BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: Ab 516
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: V.m. PÉrez
VERSION: 6/21/11
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 28, 2011
SUBJECT:
Safe Routes to School
DESCRIPTION:
This bill modifies the state "Safe Routes to School" program to
help ensure increased participation from low-income schools and
communities.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
Requires the state Department of Transportation
(Caltrans), in consultation with the California Highway
Patrol (CHP), to establish and administer a Safe Routes to
School (SRTS) program for construction of bicycle and
pedestrian safety and traffic calming projects.
Requires Caltrans to award grants under this program to
"local government agencies" based on the results of a
statewide competition. (Caltrans program guidelines define
an eligible applicant as "an incorporated city or county
within the State of California.") The competition requires
local agencies to submit proposals for funding, which
Caltrans rates based on all of the following factors:
o Demonstrated needs of the applicant.
o Potential of the proposal to reduce child
injuries and fatalities.
o Potential of the proposal to encourage
increased walking and bicycling among students.
o Identification of safety hazards.
o Identification of current and potential
walking and bicycling routes to school.
o Consultation and support for projects by
school-based associations, local traffic engineers,
AB 516 (V. MANUEL PÉREZ) Page 2
local elected officials, law enforcement agencies,
school officials, and other relevant community
stakeholders.
Provides that any annual budget allocation to fund SRTS
grants shall be in addition to any federal funding received
by the state that is designated for this program.
Provides that Caltrans shall distribute any federal
funding received by the state for SRTS under the
competitive grant process, consistent with federal
requirements.
Requires Caltrans to consult with and obtain approval
from the CHP prior to awarding any construction grant or
using any funds for an SRTS construction project
encompassing a freeway, state highway, or county road to
ensure that the project does not conflict with the CHP's
Pedestrian Corridor Safety Program and that the project is
consistent with its statewide pedestrian safety statistical
analysis.
Encourages Caltrans to coordinate with law enforcement
agencies' community policing efforts in establishing and
maintaining the SRTS program.
This bill :
Makes school districts directly eligible to compete for
and receive grants under the state SRTS program.
Adds the following factors to those that must be
evaluated by Caltrans when awarding SRTS grants:
o Use of a public participation process,
including a public meeting that involves the public,
schools, parents, teachers, local agencies, the
business community, key professionals, and others;
identifies community priorities and gathers community
input to guide the development of projects included in
the proposal; and ensures that community priorities
are reflected in the proposal.
o Benefit to a low-income school, defined as a
school where at least 75 percent of the students are
eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals under
AB 516 (V. MANUEL PÉREZ) Page 3
the National School Lunch Program.
Requires Caltrans, when developing SRTS program
guidelines, to consider fully the needs of low-income
schools.
Requires up to five percent of any annual budget
allocation to fund SRTS grants to be directed to technical
assistance to eligible low-income schools and communities
"to encourage strong, viable applications for projects
benefiting low-income communities."
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose . According to the author, many child
pedestrians are hit each year by motorists due to lack of
clearly delineated school zones and an excessive number of
vehicles speeding near schools. Disadvantaged and rural
communities often lack the necessary infrastructure, such
as sidewalks, storm drains, and stoplights, to keep these
children safe. While SRTS has been a popular and effective
program in ensuring that schoolchildren are safe when
walking or biking to and from school, it is unclear whether
the program targets those communities most in need of safe
routes. In addition, the author notes the lack of an
established public participation process in the development
of SRTS grant applications. Finally, the author notes that
a lack of safe routes to schools has been linked to health
problems: less than 15 percent of children walk or bicycle
to school, and 20 percent of children are considered
overweight or obese.
2. Background . In 1999, AB 1475 (Soto), Chapter 663,
established the state SRTS program, the first in the
nation, for the construction of bicycle and pedestrian
safety and traffic calming projects that improve safety and
promote walking and bicycling to school. In 2005, the
federal transportation funding bill, the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA-LU), established a federal SRTS program.
Caltrans administers both the state and federal programs,
but administers them as distinct programs because they are
subject to different requirements under state and federal
laws. This bill makes changes only to the state program.
In administering the state SRTS program, Caltrans
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determines how much will be made available to each of
Caltrans' 12 districts in proportion to the number of
students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, with
no district receiving less than $500,000 per funding cycle.
State law permits "local government agencies" to submit
applications, though Caltrans restricts applicants to
cities and counties. Cities and counties must work
collaboratively with other local partners, including school
officials and community stakeholders, to develop project
proposals. Each Caltrans district office ranks each
proposal it receives, based on the criteria outlined in
statute, and forwards the top ranked proposals to Caltrans
headquarters for final approval.
3. Are schools appropriate applicants ? Because schools do
not own the roads on or near where they are located, it is
unclear how schools will be able to implement SRTS
projects. Alternatively, if a project is located on school
grounds, rather than on a roadway, it may not be an
appropriate use of SRTS funds.
4. TARC report . In February 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger
directed Caltrans and the Safe Routes to School Technical
Assistance Resource Center (TARC) to study the
socio-economic status of federal and state SRTS grantees
and to research ways to increase low-income schools' and
communities' access to these programs. TARC is a joint
project of the California Department of Public Health and
the University of California, San Francisco. In June 2010,
TARC released an analysis which found that low-income
schools, defined as those with 75 percent or more of
students eligible for free and reduced-price meals, receive
more federal and state SRTS grants than schools in middle-
or high-income categories. Specifically, low-income
schools, which represented about 33 percent of California
schools, received 44 percent of all federal infrastructure
grants compared to 30 percent and 26 percent of middle- or
high-income schools, respectively. In addition, low-income
schools received 36 percent of federal non-infrastructure
grants, compared to 32 percent each for middle- and
high-income schools. Finally, low-income schools received
35 percent of state SRTS grants, compared to 32 percent and
33 percent of middle- and high-income schools,
respectively. The TARC analysis noted that the low-income
schools did not submit more applications than the middle-
or high-income schools.
AB 516 (V. MANUEL PÉREZ) Page 5
According to the TARC report, "low-income communities
continue to suffer disproportionately higher rates of
obesity and pedestrian/bicycle injury than their
higher-income counterparts." The report noted, however,
that Caltrans had already taken steps to encourage the
participation of low-income communities in SRTS, such as
adding free and reduced-price meal eligibility data from
schools in application requirements and directing Caltrans
district staff to meet with unsuccessful applicants to
review applications and provide recommendations for future
applications. TARC recommended that "Caltrans continue the
excellent steps it has already begun and place a special
focus on providing training and technical assistance to
low-income communities." The report also recommended
setting a goal to increase the number of low-income schools
that participate in the SRTS programs by at least five
percent in future funding cycles, which could be achieved
through measures such as additional technical assistance
and involving low-income and other community advocates in
the local review process.
5. Arguments in opposition . WALKSacramento is concerned
with the provision adding the criterion of use of a public
participation process, including a public meeting.
WALKSacramento argues that it is unclear what entity is
supposed to convene the meeting, when in the process must
occur, and what entity pays the costs. According to
WALKSacramento, "Several local jurisdictions have informed
us off the record that this unfunded and unclear burden
might cause them to reconsider even applying for Safe
Routes grants."
6. Related legislation . Last year, Governor Schwarzenegger
vetoed AB 2147 (V. Manuel Pérez), which was largely the
same as this bill. The Governor's veto message noted that:
While this bill is intended to enhance the
position of low-income
communities to compete for SRTS funds, based on
the recent success
of those communities receiving SRTS program
funding, this bill may
be unnecessary. A recent review of the SRTS
Program determined
that low-income schools, which comprise
AB 516 (V. MANUEL PÉREZ) Page 6
approximately one-third
of California schools, have received 35 percent
and 44 percent of all
SRTS grants awarded over the past five years
through the state and
federal programs, respectively. Additionally, to
the extent funding
is provided to weaker proposals receiving
additional credits by
benefitting low-income schools, this bill could
have a negative impact
on project delivery and may not result in the
intended long-term
increases in walking and biking that the program
funds are intended to encourage."
In response to the Governor's veto message, the author
argues that the disproportionate need for SRTS grants in
low-income communities yields greater results than in
high-income communities. In addition, this bill's five
percent set-aside for pre-application outreach to
low-income communities responds to the Governor's concern
about prioritizing weaker proposals from low-income
communities.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 57-20
Appr: 12-5
Trans: 12-2
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before 4:00 pm on
Wednesday, June 22, 2011)
SUPPORT: PolicyLink (sponsor)
Advancement Project
American Cancer Society
American Diabetes Association
Calexico Unified School District
California Association of School Transportation
Officials
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California State PTA
California WALKS
City of Westmorland
Heber Elementary School District
AB 516 (V. MANUEL PÉREZ) Page 7
IBEW Local 569 San Diego
Imperial County Board of Supervisors
Imperial County Office of Education
Imperial Unified School District
Imperial Valley College
Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Los Angeles WALKS
San Francisco Bay WALKS
Sierra Club California
The City Project
TransForm
WalkSanDiego
OPPOSED: WALKSacramento