BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1445
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1445 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended August 20, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-16
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 5-3 TRANSPORTATION 8-3
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|Ayes:|Caballero, Arambula, |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |
| |Coto, Davis, | |Blumenfield, Buchanan, |
| |Monning | |Furutani, Galgiani, |
| | | |Hayashi, Portantino, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Smyth, Knight, Logue |Nays:|Jeffries, Bill Berryhill, |
| | | |Miller |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford, | | |
| |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De | | |
| |Leon, Gatto, Hall, | | |
| |Skinner, Solorio, | | |
| |Torlakson, Torrico | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, | | |
| |Nielsen, Norby | | |
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SUMMARY : Allows a fee increase of up to $4 annually on vehicle
registration to fund to regional planning activities by councils
of governments (COGs), metropolitan planning organizations (
MPOs) and other specified local planning entities subject to
approval by voters, and adds additional members to the Planning
Advisory and Assistance Council (PAAC). Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds to the existing membership of the PAAC, the following
members:
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a) Seven representatives of regional planning
organizations;
b) One member of the State Air Resources Board (ARB);
c) One member of the California Transportation Commission
(CTC);
d) One member of the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission;
e) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly;
and,
f) One member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules;
2)Provides that the seven representatives of regional planning
organizations shall be from the governing body of each of the
following:
a) Five members selected by the Director of the Office of
Planning and Research (OPR) from nominees submitted by the
regional planning organizations listed below:
i) The Southern California Association of Governments
(SCAG);
ii) The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) or
the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG);
iii) The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG);
iv) The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG);
and,
v) The San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council
(SJVRPC);
b) Two members selected by the Director of OPR from
nominees submitted by the California Association of
Councils of Governments (CALCOG):
i) An MPO or COG that is not identified in # 2a listed
above; and,
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ii) A regional transportation planning agency that is
neither an MPO nor a COG.
3)Allows, in addition to any other fees provided for by law, and
subject to approval of the voters, an MPO, a COG, or a county
transportation commission and a subregional COG jointly
preparing a subregional sustainable communities strategy
(collectively referred to as 'Authorities') to levy a
mitigation fee of up to $4 upon the registration or renewal of
registration of any motor vehicle registered in a county or
city and county within the jurisdiction of the Authority.
4)Provides that the mitigation fee may only be levied in
increments of whole dollars, up to a maximum amount of $4.
5)Requires the Authority to adopt a measure authorizing it to
implement and impose the fee in every county or city and
county within its jurisdiction.
6)States that in the region of ABAG, a COG that represents only
a portion of the region shall not levy the mitigation fee.
7)States that a measure adopted by MTC or ABAG, or a county
transportation commission or a subregional COG within the
jurisdiction of the SCAG, shall be jointly adopted by both
entities, and revenue derived from the fee shall be divided in
accordance with an agreement between both entities.
8)Provides that an Authority's measure shall contain all of the
following findings of fact:
a) That the programs and projects to be funded by the fee
are consistent with the sustainable communities strategies
and regional blueprint plans applicable in the jurisdiction
of the Authority levying the fee;
b) That the amount of the fee assessed and paid does not
exceed the reasonable cost of providing those programs and
projects;
c) That the fee is not for unrelated revenue purposes;
d) That a clear nexus exists between the payer's activities
and the alleged adverse effects addressed by the fee; and,
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e) That the amount of the fee bears a reasonable
relationship to the social or economic burdens created by
the feepayer's activities.
9)States that following the adoption of the measure by the
Authority and its submission of a written request to each
county and city and county within its jurisdiction to do so,
the board of supervisors of each of those counties and cities
and counties shall submit the measure adopted by the Authority
to the voters at a local election consolidated with a
statewide primary or general election specified by the
Authority.
10)Provides that the Authority shall reimburse each county or
city and county within its jurisdiction for the cost of
submitting the measure to the voters.
11)Provides that these costs shall be reimbursed from revenues
derived from the fee if the measure is approved by the voters,
or if the measure is not approved, from funds available
through the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act.
12)Allows, upon the approval of the measure by an aggregate
majority of all voters in all counties and cities and counties
within the Authority's jurisdiction, the Authority to
implement and impose the fee in those counties and cities and
counties, and provides that the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) shall collect and administer the fee, upon the request
of the Authority.
13)States that all fee revenues received by the Authority from
the DMV will be deposited in the Regional Blueprint Plan
Implementation Fund, to be created and administered by the
Authority.
14)Provides that if an aggregate majority of all voters of all
counties and cities and counties with the Authority's
jurisdiction does not approve the measure, the Authority may
reuse the procedure specified in this bill to seek the
requisite voter approval of the fee.
15)Provides that the net revenues of the fee shall be used to
identify land use strategies, reduce the use of motor vehicles
within its jurisdiction, and carry out applicable
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transportation-related activities necessary to implement a
regional blueprint plan, a sustainable communities strategy,
or an alternative planning strategy, and to thereby work
toward achievement of the greenhouse gas emission reduction
target specified in Section 65080 of the Government Code.
16)Specifies that if the fee exceeds two dollars, all revenue
derived from the amount of the fee exceeding $2 shall be made
available by the Authority in the form of grants to entities
within its jurisdiction as follows:
a) Revenues generated in a city of city and county with a
population of greater than 300,000 shall be reserved for
grants that may only be made to those cities and that city
and county, pursuant to an application to the authority.
b) Except for those revenues generated within the
jurisdictions described in a), the revenues generated
within the boundaries of the authority shall be apportioned
among the counties in the authority in proportion to the
number of vehicles registered in each county and shall be
reserved for grants that may be made to cities, counties or
congestion management agencies pursuant to an application
of one of those entities to the Authority.
c) Grants shall only be made after a finding by the
Authority that the funds will be used exclusively for
planning and projects related to the implementation of a
sustainable communities strategy or a regional blueprint
plan.
17)Allows the Authority to divide revenues jointly with the
local air quality management district that has responsibility
over all or part of the same geographic area, pursuant to an
agreement with that district and allows the revenue to be used
in the following manner:
a) Assistance in the development of a subregional
sustainable communities strategy;
b) Assistance in the development of local greenhouse gas
emission inventories;
c) Assistance in the development of greenhouse gas emission
reduction strategies in general plans;
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d) Development of and assistance with the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines and review of
greenhouse gas emissions in CEQA analyses;
e) Consultation and development of local climate action
plans; and,
f) Project-specific consultation work to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions from local transportation and land use
decisions.
18)States that a sustainable communities strategy and an
alternative planning strategy shall both be considered to be a
regional blueprint plan for purposes of this bill.
19)Establishes the PAAC Fund within the State Treasury and
requires the Controller, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to make the moneys within the fund available to
the PAAC.
20)Requires the DMV, if requested by an Authority, to collect
the fee established by this bill.
21)Requires the first Authority that imposes the fee to contract
with the DMV to pay for the initial setup and programming
costs to be deducted from the fee revenue by the DMV.
22)Provides that the DMV shall require each subsequent Authority
that imposes the fee an additional amount reflecting each
Authority's per capita share of the initial setup and
programming costs if the costs for the first-in-time
Authorities are substantially higher than those for the
subsequent Authorities and provides that these additional
amounts must be paid pro rata to the Authorities that have
already imposed and established the fee and contracted with
the DMV.
23)Requires the DMV to deposit 1% of the net revenues into the
PAAC Fund as specified, and to distribute the remainder of the
fee revenues to the appropriate authority.
24)Makes findings and declarations regarding the Strategic
Growth Council, the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council,
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and the importance of land use and transportation planning.
25)Provides for chaptering out amendments to ensure that there
is no conflict with AB 2754 (Perez).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the creation of PAAC under OPR, and specifies
that the membership includes:
a) Three city representatives;
b) Three county representatives;
c) One representative of each district (provided that at
least two of the district representatives are
representatives of each metropolitan areawide planning
organizations and that at least one of the district
representatives is a representative of a nonmetropolitan
planning organization); and,
d) One representative of Indian tribes and bands which have
reservations or rancherias within California.
2)Provides for the selection process of PAAC members, provides
for the length of term for PAAC members, specifies when and
how PAAC will meet, and specifies the compensation of PAAC
members.
3)Specifies that PAAC shall provide advice, and in particular:
a) Assist in the preparation of the state long-range goals
and policies;
b) Evaluate the planning functions of the various state
agencies involved in planning; and,
c) Make appropriate decisions and provide such advice and
assistance as may be required by federal statute or
regulation in connection with any federal program
administered by OPR.
4)Provides for the creation of SGC, and provides that SGC shall:
a) Identify and review activities and funding programs of
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member state agencies that may be coordinated to improve
air and water quality, improve natural resource protection,
increase the availability of affordable housing, improve
transportation, meet the goals
of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
encourage sustainable land use planning, and revitalize
urban and community centers in a sustainable manner;
b) Recommend policies and investment strategies and
priorities to the Governor, the Legislature, and to
appropriate state agencies to encourage the development of
sustainable communities;
c) Provide, fund, and distribute data and information to
local governments and regional agencies that will assist in
developing and planning sustainable communities;
d) Manage and award grants and loans to support the
planning and development of sustainable communities; and,
e) Develop guidelines for awarding financial assistance and
eligibility, and develop criteria for determining the
amount of financial assistance.
5)The Planning and Zoning laws prescribe the following for OPR:
a) As the comprehensive state planning agency OPR is
required to:
i) Develop long term planning goals;
ii) Assist in the preparation of short-range functional
plans developed by state agencies and departments; and,
iii) Review plans and programs to determine conflicts or
conformance with state's land use planning goals.
b) OPR's coordination functions require it to:
i) Coordinate development of policies and criteria to
ensure that federal grants expended by the state further
statewide environmental goals;
ii) Coordinate development of environmental monitoring
systems;
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iii) Coordinate development of criteria and procedures
for the orderly evaluation of the impact of public and
private actions on the environmental quality of the
state; and,
iv) Coordinate technical assistance provided by state
departments and agencies to regional and local
governments to assure that plans are consistent with
statewide environmental goals.
c) OPR must coordinate with local governments to:
i) Develop long-range policies to assist the state and
local agencies in meeting the problems presented by the
growth and development of urban areas and defining the
complementary role of the state and other local entities;
ii) Encourage the formation of and provide planning
assistance to, regional planning agencies; and,
iii) Assist local government in land use planning.
6)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:
a) $1 for service authorities for freeway emergencies;
b) $1 for deterring and prosecuting vehicle theft;
c) Up to $7 for air quality programs;
d) $1 for removing abandoned vehicles; and,
e) $1 for fingerprint identification programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : This bill allows an MPO, a COG, or a county
transportation commission and a subregional COG jointly
preparing a subregional sustainable communities strategy
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(referred to as "Authorities" in the bill) to adopt a measure
authorizing it to implement and impose a fee of up to $4 maximum
in every county within its jurisdiction on vehicle
registration. In order to impose the fee, the measure would
need to be approved by voters in the Authority's jurisdiction.
Any fee beyond $2 would be used to fund grants to cities,
counties or congestion management agencies for planning and
projects related to the implementation of a sustainable
communities strategy or a regional blueprint plan. The bill
allows the fee revenue to be split with the local air quality
management district pursuant to an agreement with that district.
Additionally the bill adds to the membership of the PAAC
several members from MPOs and COGs, and requires that 1% of the
fee revenue go to support the activities of the PAAC.
Previous versions of this bill would have imposed an additional
fee of $1 on vehicle registration statewide to fund activities
related to regional planning over the next five years, and also
would have created new duties for the PAAC which would have
involved greater coordination on land use planning among local
governments, regional governments, state departments, and the
SGC.
Existing law establishes OPR within the Governor's office as the
state's comprehensive planning agency. PAAC within OPR is
responsible for various land-use planning related activities,
including assisting OPR in the development of the State
Environmental Goals and Policies Report (EGPR). The EGPR, a 20-
to 30- year look ahead at state growth and development, must be
consistent with the state's planning priorities. The Director
of OPR appoints the membership of PAAC, which under current law
must include three city representatives, three county
representatives, one representative from each of the regional
planning districts designated by OPR, and one representative of
Indian tribes with reservations in California.
SB 375 requires each MPO to include within its regional
transportation plan a Sustainable Communities Strategy designed
to achieve specified targets for GHG emissions reduction. If an
SCS does not achieve the reduction target, the MPO must prepare
an alternative planning strategy. In some regions, cities and
counties have jointly formed COGs to implement regional planning
activities. COGs generally serve as federally recognized MPOs
for transportation planning purposes, although some COGs, such
as the San Francisco Bay Area, have a separate MPO for
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transportation planning.
SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008, created the
SGC, consisting of the Director of OPR, the Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency, the Secretary of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Business, Transportation
and Housing Agency, the Secretary of the California Health and
Human Services Agency, and a public member. The SGC is required
to 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. The
SGC is charged with awarding and managing grants for the $90
million pot contained in Proposition 84 - "The Safe Drinking
Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006" that was specifically set
aside for "planning grants and incentives." Additionally, the
SGC has the responsibility of commenting on OPR's EGPR and the
state's five-year infrastructure plan. AB 1473 (Hertzberg),
Chapter 606, Statutes of 1999, required the Governor, beginning
in 2002, to submit annually a five-year proposed capital
improvement plan to the Legislature that includes proposed
capital improvement projects and their proposed funding sources.
This bill is similar to SB 406 (DeSaulnier), which was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger in 2009. The Governor, in his veto
message, noted that to the imposition of a new fee by an MPO,
COG, or county transportation commission should be subject to
voter approval.
Support Arguments: Unlike other states, California does not
invest state general fund monies to support local comprehensive
planning. Cities and counties must rely on their own budgets,
augmented by local fees. COGs rely on a mix of federal funds
and members' dues. Californians already pay several
registration surcharges for freeway emergencies, abandoned cars,
vehicle theft programs, and various regional air quality
efforts.
COGs and MPOs support SB 1445 because it will provide a
much-needed funding source to fulfill the unfunded state mandate
of SB 375, in order to accomplish the goal of reducing vehicle
trips and greenhouse gas emissions. Supporters argue that given
that cars contribute roughly 40% of the state's greenhouse gas
emissions, it is not too much to ask the state's vehicle owners
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to help pay for the efforts to mitigate such emissions.
Opposition Arguments: The California New Car Dealers
Association (CNCDA) and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
(Alliance), in opposition, write that it is imprudent to
authorize another tax increase on vehicles, given the
extraordinarily difficult economic environment confronting the
automobile industry. CNCDA and the Alliance believe that the
bill should be amended to require voter approval of the new fee.
The Department of Finance writes that this bill would create
additional workload for new program activities at a time when
the state's revenues and General Fund have been reduced.
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0006584