BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1348|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1348
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: 5/24/10
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 8-0, 4/20/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Kehoe,
Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : California Transportation Commission:
guidelines
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides a procedure for the
California Transportation Commission to adopt legislatively
mandated policy guidelines.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/24/10 clarify the use of
procedures established by the bill for adopting policy
guidelines by the California Transportation Commission.
ANALYSIS : Established in 1978, the California
Transportation Commission (CTC) provides a single venue for
addressing transportation development and funding issues in
the state. The CTC consists of eleven voting members and
two non-voting ex-officio members. Of the eleven voting
CONTINUED
SB 1348
Page
2
members, the governor appoints nine, the Senate Rules
Committee appoints one, and the Speaker of the Assembly
appoints one. The two ex-officio non-voting members are
the chairs of the transportation policy committees in each
house. The CTC programs and allocates funds for the
construction of highway, passenger rail, and transit
improvements throughout California.
Existing law authorizes the CTC to adopt policy guidelines
for various transportation programs, but provides little
direction on how the adoption process should proceed.
Among the programs for which the CTC adopts guidelines are
the State Transportation Improvement Program and regional
transportation planning process. The passage of the
Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port
Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B) mandated the
issuance of several new guidelines such as the Corridor
Mobility Improvement Account, State Route 99 Corridor
Program, the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, the Public
Transportation Modernization, Improvement, and Service
Enhancement Account and the Highway-Railroad Crossing
Safety Account.
This bill:
1.Requires the CTC's counsel to review proposed guidelines
for necessity, authority, consistency, reference, and
nonduplication.
2.Stipulates that the words "necessity," "authority,"
"clarity," "consistency," "reference," and
"nonduplication" shall have the same meaning as defined
by Section 11349 of the Government Code, which
establishes definitions for these terms for purposes of
rule making pursuant to the Administrative Procedures
Act. Specifies the CTC's counsel's recommendations and
communications to the CTC regarding the results of the
review are covered by attorney-client privilege, and
requires the CTC executive director to distribute the
recommendations and communications to all commissioners.
3.Requires policy guidelines be presented at CTC meeting
for purposes of receiving public comment, and requires
the guidelines be sent to anyone who request one at least
SB 1348
Page
3
45 days before the hearing and requires the guidelines be
available in electronic format. Provides that proposed
or draft guidelines include notice regarding public
comment, both orally and written.
4.Requires CTC staff, following the close of written
comment period, prepare a summary of objections and
recommendations received as a result of public input and
explain how the proposed guidelines is being changed to
accommodate the objections or recommendations, or the
reason for proposing no change. The summary shall be
public available at least 15 days prior to a subsequent
public hearing. Requires the commissioners consider the
staff recommendations and any additional public comment
made at this hearing before adopting, by an affirmative
vote of a majority of the commission membership, the
proposed guidelines.
5.Requires the CTC to maintain a guideline adoption file
containing the public notice, public comments, and
minutes of the public hearing, including the action taken
by the CTC. In addition, the adoption file shall contain
a summary of each objection or recommendation made with
an explanation of how the proposed guideline was changed
to accommodate each objection or recommendation, or the
reason for no change.
6.Requires the CTC to include in its annual report to the
Legislature a summary of the adoption of policy
guidelines during the previous calendar year, including a
summary of the proposed guidelines the CTC considered,
commission, a description of the action the CTC took, and
the commissioners' votes on guidelines considered.
Comments
With the increase in the number of policy guidelines that
the CTC is adopting, this legislation is intended to
systematize the process CTC uses to adopt policy guidelines
under its purview and to increase the transparency of the
process.
Policy guidelines and regulations are two very distinct
administrative tools to manage state programs. Regulations
SB 1348
Page
4
are adopted according to the terms and conditions of the
Administrative Procedures Act. According to counsel,
numerous court decisions have ruled that administrative
regulations are an extension of a statute and carry the
weight of law. Policy guidelines, even when mandated by a
statue, are an elaboration of policy and do not have the
weight of law. Typically, the guidelines are adopted
through a relatively informal process compared to
regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/18/10)
Professional Engineers in California Government
JA:nl 5/25/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****