BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1348
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: 8/9/10
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
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 6/1/10
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 8/16/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : California Transportation Commission:
guidelines
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides a procedure for the
CONTINUED
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California Transportation Commission to adopt legislatively
mandated policy guidelines.
Assembly Amendments clarify that the California
Transportation Commissions (CTC) legal counsel's
recommendations and communications to the CTC are subject
to attorney-client privilege, unless otherwise waived, and
make other technical changes.
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
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. Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding
the need to ensure that CTC's process for adopting
program guidelines is understandable, predictable, and
transparent and provides ample opportunity for public
review and comment on proposed guidelines.
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2. Provides, notwithstanding any other provision, in
instances where CTC adopts guidelines the guidelines
will be exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA).
3. Sets forth a process governing CTC's adoption of
guidelines after January 1, 2011, except for guidelines
adopted to implement the State Transportation
Improvement Program (STIP), as follows:
A. CTC's legal counsel is required to review the
proposed guidelines for necessity, authority,
clarity, consistency, reference, and redundancy
recommend any changes to CTC commissioners.
Comments and recommendations made by legal counsel
will be subject to attorney-client privilege,
unless waived. The CTC Executive Director is
required distribute the recommendations and
communications with legal counsel to all
commissioners.
B. Program or policy guidelines are to be first
presented at a CTC meeting for purposes of
receiving public comment.
C. Final proposed guidelines will be presented at a
CTC meeting.
D. At least 45 days prior to the meeting, copies of
the proposed guidelines must be distributed and be
made available in electronic format.
E. Proposed guidelines must include a notice of the
right of the public comment on the guidelines.
F. Following the proposed guideline review process,
CTC staff will summarize all comments and explain
any changes to the guidelines in response to
comments made. Staff recommendations and summary
must be made public 15 days prior to a regular CTC
meeting.
G. Guidelines must be adopted by a majority of the
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commission membership.
4. Requires CTC to maintain complete files on guideline
adoption proceedings, including a summary of each
objection or recommendation made and an explanation of
how the proposed guidelines was changed to accommodate
each objection or recommendation, or the reason no
change was made.
5. Requires the CTC to include in its annual report to the
Legislature an accounting of its activities related to
guideline adoption during the prior year.
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
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
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
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Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Blakeslee, Charles Calderon, Davis,
Fuentes, Norby, Vacancy
JA:nl 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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