BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 292
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Date of Hearing: May 2, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 292 (Galgiani) - As Amended: April 25, 2011
SUBJECT : High-Speed Rail Authority: agricultural lands
SUMMARY : Requires the High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) to
appoint an agricultural advisory committee. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Provides that the purpose of the advisory committee is to
advise the Authority on the impact that its policies, plans,
practices, and procedures will have on the agricultural
community.
2)Requires the Authority to consult with the advisory committee
prior to adopting any policy relevant to agriculture, and to
reflect the advisory committee's comments in any action item
brought before the Authority board.
3)Requires the Authority to provide written responses to the
advisory committee's comments and to distribute those comments
to the board and the advisory committee.
4)Prescribes the membership of the advisory committee to consist
of an unspecified number of members representing areas that
would be impacted by proposed plans for high-speed rail;
members are to be active in a farming enterprise, have
expertise in farm-related activities, and represent
agricultural and related trade organizations.
5)Provides that these provisions may not be construed to affect
any other requirements of the Authority to respond to public
comments submitted to the Authority or at public hearings.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates the Authority to direct the development and
implementation of intercity high-speed rail service throughout
California, initially running from San Francisco to Los
Angeles via the Central Valley, and later to Sacramento and
San Diego.
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2)States legislative findings and declarations that:
a) Agriculture is the state's leading industry and is
important to the state's economy;
b) The continued productivity of agricultural lands in
California is important in maintaining a healthy
agricultural economy;
c) The conversion of agricultural lands to nonagricultural
uses threatens the long-term health of the state's
agricultural industry; and,
d) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) plays an
important role in the preservation of agricultural lands.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Since voter approval of $9 billion in bonds for
high-speed rail in 2008, the Authority has begun to implement
the first segment of the high-speed rail project. Initially,
the Authority's focus was on the backbone link between Los
Angeles/Anaheim and San Francisco. However, those plans have
changed and the Authority is now working to begin construction
in the Central Valley (due largely to the influx of federal
dollars and receipt of which was conditioned on building there).
To date, the total commitment of federal funding is $3.2
billion, most of it for the construction of approximately 120
miles of trackage from north of Fresno to Bakersfield. Pursuant
to the requirements attached to the federal funds, the Authority
is required to complete the environmental certification of the
corridor by the Fall of this year and enter into construction
contracts by the Fall of 2012.
The Authority's work in the Central Valley is drawing criticism
from farmers and land owners who fear the project would carve
their property into useless pieces, disrupt their work, and
drive down land values. Central Valley landowners contend that
the Authority is ignoring their concerns about the impact of the
project on farmland and agricultural properties. These concerns
include:
1)Some of the proposed routes will create islands of land that
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will be too small to justify the financial inputs required to
farm.
2)Stringent laws and regulations prohibit chemical drifts onto
transit vehicles. With trains proposed to be present
throughout the day and night, farmers fear chemical
applications will be impacted by a steady presence of trains
and even by the wind created by these trains traveling at
high-speeds.
3)A disruption to irrigation canals and systems, which typically
rely on gravity, will require costly pumps to deliver water to
ranches and homes.
4)The impact of wind from passing trains on flowering trees and
bee pollination will cause a drop in crop yields.
According to the author, "landowners have very little trust in
the Authority's decisions for the placement of rail and believe
one of the current alignments will have significant adverse
impact on agricultural properties." In response to concerns
raised by Central Valley interests, the Assembly Select
Committee on High-Speed Rail and the Assembly Committee on
Agriculture held an oversight hearing on March 17, 2011 to
explore the impacts of high-speed rail to agricultural lands.
This bill is intended to ensure that agricultural-related
concerns are sufficiently considered by the Authority prior to
it adopting any policy or taking any action that would impact
the agricultural community.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Farm Bureau
Opposition
AB 292
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093