separation
and grade crossing protection for purposes of housing
the Caltrans and PUC functions associate the grade
separation and grade crossing protection programs.
9. Requires that the HSRA's annual budget to be developed
jointly by the Director of DOR and HSRA.
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10.Mandates the DOR to be the only state agency eligible to
apply for and receive grant and loan funds from the
federal government or other sources for intercity rail,
high-speed rail, or freight rail purposes.
11.Requires the secretary of BT&H to convene a joint task
force, co-chaired by the Director of DOR, the Director
of Caltrans, and a representative of the PUC for the
purpose of resolving issues between the three agencies
relative to overlapping jurisdictions
Background
During the 1970s, Caltrans' mission was broadened to
include public transportation. The clearest manifestation
of this policy shift is the intercity passenger rail
program that Amtrak has been operating since 1975 under
contract with Caltrans. The Division of Rail manages this
contract for Caltrans. The first Amtrak service was
between San Diego and Los Angeles, followed by service
between Bakersfield and Oakland, and finally from
Auburn-Sacramento to Oakland-San Jose. The intercity rail
program is managed in consultation with Amtrak, the private
railroad corporations over whose tracks the Caltrans
service operates, and the commuter rail operators in the
state who often share trackage rights with the
state-sponsored Amtrak service.
The PUC was originally established in 1911 by a
constitutional amendment as the California Railroad
Commission, for the purpose of regulating the railroad
industry. In 1912, the Legislature expanded its regulatory
authority to include natural gas, electric, telephone, and
water companies. Until the 1970s, the PUC was responsible
for regulating the fares and prices that railroads and
other transportation companies charge shippers and
passengers for the services they provided in California and
for enforcing rail safety standards. By 1980, Congress had
deregulated the trucking and rail industries, including
ending intrastate regulation by the PUC. After this
action, the PUC no longer regulated the intrastate rates of
the transportation industry. In regard to railroad safety,
Congress has pre-empted the PUC's authority and assigned it
to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The FRA,
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however, contracts with the PUC to perform certain safety
inspections on its behalf. The PUC does regulate urban
rail mass transportation systems. In the event of an
accident in the transportation sector, the investigation
and determination of probable cause is the responsibility
of the National Transportation Safety Board.
In 1996, the California High-Speed Rail Authority was
created with responsibility for planning, constructing, and
operating a high-speed train system serving California's
major metropolitan areas. With passage of Proposition 1A,
the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for
the 21st Century, the HSRA is responsible for developing
high-speed rail service between Anaheim-Los
Angeles-Bakersfield-San Jose-San Francisco. This service is
to be developed as a public-private partnership, with
private, state, and federal funding. Proposition 1A
specified that the service cannot rely upon state, federal,
or local operating subsidies.
Related Legislation
SB 455 (Lowenthal) requires the Governor's appointees to
the HSRA to be subject to Senate confirmation, establishes
criteria for selecting high-speed rail projects, and
provides the HSRA with eminent domain authority similar to
the authority assigned to Caltrans and the Department of
Water Resources.
AB 1375 (Galgiani) creates a Department of High-Speed Rail
to manage and implement the high-speed rail program
described in Proposition 1A and other statutes. The
management of this department is overseen by the governing
board of the HSRA.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
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New executive positions $175-$200
$350-$400 $350-$400 Special*
Establish DOR at BT&H unknown, significant costs
to establish/ Special*
maintain office space/general services
PUC relocation costs & $400
Special**
hiring/training new staff
Freight rail analysis $25 $75
$50Special***
Consolidation of functions unknown net fiscal impact;
probably Special*
some initial increased costs,
potentially
offset in the future due to
efficiencies
related to consolidation
* Public Transportation Account (PTA), State Highway
Account (SHA), PUC Transportation Reimbursement Account
(TRA), or High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund
** PTA, SHA, and PUC TRA
*** PTA, SHA
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/09)
Planning and Conservation League
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/27/09)
American Council of Engineering Companies
California High-Speed Rail Authority
Public Utilities Commission
JJA:mw 8/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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