BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 650
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 650 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: March 31, 2011
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:9-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a 12-member task force to report on the
state's public transportation needs over the next 25 years.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the
Assembly to jointly appoint the task force members, including
a chair, by March 31, 2012. Members will not be paid, but
shall receive necessary travel expenses.
2)Requires the task force, within 45 days of the last joint
appointment, to develop a clear scope of work, including a
general statement of purpose, enumerated research objectives
and associated tasks, a timeline for achieving those tasks,
consultant requirements, and a budget.
3)Requires the task force to meet at least twice each month,
which can be via conference call, and to hold at conduct at
least nine public listening sessions around the state.
4)Requires the task force to issue a written report by March 31,
2013, addressing all of the following:
a) The current state of California's transit system.
b) Best practices, based on a review of transit systems
worldwide.
c) The level and types of transit needed to meet specified
goals.
d) The estimated cost of creating the needed system in the
near term (within five years), midterm (within 15 years),
and long term (within 25 years).
AB 650
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e) Potential sources of funding to sustain the system's
needs and requirements and methods for attaining that
funding.
f) Suggested scenarios for phasing in transit development
and recommendations for action.
1)Appropriates $750,000 from the Public Transportation Account
(PTA) to Caltrans, to accomplish this bill's purposes, and
requires Caltrans to provide all administrative staff support
to the task force.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time $750,000 cost from the PTA for the task force, which is
to cover the cost of meetings, listening sessions, consulting
contracts, and Caltrans support staff.
COMMENTS
Purpose . The author notes the recent declines in transit funding
and the resulting reductions in service, even at a time of
increasing demand. The author argues that "A comprehensive
report produced by a task force of qualified representatives is
necessary to provide viable solutions to our statewide public
transportation problems. The task force will draw upon expert
research that lays out the current state of mass transit in the
state, what the state needs to do to ensure the system meets
demand, how much it would cost, and practical recommendations on
how to pay for that system."
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081