BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1061
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 4, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 1061 (Hancock) - As Amended:  May 25, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                               
          TransportationVote:8-4

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes the use of toll-bridge revenues to fund a  
          bicycle-pedestrian-maintenance pathway project on the San  
          Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Specifically, this bill:

          1)Authorizes the use of toll bridge revenues for a pathway from  
            the replacement eastern span of the bridge to San Francisco,  
            across the bridge's western span, conditioned on the project  
            being included in the adopted regional transportation plan.  

          2)Prohibits the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) from increasing  
            tolls to fund the project.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Estimated costs for the project range from about $170 million to  
          $500 million. Per the bill's restriction, these costs would have  
          to be covered by existing toll revenues.

           COMMENTS  

           Background and Purpose  . BATA was created by SB 226  
          (Kopp)/Chapter 328 of 1997, to administer the base $1 toll on  
          the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges and to oversee the  
          Regional Measure 1 program.   AB 144 (Hancock)/Chapter 71 of  
          2005, expanded BATA's responsibilities to include administration  
          of all toll revenue and joint oversight of the toll bridge  
          construction program.

          The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) estimates that  
          the cost to construct a bikeway on the 1.9-mile western span of  








                                                                  SB 1061
                                                                  Page  2

          the Bay Bridget would be $518 million. Feasibility studies  
          commissioned by Caltrans in 2001 concluded that two lightweight  
          options for constructing a bicycle and pedestrian facility on  
          the west span were possible at project costs ranging from $168  
          million to $350 million. BATA has commissioned the preparation  
          of a project study report (PSR) to develop new alternatives for  
          the project.  

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