BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 292
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 11, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                   AB 292 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  April 25, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              
          TransportationVote:14-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) to 
          appoint an agricultural advisory committee. Specifically, this 
          bill:

          1)Requires the HSRA to consult with the advisory committee prior 
            to adopting any policy relevant to agriculture, and reflect 
            the committee's comments in any action item of the authority 
            board.

          2)Requires the HSRA to provide written responses to the advisory 
            committee's comments.

          3)Stipulates that the committee shall have an as-yet unspecified 
            number of members, and requires committee members to have 
            specified, agriculture-related expertise.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          The HSRA would incur annual costs of around $120,000 (bond 
          funds) for the equivalent of one full-time position to 
          coordinate the meetings and work of the advisory committee and 
          to facilitate the authority's interaction with the advisory 
          committee, including providing written responses to committee 
          comments regarding pending authority actions. 

           COMMENTS  

           Background and Purpose  . After initially focusing on the link 
          between Los Angeles/Anaheim and San Francisco, the Authority is 
          working to begin construction of the high-speed train system in 








                                                                  AB 292
                                                                  Page  2

          the Central Valley (due largely to the influx of federal 
          dollars, the receipt of which was conditioned building in that 
          location). 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 this Fall 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 will 
          subdivide their property into useless parcels, disrupt work, and 
          reduce land values. 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.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081