BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 652
Author: Huff (R)
Amended: 4/30/09
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 5/6/09
AYES: Wiggins, Cox, Kehoe, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad
SUBJECT : Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority
SOURCE : Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority
DIGEST : This bill declares that the San Gabriel Valley
Council of Governments and the Alameda Corridor-East
Construction Authority are political subdivisions of the
state. This bill states that this provision is declaratory
of existing law. This bill also states that the San
Gabriel Valley Council of Government and the Alameda
Corridor-East Construction Authority are eligible to apply
for state and federal funds, including the Federal Railroad
Administration Capital Grants Program for Rail Line
Relocation and Improvement Projects.
ANALYSIS : The Joint Exercise of Powers Act allows two or
more public agencies to exercise their common powers by
signing a joint powers agreement. Sometimes an agreement
creates a joint powers authority (JPA). The San Gabriel
Valley Council of Governments (COG) is a JPA consisting of
29 cities in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County,
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the County of Los Angeles, and three municipal water
districts.
This bill declares that the San Gabriel Valley Council of
Governments and the Alameda Corridor-East Construction
Authority are political subdivisions of the state. This
bill states that this provision is declaratory of existing
law. This bill also states that the San Gabriel Valley
Council of Government and the Alameda Corridor-East
Construction Authority are eligible to apply for state and
federal funds, including the Federal Railroad
Administration Capital Grants Program for Rail Line
Relocation and Improvement Projects.
Comments
A JPA can delegate its functions to an "administrative
entity" for the purposes of program development, policy
formulation, or program implementation. In 1998, the San
Gabriel Valley COG created the Alameda Corridor-East (ACE)
Construction Authority to develop and implement the "ACE
Project," a collection of construction projects aimed at
mitigating the effects of rail traffic in the San Gabriel
Valley. The ACE Project includes grade crossing safety
improvements, traffic signal control measures, roadway
widenings, and grade separations. Federal, state, local,
and private funds pay for the ACE projects.
In 2008, the ACE Construction Authority submitted an
application to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Capital Grants Program for Rail Line Relocation and
Improvement Projects. This federal grant program is open
to states, political subdivisions of states, and the
District of Columbia. Although the grant program
regulations do not define "political subdivision of a
state," the FRA determined that the ACE Construction
Authority is not a political subdivision of a state and,
thus, ineligible to apply for the FRA's funds. In an
effort to convince the FRA to reconsider its determination,
the ACE Construction Authority wants the Legislature to
declare in statute that the San Gabriel Valley COG and the
ACE Construction Authority are political subdivisions of
California.
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3
This bill includes an urgency clause because federal
funding for rail relocation and improvement projects is
available now and the ACE Construction Authority does not
want to miss its chance to apply for those funds.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/6/09)
Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority
AGB:do 5/6/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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