BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1618
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Date of Hearing: April 23, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1618 (Galgiani) - As Amended: May 1, 2012
SUBJECT : High-Speed Rail Authority: workforce educational
needs
SUMMARY : Requires the High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) to
consult with the University of California (UC), the California
State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges
(CCC) to determine how the state can meet its educational needs
related to future high-speed rail design, construction,
operations, and maintenance workforce. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Authority to consult with UC, CSU, and CCC to
determine how the state can best meet the educational needs
for the future high-speed rail design, construction,
operations, and maintenance workforce, including but not
limited to the use of extension programs, contract education,
and new or revised academic programs.
2)Requires the Authority to seek federal assistance for these
purposes.
3)Requires the Authority to report to the Legislature and the
Governor on or before July 1, 2014, regarding implementation
of this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Sets forth the missions and functions of the three segments of
public higher education.
2)Establishes and provides the Authority with the responsibility
to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in
California.
3)Authorizes the sale of $9.950 billion in general obligation
bonds to partially fund the development and construction of
the high-speed rail system and related improvements.
4)Limits the expenditure of bond proceeds for environmental
studies, planning, and preliminary engineering to no more than
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10% of the $9 billion available for high-speed rail directly
and to no more than 2.5% for administration of the Authority.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : In 2008, voters approved Proposition 1A, the Safe,
Reliable, High-speed Passenger Train Bond Act--a $9.950 billion
general obligation bond to fund the proposed California
high-speed rail project and related improvements. As
envisioned, the project consists of an 800-mile dedicated
high-speed passenger rail system capable of speeds up to 220
miles per hour, initially serving the major metropolitan market
of San Francisco through the Central Valley into Los Angeles and
Orange County (Phase 1). Eventually the service is to be
extended to Sacramento, the Inland Empire, and San Diego. The
project is to be funded by a mix of federal grants, state bonds,
local government grants, and private investments.
The author has introduced this bill to ensure that an
appropriately trained workforce is in place to handle the task
of maintaining and operating this mega public works project. The
fact that there will be significant needs in California's
workforce relative to high-speed rail is supported by a recently
published study prepared by the Mineta Transportation Institute
entitled, "Estimating Workforce Development Needs for High-Speed
Rail in California." The study examined in depth the workforce
demands that will be created by the high-speed rail project and
specifically "various types of gaps in technology, information,
and knowledge needs, with a focus on the training/education
needs that will exist during the project's design, construction,
and operation." Essentially, the study finds that the
high-speed rail project will create a need for large-scale
workforce but that current avenues for training and education
are not well-positioned to prepare future workers sufficiently.
The report identified the following critical areas of high-speed
rail technology that will present the greatest challenges for
California's workforce during development of the project:
1)Addressing noise and vibration;
2)Use of advanced train control/signing/collision prevention;
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3)Acceleration and deceleration characteristics;
4)Comprehensive communications network/monitoring (central
command);
5)Intrusion prevention and detection and natural disaster
detection; and,
6)Maintenance of systems and maintenance of rolling stock.
The Mineta Transportation Institute estimates the total
workforce demand for the high-speed rail system will be 256,092
direct jobs over the life of the project. The period between
2013 and 2016 - the height of the construction and construction
management phases - will have the highest workforce need. (These
dates may have slipped some because they were based on the
Authority's 2009 business plan which has been updated since then
with new schedule estimates.)
Prior legislation : SB 964 (Alquist) of 2010, which was vetoed
by the Governor, would have required a high-speed rail
workforce-needs assessment.
Double-referred: This bill was previously heard in the Assembly
Committee on Higher Education where it successfully passed out
6-3.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093