BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 1445
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: desaulnier
VERSION: 4/13/10
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 20, 2010
SUBJECT:
Land use planning
DESCRIPTION:
This bill increases by $1 the fee to register a vehicle to pay
for regional land use planning activities. This bill also makes
changes to the membership and duties of the Office of Planning
and Research's Planning Advisory and Assistance Council.
ANALYSIS:
Fees on vehicle registrations to fund blueprint planning
Existing law prohibits a person from driving, moving, or parking
on the highway or in a public parking facility a motor vehicle
unless it is registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV). Existing law establishes a basic vehicle registration fee
of $34, plus a $22 surcharge for additional personnel for the
California Highway Patrol, and authorizes local agencies to
impose separate vehicle registration fee surcharges in their
respective jurisdictions for a variety of special programs,
including:
$1 for service authorities for freeway emergencies;
$1 for deterring and prosecuting vehicle theft;
up to $7 for air quality programs;
$1 for removing abandoned vehicles; and
$1 for fingerprint identification programs.
Existing law permits local agencies to form joint powers
agencies (JPAs). Cities and counties in regions have exercised
this authority to form JPAs called councils of government (COGs)
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to implement regional planning activities required under state
law, including regional housing needs assessments and regional
transportation plans. COGs generally serve as federally
recognized metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) for
transportation planning purposes, although there are exceptions.
For example, in the nine-county San Francisco Bay region, the
Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is the COG that
prepares the regional housing needs assessment, but the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the region's
MPO. Rural counties of the state are generally outside of an
MPO, and their county transportation planning agencies typically
develop required transportation plans.
SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008, required the
Air Resources Board (ARB), by September 30, 2010, to provide
each region that has a metropolitan planning organization (MPO)
with a greenhouse gas emission reduction target for the
automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and 2035,
respectively. Each MPO, in turn, is required to include within
its regional transportation plan (RTP) a sustainable communities
strategy (SCS) designed to achieve the ARB targets for
greenhouse gas emission reduction. If the SCS does not achieve
the reduction target, the MPO must prepare also an alternative
planning strategy. SB 375 provided that in the Southern
California Association of Governments' region, a subregional
entity may prepare a subregional SCS.
This bill :
1)Increases, effective July 1, 2011, the vehicle registration
fee by $1 to $35 annually.
2)Limits DMV to expend for administrative purposes not more than
two percent of the new vehicle registration revenues collected
on its costs in the first year the increased fee is in effect
and not more than one percent each year thereafter.
3)Directs one percent of the new vehicle registration revenues
collected to the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council.
4)Directs the remainder of the new revenues to each MPO, COG, or
a county transportation planning agency based on the number
vehicles registered there to:
i) fund the development and implementation of an SCS, a
regional blueprint plan, or a rural transportation plan
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element consistent with Caltrans' guidelines for regional
blueprints in order to identify land use strategies to
achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under
SB 375; and
ii) provide grants to local agencies for planning and
projects to implement a regional blueprint.
The Southern California Association of Governments, after
deducting its own costs of preparing its SCS, must distribute
funds its receives to subregional jurisdictions that have
elected to prepare a subregional SCS. A regional agency may
share revenues with the local air quality management district
to assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Planning Advisory and Assistance Council (PAAC)
Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research
(OPR) within the governor's office as the state's comprehensive
planning agency, responsible for helping local and regional
officials with land use planning. State law charges OPR with
coordinating state agencies' planning activities, including
directing OPR to prepare every four years a State Environmental
Goals and Policies Report, a 20- to 30-year look ahead at state
growth and development.
Existing law creates the Planning Advisory and Assistance
Council (PAAC) to assist OPR in various land-use planning
related activities, including development of the State
Environmental Goals and Policies Report. OPR's Director appoints
the PAAC members, which must include:
Three city representatives, nominated by the League of
California Cities
Three county representatives, nominated by the
California State Association of Counties
One representative from each of the regional planning
districts designated by OPR
One representative of Indian tribes with reservations in
California
SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008 created the
Strategic Growth Council, consisting of:
Director of OPR
Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
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Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency
Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency
Secretary of the California Health and Human Services
Agency
A public member, appointed by the Governor
The Strategic Growth Council coordinates the activities and
funding programs of its member state agencies to improve air and
water quality, improve natural resources protection, increase
the availability of affordable housing, improve transportation,
meet the state's greenhouse gas emission goals, encourage
sustainable land use planning, and revitalize urban and
community centers. The council must recommend policies to the
governor, state agencies, and the Legislature to encourage the
development of sustainable communities and provide local
governments and regional agencies with data to assist in
planning sustainable communities.
This bill :
1.Changes the PAAC's membership to be:
Three city representatives, nominated by the League of
California Cities
Three county representatives, nominated by the
California State Association of Counties
Seven representatives of specified regional planning
organizations
One member of the State Air Resources Board
One member of the California Transportation Commission
One member of the California Energy Commission
One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly
One member appointed by the Senate Rules Committee
One representative of Indian tribes with reservations in
California
1.Assigns the PAAC five new duties, as follows:
i) Work with the Strategic Growth Council to facilitate the
implementation of regional blueprint projects.
ii) Facilitate coordination between regional blueprint plans
and state growth and infrastructure funding plans by
developing recommendations to specified state agencies.
iii) Receive reports, including the state's five-year
infrastructure plan.
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iv) Report to the Legislature on how state agencies
implement the state's planning priorities.
v) Report to the Legislature on regional performance
measures that evaluate each region based on the PAAC's
criteria for improving the regions' employment,
environmental protection, education, housing, and mobility.
2.Directs the Strategic Growth Council in performing its duties
to consult with the PAAC and delays for two years, until 2012,
the due date of the council's first annual report to the
Legislature on financial awards it makes to support
sustainable planning activities.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author notes that SB 375 requires that each MPO
develop an SCS reflecting preferred land uses as part of its
regional transportation plan. The SCS will build on regional
blueprints already being prepared in these regions. Proponents
note that the state has provided few resources to implement SB
375 and its required regional transportation plans that will
address greenhouse gas emissions. Regional and local
governments need resources for strategic planning and
opportunities for coordination with state agencies. The author
introduced this bill to provide those resources and the
opportunity for greater coordination. Specifically, this bill
will impose an increase in the vehicle $1 registration fee on
all vehicles to fund development and implementation of
sustainable communities strategies or regional plans. This
bill will allow the Planning and Advisory and Assistance
Council to coordinate state investments with these regional
plans.
2.Arguments in opposition . The California New Car Dealers
Association states that California motorists are already
overburdened with hidden vehicle fees. In addition to the
annual Vehicle License Fee (VLF), which last year increased
from 0.65 percent to 1.15 percent of a vehicle's value, and
annual $34 vehicle registration fees, vehicle owners are also
subject to "add-on" fees: $1-7 annual air quality district
fee, $20 smog abatement fee for vehicles six model-years old
or newer, $1 annual abandoned vehicle trust fee, $22 annual
CHP fee; $1 annual freeway call box fee; $1 annual theft
deterrence fee; $1 annual fingerprint identification fee; and,
the $1.75 per tire California tire fee. The dealers believe
there is no reason to further increase the cost of vehicle
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ownership in California.
3.Limits on DMV's cost recovery . This bill limits the amount of
money that DMV may recover for imposing this bill's
registration fee increase and distributing the revenues
derived as the bill prescribes to two percent of those
revenues in the first year and one percent in each year
thereafter. While these may be sufficient funds for these
purposes, it is typical and more appropriate to limit DMV to
its actual costs for serving as a revenue collection agency
rather than to burden the Motor Vehicle Account, which
receives vehicle registration fees to fund both DMV and the
California Highway Patrol. The author or the committee may
wish to consider an amendment to delete the bill's limits on
the costs that DMV can recovery for implementing the bill and
instead limit DMV to recovering its actual costs of
implementation.
4.Last year's bill vetoed . This bill is similar to SB 406
(DeSaulnier) of 2009, which would have authorized regions to
impose a surcharge on vehicles registered within their
jurisdictions to pay for regional land use planning
activities; it also made the same changes as this bill does to
the membership and duties of the Office of Planning and
Research's Planning Advisory and Assistance Council. That bill
passed the Transportation and Housing Committee by a 6 to 4 on
April 28, 2009. The governor vetoed that bill because it
authorized regional planning agencies to impose a surcharge on
motor vehicle registrations within their jurisdictions without
voter approval. This bill imposes an increase in the statewide
vehicle registration fee in an attempt to address the
governor's concern.
5.Committee of second referral . The Rules Committee referred
this bill to the Local Government Committee and to the
Transportation and Housing Committee. This bill passed that
committee on April 7, 2010 by a 3 to 2 vote. The Local
Government Committee's analysis and hearing of the bill dealt
primarily with the provisions of the bill related to the
Planning Advisory and Assistance Council, leaving the vehicle
registration surcharge provisions for review in this
committee.
RELATED LEGISLATION
SB 406 (DeSaulnier) would have authorized regions to impose a
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surcharge on vehicle registrations to pay for regional land use
planning activities and would have made changes to the
membership and duties of the Office of Planning and Research's
Planning Advisory and Assistance Council. Vetoed.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 14, 2010)
SUPPORT: California Association of Councils of Governments
(sponsor)
Association of Bay Area Governments
OPPOSED: California New Car Dealers Association