BILL ANALYSIS
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VETO
Bill No: SB 964
Author: Alquist (D), et al
Amended: 6/30/10
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-2, 4/20/10
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley,
Simitian
NOES: Huff, Ashburn
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-2, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Denham, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox, Wyland
SENATE FLOOR : 23-11, 6/1/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price,
Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Cox, Denham, Dutton, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Runner, Strickland, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill, Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins,
Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-24, 8/25/10 - See last page for vote
SENATE FLOOR : 23-14, 8/26/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price,
CONTINUED
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Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Blakeslee, Cogdill, Denham,
Dutton, Emmerson, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wiggins, Vacancy
SUBJECT : High-speed rail and workforce development
planning
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires that the High-Speed Rail
Authority and the Employment Development Department
collaboratively prepare a labor market assessment of the
workforce needs associated with the construction,
operation, and maintenance of the high-speed train system.
Assembly Amendments require the cooperative sharing of
workforce assessment information between Employment
Development Department (EDD) and the Mineta Transportation
Institute at the California State University at San Jose,
and require EDD to also consult with other ongoing rail
transit assessment efforts related to workforce training.
ANALYSIS : Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail
Authority (HSRA) with a nine-member governing board,
including five members appointed by the governor, two
members appointed by the Senate Rules Committee, and two
members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
Proposition 1A-Safe, Reliable High-Speed Train Bond Act for
the 21st Century authorizes the HSRA to develop a
high-speed rail system extending from San Diego to
Sacramento with Phase I being between Anaheim-Los Angeles
Union Station-Bakersfield-Fresno-San Jose-San Francisco
Transbay Terminal. In addition, Proposition 1A provides up
to $9 billion in bond funds for the development of the
high-speed rail system, but limits the expenditure of bond
revenues for the construction of the high-speed rail system
to not more than 50 percent of the cost of building the
system and not more than ten percent of bond proceeds to
environmental studies, planning, and preliminary
engineering. It also requires that up to two percent of the
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bond proceeds shall be for the administration of the HSRA.
Existing law creates the EDD and authorizes it to offer
services and programs related to job placement, Workforce
Investment, Labor Market Information, and management of
State Disability Insurance.
This bill :
1. Requires the HSRA to contract with EDD to develop a
labor market assessment of the needed workforce and
identify the education and skills needed to construct,
operate, and maintain the high-speed train system.
2. Requires the assessment to consider the short-term and
long-term labor needs for the high-speed rail project,
including the need for specific skills in the various
regions of the state.
3. Requires the assessment to include a recommended
strategy to ensure workforce training programs are
available to facilitate the availability of a skilled
in-state work force to participate in the construction
of the system.
4. Requires the cooperative sharing of workforce assessment
information between EDD and the Mineta Transportation
Institute at the California State University at San
Jose, and requires EDD to also consult with other
ongoing rail transit assessment efforts related to
workforce training.
5. Establishes an advisory committee comprised of the
following:
A. HSRA
B. University of California
C. California State University system
D. California Community College Chancellor's office
E. California Workforce Investment Board
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F. State Department of Education.
G. Labor organizations with expertise in operating
apprenticeship programs for the skills necessary to
build, operate, and maintain a high-speed rail
system.
H. State Employment Training Panel
I. Other organizations deemed appropriate
6. Authorizes the advisory committee to advise the HSRA and
EDD on the availability and potential availability of
skilled labor necessary to meet the needs of the project
by region, on the availability of workforce training
programs, and the available funding for such programs.
7. Requires submission of the assessment to the fiscal
committees and the policy committees of the Legislature
with jurisdiction over transportation and labor matters
by January 1, 2012.
8. Appropriates $500,000 of bond proceeds from to the HSRA
for purposes of this act from funds set aside for
environmental studies, planning and preliminary
engineering activities.
Comments
Because the high-speed rail project is a $42 billion,
one-of-a-kind project, that is forecasted to create
approximately 600,000 jobs requiring a broad array of
construction, maintenance, operating, and management
skills, the author believes that it is important for the
state to create an inventory of skills required to
successfully construct and operate a high-speed train
system. This workforce information will allow a
determination to be made as to the exact skills sets that a
training program should focused on.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Appropriation $500 Bond*
Training programs
potential cost pressures to fund training
General/
programs to the extent that
deficiencies Special
exit
* High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/10)
California Labor Federation
California State Council of Laborers
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Professional Engineers in California Government
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
State Building and Construction Trades Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/10)
Department of Finance
Western Electoral Contractor Association
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
"I am returning Senate Bill 964 without my signature.
While I strongly support efforts to provide a reliable
high-speed rail system throughout California, I cannot
support this bill. I agree that it is important for
the State to create an inventory of skills required to
successfully construct and operate a high-speed train
system, but it is also important to provide a
meaningful assessment to allow this to occur. The
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assessment requirement as contained in this bill will
entail a significant unfunded workload for the
Employment Development Department (EDD) that
translates to expenditures well beyond the $500,000
currently identified in the bill itself.
The EDD would be required to use private consultants
to perform a significant portion of the assessment, as
the high-speed rail industry is 'siloed' into the
various aspects of high-speed rail development.
Additional information must be gathered and a strategy
for conducting this research work developed before EDD
can provide an accurate cost estimate assessment for
this project. Additionally, the January 1, 2012
timeline is a factor that limits a meaningful
assessment of this nature. We must balance our need
for important program studies with our fiscal reality.
For these reasons, I am returning this bill without my
signature."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La
Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A.
Perez
NOES: Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Conway,
DeVore, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland,
Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Vacancy, Vacancy
JJA:do 10/5/10 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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