BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 532
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 8, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                    SB 532 (Cogdill) - As Amended:  June 22, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                               
          TransportationVote:13-0 (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Authorizes the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to  
            relinquish, to the City of Kingsburg  (Fresno County), the  
            portion of State Route (SR) 201 located within the city's  
            limits.  

          2)Adds the portion of SR 108 in Stanislaus County, extending  
            from SR 99 in Stanislaus County to SR 120 east of the City of  
            Oakdale, to the state network of interregional roads, thereby  
            making this segment eligible for state funding in the  
            Interregional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP).

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor one-time costs to bring the highway segment up to a  
            "state of good repair" before it can be relinquished.  (State  
            Highway Account (SHA))  This cost will be the result of  
            negotiations between Caltrans and the City of Kingsburg  
            following legislative authorization for the relinquishment.   
            Any costs will be more than offset by long-term maintenance  
            and repair savings to Caltrans, if the CTC exercises its  
            authority to relinquish the highway segment.

          2)Redirection by Caltrans of up to $91 million in interregional  
            road funding previously committed to the Oakdale Bypass  
            project to an alternative alignment along SR 108.  

           COMMENTS 









                                                                  SB 532
                                                                  Page  2

           1)Relinquishment  .  Legislation is required before any segment of  
            state highway can be relinquished to another governmental  
            entity.  Relinquishment provides the recipient agency with  
            more control over a local transportation project and relieves  
            Caltrans of any further responsibility to improve, maintain,  
            or repair infrastructure related to the relinquished segment  
            of state highway.

            According to the author, SR 201, known as Sierra Street, is  
            the major east-west route through the City of Kingsburg and  
            serves as the city's de-facto "main street."  It is also the  
            site of the city's annual Swedish Festival.  The city would  
            like to avoid the necessity of obtaining state permits to make  
            street improvements or to close the street for the Swedish  
            Festival and other downtown events.

           2)ITIP Funding  .  The ITIP is funded from the 25% of State  
            Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funds that are not  
            allocated by the respective local transportation agencies.   
            The ITIP consists of capital improvements for interregional  
            projects nominated by Caltrans.

            In 2004, Caltrans committed $91 million of ITIP funds to the  
            Oakdale Bypass project.  Since that time, traffic patterns in  
            Stanislaus County have changed and the region has indicated  
            that an alternative project may better serve the county's  
            needs.  The county has proposed as an alternative the North  
            County Corridor project, a 17-mile, east-to-west alignment to  
            accommodate interregional traffic, goods movement, and  
            anticipated traffic growth.  This bill codifies the proposed  
            amended SR 108 alignment and allows the CTC to recognize and  
            approve future funding for the project.  Caltrans concurs with  
            adding SR 108 to the list of highways eligible for the ITIP  
            funds.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081