BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 427
Author: John A. Pérez (D)
Amended: 08/15/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 7-0, 06/21/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Rubio,
Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 08/15/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 05/12/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Transportation bond funds: transit system
safety
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill revises the procedures for allocating
transportation general obligation bond funds for transit
system safety, security, and disaster response that are
administered by the California Emergency Management Agency.
ANALYSIS : Proposition 1B authorized the issuance of
$19.925 billion in general obligation bonds to invest in
high-priority improvements to the state's surface
CONTINUED
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transportation system and to finance strategies to improve
air quality. Among the 14 programs contained in
Proposition 1B is the Transit System Safety, Security and
Disaster Response Account (Account), which provides $1
billion of bond proceeds for capital projects that increase
protection against security and safety threats to the
state's public transit systems.
SB 88 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 18,
Statutes of 2007, provides that funds in the Account are
distributed as follows: 60 percent to the mass transit
program, 25 percent to the Regional Public Water Transit
Agency in the Bay Area, and 15 percent to the intercity
rail program. Existing law distributes these funds to
individual rail and transit programs by formula.
Existing law precludes operators of intercity passenger
rail service and commuter rail service from receiving funds
from the Account's mass transit program.
This bill:
1.Allows operators that receive an allocation of funds
designated for intercity and commuter rail systems to
also receive an allocation of funds designated for mass
transit operators.
2.Requires funds allocated for use on the regional commuter
rail system that serves a five county region in southern
California (Metrolink) to be allocated to each of the
county transportation commissions served by Metrolink.
3.Explicitly authorize safety-related projects approved by
the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) to be
an eligible capital expenditure of funds designated for
mass transit.
4.Requires an entity notified of its eligibility to receive
an allocation of mass transit or intercity/commuter rail
bond funds to notify CalEMA within 45 days of its intent
to use the funds, as specified. Funds would be
reallocated if the entity fails to respond.
5.Require CalEMA to notify the relevant transportation
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planning agency (RTPA) if funds allocated to an entity
within the RTPA are subject to reallocation, and
authorize the RTPA to notify CalEMA within 30 days of its
intent to distribute those funds to other eligible
transit or rail operators in the region.
6.Authorizes CalEMA to reallocate those funds on a
competitive basis to an eligible entity in a different
region of the state, if the RTPA fails to respond.
7.Requires CalEMA to submit an annual report to the
Legislature and Legislative Analyst's Office on its
activities, including projects selected for funding, the
status of those projects, and a listing of entities that
have not used allocated funds.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill allows bond
funds to be "re-directed to shovel ready projects" in cases
where an agency indicates it does not intend to expend the
funds. According to CalEMA there are agencies that have
been unable to spend transit funds that been allocated to
them. The Department of Finance's Office of State Audits
audited the Account and found that funds are allocated to
agencies that do not have an immediate need for the funds.
This occurred because the funds are allocated by formula.
The auditors estimate that the amount of funds being unused
would have earned the state $8.5 million in interest. This
bill creates a process to transfer unexpended funds to
agencies that would benefit from them in a timely fashion.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
CalEMA administration
minor one-time costs, likely less than
Bond*
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$50 to update guidelines for
reallocations
Bond fund reallocationRedirection of $1,000 to $2,000
annually Bond*
among eligible entities
Deletion of fund prohibition
Increased expenditure flexibility
Bond*
for agencies eligible for both programs
* Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response
Account
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 05/12/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Conway, Donnelly, Garrick,
Gorell, Knight, Portantino, Torres
JJA:nl 8/16/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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