BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1600
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Torres
VERSION:
5/30/2012
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 26, 2012
SUBJECT:
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Authority
DESCRIPTION:
This bill authorizes the extension of the Gold Line light rail
line from the City of Claremont in Los Angeles County to the
City of Montclair in San Bernardino County.
ANALYSIS:
SB 1847 (Schiff), Chapter 1021, Statutes of 1998, created the
Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority, now known as
the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority
(Authority), to oversee the planning, design, and construction
of a light rail line from east Pasadena to Claremont.
Currently, the Authority has sufficient resources to build the
line as far as Azusa. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) operates the light rail service
and maintains the line to East Pasadena.
The Authority's governing board consists of five voting members,
three of whom the city councils of the cities of Los Angeles,
Pasadena, and South Pasadena appoint, one of whom is appointed
by San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, and one member who
is appointed by MTA. The governor, the City of Pasadena, and
the City of South Pasadena each appoint one nonvoting member.
This bill :
1.Authorizes the Authority to plan, design, and build an
extension of the Gold Line from City of Claremont to the City
of Montclair.
2.Authorizes the San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG)
to appoint one nonvoting member to the governing board.
AB 1660 (TORRES) Page 2
3.Authorizes MTA to operate each phase of the Gold Line light
rail beyond its current terminus in east Pasadena to Azusa and
Claremont.
4.Authorizes MTA to operate the Gold Line light rail trains
outside of Los Angeles County, which is its area of
jurisdiction, to Montclair in San Bernardino County.
5.Prohibits MTA from operating on right-of-way owned by SANBAG
without a construction and maintenance agreement between MTA,
SANBAG, and the Authority.
6.Clarifies that the Authority may accept grants, fees,
allocations, and transfer of funds from federal, state, and
local agencies.
7.States that MTA does not have to allocate funds to extending
the light rail line to Montclair beyond the funds that it has
allocated as of January 1, 2012.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the author, this bill increases mass
transportation options in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and
in western San Bernardino County by authorizing the
construction of the Gold Line light rail system to Montclair.
In addition, the Authority has determined that the extension
of the Gold Line to the City of Montclair will have beneficial
environmental and traffic impacts. The Authority believes
that Montclair, with a regional transportation center, is the
logical terminus for the Gold Line because it allows for the
intermodal interface with the San Bernardino County bus system
and with the Metrolink commuter rail system.
RELATED LEGISLATION:
Currently, the MTA sales tax program allocates $735 million for
extending the Gold Line to Azusa. AB 1446 (Feuer), also on
today's agenda, proposes to place on the ballot an authorization
to remove the 30-year sunset on Los Angeles County's local
percent transportation sales tax, referred to as Measure R, but
does not propose to increase the allocation of funds to any
project in Los Angeles County. The Authority is seeking
amendments to AB 1446 because MTA's expenditure plan provides no
funding to complete the Gold Line project to Claremont.
AB 1660 (TORRES) Page 3
Pressure may build, therefore, to expend additional Los Angeles
County sales tax revenue on the extension from Claremont to
Montclair.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 75-0
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 14-0
Loc Gov: 9-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 20, 2012)
SUPPORT: Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction
Authority (sponsor)
OPPOSED: None received.