BILL NUMBER: AB 1779 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 24, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 6, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Galgiani
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Dickinson, Olsen, and Perea)
(Coauthors: Senators Cannella, Padilla, and Wolk)
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
An act to amend Sections 14031.8, 14070.2, 14070.4, and
14070.6 of, and to repeal and add Article 5.4 (commencing with
Section 14074) of Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of,
the Government Code, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1779, as amended, Galgiani. Intercity rail agreements.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to
contract with Amtrak for intercity rail passenger services and
provides funding for these services from the Public Transportation
Account. Existing law, until December 31, 1996, authorized the
department, subject to approval of the Secretary of Business,
Transportation and Housing, to enter into an interagency transfer
agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for
administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a
particular corridor. Existing law, with respect to a transferred
corridor, requires the board to demonstrate the ability to meet
performance standards established by the secretary.
This bill would authorize the department, with approval of the
secretary, to enter into interagency transfer agreements for
additional intercity rail corridors, to be entered into between June
30, 2014, and June 30, 2015. The bill would require the agreements to
cover the initial 3-year period after the transfer, and would
authorize subsequent extensions by mutual agreement. If agreements
are not entered into by that the expiration of that period, the bill
would require the secretary to report to the Governor and the
Legislature by June 30, 2016, as specified.
This bill would specifically authorize the
department, with the approval of the secretary, to enter into
an additional interagency transfer agreement to be
entered into with respect to the San Joaquin Corridor, as
defined, on or before December 31, 2014, if a
joint powers authority and governing board are created and organized.
In that regard, the bill would provide for the creation of the San
Joaquin Corridor Joint Powers Authority, to be governed by a board of
not more than 11 members. The bill would provide that the board
shall be organized when at least 6 of the 11 agencies elect to
appoint members. The bill would provide for the authority to be
created when the member agencies enter into a joint powers agreement,
as specified. The bill would provide for future appointments of
additional members if the service boundaries of the San Joaquin
Corridor are expanded.
This bill would permit the secretary to authorize the department
to enter into an interagency agreement to transfer responsibility for
administration or operations of the intercity rail service on a
particular corridor to a joint powers agency if the secretary
determines that such a transfer would result in cost reductions.
Existing law requires the level of service to be funded by the
state pursuant to a transfer agreement to not be less than the
current number of intercity round trips operated in a corridor and
serving the same endpoints.
This bill would require the level of service funded by the state
to remain the same during the first 3 years following the effective
date of the transfer agreement, and would require the entity assuming
responsibility for a corridor to provide that level of service. The
bill would prohibit termination of feeder bus services except for
specified reasons.
Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the
secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer
agreement based on the annual business plan for the intercity rail
corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law
states that the interagency transfer agreement may provide that any
additional funds required to operate the intercity rail service
during a fiscal year shall be provided by a joint powers board from
jurisdictions that receive service.
This bill, if local resources are made available for operating the
intercity rail service, would require a vote of the local agency
providing the resources, and would require the concurrence of the
joint powers board in that regard.
This bill would authorize the secretary to adopt new performance
standards by December 31, 2014, for intercity rail
services relative to the San Joaquin Corridor .
The bill would require the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority to
protect existing services and facilities and seek to expand service,
as specified. The bill would prohibit the termination of
feeder bus services for passengers utilizing state-supported
passenger rail on the San Joaquin Corridor unless specified
cost-effectiveness standards are not met, and would make other
related changes.
Existing law authorizes the department and any entity that assumes
administrative responsibility for passenger rail services through an
interagency transfer agreement to contract with specified entities
for the use of tracks and other facilities and for the provision of
passenger rail services.
This bill would require a contractor under an agreement described
above to agree that its labor relations shall be governed by a
specified federal act relating to labor relations on railroads.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Intercity Passenger Rail Act of 2012 for the San Joaquin
Corridor .
SEC. 2. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) An intercity rail passenger system, linking major urban
centers and complemented by feeder bus services that provide access
to outlying areas and destinations, is an important element of the
state's transportation system, and shall remain a state-funded
program.
(2) The state has a continuing interest in the provision of
cost-effective intercity rail passenger services and has a
responsibility to coordinate intercity rail passenger services
statewide.
(3) Since 1976, the state has invested over one billion eight
hundred million dollars ($1,800,000,000) in capital improvements and
operating support for intercity rail passenger service and must
ensure the protection of that investment.
(4) Intercity rail service and ridership increases will result in
more jobs, improve air quality, and help promote sustainable
development.
(b) The Legislature, through the enactment of this act, intends
all of the following:
(1) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing shall be
responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and budgeting of
the intercity passenger rail service.
(2) If the secretary determines that transferring responsibility
for intercity passenger rail service in a particular corridor or
corridors to a statutorily created joint powers agency would result
in administrative or operating cost reductions, the secretary may
authorize the Department of Transportation to enter into an
interagency transfer agreement to effect a transfer of those
administrative functions, consistent with this act.
(2)
(3) Any intercity rail corridor for which
administrative responsibility has been transferred to a joint powers
board through an interagency transfer agreement shall remain as a
component of the statewide system of intercity rail corridors.
(3)
(4) The public interest requires expansion of the state
intercity rail program in order to keep pace with the needs of an
expanding population.
(4)
(5) For not less than a three-year period
following the effective date of the interagency transfer agreement
, the level of state funding for intercity rail service in each
corridor should shall be maintained at
a level equal to at least the current level of
service funded by the state in the corridor as of the
effective date of the interagency transfer agreement , thus
providing fiscal stability that will allow appropriate planning and
operation of these services.
SEC. 3. Section 14031.8 of the Government Code is amended to read:
14031.8. (a) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and
Housing shall establish, through an annual budget process, the level
of state funding available for the operation of intercity passenger
rail service in each corridor.
(b) Where applicable, operating funds shall be allocated by the
secretary to the joint powers board in accordance with an interagency
transfer agreement that includes mutually agreed-upon rail services.
Funds for the administration and marketing of services, as
appropriate, shall also be transferred by the secretary to the joint
powers board, subject to the terms of the interagency transfer
agreement.
(c) The joint powers board or local or regional entities may
augment state-provided resources to expand intercity passenger rail
services, or to address funding shortfalls in achieving agreed-upon
performance standards. The joint powers board or local or regional
agencies with regard to the San Joaquin Corridor
may identify and secure new supplemental sources of funding for the
purpose of expanding or maintaining intercity rail passenger service
levels, which may include state and federal intercity rail resources.
Local resources may be available to offset any redirection,
elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state
resources for operating intercity passenger rail services identified
in subdivision (b) only if the local resources are
dedicated by a vote of the local agency providing funds, with the
concurrence of the joint powers board.
(d) The department may provide any support services as may be
mutually agreed upon by the joint powers board and the department.
(e) Operating costs shall be controlled by dealing with, at a
minimum, the current Amtrak cost allocation
formula , which, beginning in federal fiscal year 2013-14,
will be subject to Section 209 of the federal Passenger Rail
Investment and Improvement Act, and the ability to contract
out to Amtrak or other rail operators as a part of federal
legislation dealing with Amtrak reauthorization.
(f) (1) Not later than December 31, 1997
June 30, 2014 , the secretary shall establish a set of uniform
performance standards for all corridors and operators to control cost
and improve efficiency.
(2) To the extent necessary, as determined by the secretary,
performance standards may be modified not later than
December 31, 2014 July 30, 2015 ,
relative to including the San Joaquin Corridor among the corridors
subject to an interagency transfer agreement or the
effective date of the interagency transfer agreement, whichever comes
first .
(3) Feeder bus services that provide connections for intercity
rail passengers for the state-supported San Joaquin
passenger rail service shall not be terminated unless the
bus services fail to meet the cost-effectiveness standard described
in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14035.2.
SEC. 4. Section 14070.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:
14070.2. (a) If authorized by the secretary
determines that transferring responsibility for intercity rail
service in a particular corridor or corridors to a statutorily
created joint powers agency would result in administrative or
operating cost reductions, the secretary may authorize
, the department may , through an interagency
transfer agreement, to transfer to a joint powers
board, and the board may assume, all responsibility for administering
intercity passenger rail service in the corridor , including
associated feeder bus service . Upon the date specified in the
agreement, the board shall succeed to the department's powers and
duties relative to that service, except that the department shall
retain responsibility for developing budget requests for the service
, consistent with the annual business plan as approved by the
secretary for the service, through the state budget process,
which shall be developed in consultation with the board, and for
coordinating service in the corridor with other intercity passenger
rail services in the state.
(b) (1) Except as
otherwise provided in paragraph (2), the An
interagency transfer agreement shall may
be executed on or before December 31, 1996
after June 30, 2014, but not later than June 30, 2015, subject
to negotiation and approval by the state and the board. The
interagency transfer agreement between the department and
the board shall cover the initial three-year period after the
transfer, but may be extended thereafter by mutual agreement. If an
interagency agreement is not entered into on or before June 30, 2015,
the secretary shall provide a report to the Governor and the
Legislature on or before June 30, 2016, explaining why an acceptable
agreement has not been developed, with specific recommendations for
developing an acceptable interagency agreement .
(2) With respect to the San Joaquin Corridor, if authorized by the
secretary pursuant to subdivision (a), the interagency transfer
agreement shall be executed on or before December 31, 2014. The
interagency transfer agreement between the department and the San
Joaquin Joint Powers Authority shall cover the initial three-year
period after the transfer, but may be extended thereafter by mutual
agreement.
(c) The secretary shall require the board to demonstrate the
ability to meet the performance standards established by the
secretary pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 14031.8.
(d) The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority shall protect existing
services and facilities and seek to expand service as warranted by
ridership and available revenue.
SEC. 5. Section 14070.4 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
14070.4. (a) An interagency transfer agreement between the
department and a joint powers board, when approved by the secretary,
shall do all of the following:
(1) Specify the date and conditions for the transfer of
responsibilities and identify the annual level of funding for
the initial three years following the transfer and ensure that
the level of funding is consistent with and sufficient for the
planned service improvements within the corridor.
(2) Identify, for the initial year and subsequent years, the funds
to be transferred to the board including state operating subsidies
made available for intercity rail services in the corridor, and funds
currently used by the department for administration and marketing of
the corridor, with the amounts adjusted annually for inflation and
in accordance with the business plan.
(3) Specify the level of service to be provided, the respective
responsibilities of the board and the department, the methods that
the department will use to assure the coordination of services with
other rail passenger and feeder bus services in the state,
and the methods that the department will use for the annual review
of the business plan and annual proposals on funding and
appropriations.
(4) Describe the terms for transferring to
of use by the joint exercise of powers agency
board of car and locomotive train sets
, and other equipment and property owned by the department
and required for the intercity service in the corridor ,
including, but not limited to, the number of units to be provided,
liability coverage, maintenance and warranty responsibilities, and
indemnification issues.
(5) Describe auditing responsibilities and process requirements,
reimbursement and billing procedures, the responsibility for funding
shortfalls, if any, during the course of each fiscal year, an
operating contract oversight review process, performance standards
and reporting procedures, the level of rail infrastructure
maintenance, and other relevant monitoring procedures. The
description shall contain an evaluation of the impact of any transfer
of equipment on other intercity corridors. The agreement shall
endeavor to minimize the impact and maximize the efficient use of the
equipment, including continued joint use of equipment that is
currently shared by one or more corridors.
(b) Use of the annual state funding allocation, as set forth in
the interagency transfer agreement, shall be described in an annual
business plan submitted by the board to the secretary for review and
recommendation by April 1 of each year. The business plan, when
approved by the secretary, shall be deemed accepted by the state. The
budget proposal developed by the department for the subsequent year
shall be based upon the business plan approved by the secretary. The
business plan shall be consistent with the interagency agreement and
shall include a report on the recent as well as historical
performance of the corridor service, an overall operating plan
including proposed service enhancement
enhancements to increase ridership and provide for increased
traveler demands in the corridor for the upcoming year, short-term
and long-term capitol capital
improvement programs, funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal
year, and an action plan with specific performance goals and
objectives. The business plan shall document service improvements to
provide the planned level of service, inclusion of operating plans to
serve peak period work trips, and consideration of other service
expansions and enhancements. The initial business plan shall be
consistent with the immediately previous plans developed by the
department pursuant to Section 14036 and the January 2014 business
plan developed by the High-Speed Rail Authority pursuant to Section
185033 of the Public Utilities Code. Subsequent business
plans shall be consistent with the immediately previous plans
developed by the department and the authority. The business
plan shall clearly delineate how funding and accounting for
state-sponsored intercity rail passenger services shall be
separate from locally sponsored services in the corridor. Proposals
to expand or modify passenger services shall be accompanied by the
identification of all associated costs and ridership projections. The
business plan shall establish, among other things: fares, operating
strategies, capital improvements needed, and marketing and
operational strategies designed to meet performance standards
established in the interagency transfer agreement.
(c) Based on the annual business plan and the subsequent
appropriation by the Legislature, the secretary shall allocate state
funds on an annual basis to the board. As provided in the interagency
agreement, any additional funds that are required
needed to operate the passenger rail service during the
fiscal year shall be provided by the board from jurisdictions that
receive service. In addition, the board may use any cost savings or
farebox revenues to provide service improvements related to intercity
service. In any event, the board shall report the fiscal results of
the previous year's operations as part of the annual business plan.
(d) The level of service funded by the state during the first
three years following the effective date of the transfer agreement
shall in no case be less than the current
number of intercity round trips operated in a corridor and serving
the end points currently served by the intercity
rail corridor as of the effective date of the interagency
transfer agreement . Subject to Section 14035.2, the level of
service funded by the state shall also include feeder bus service
with substantially the same number of route miles as the current
feeder system, to be operated in conjunction with the trains.
However, the interagency agreement shall not prohibit the
joint powers board from reducing the number of feeder bus route miles
if the joint powers board determines that a feeder bus route is not
cost effective as provided in Section 14035.2. For
that same three-year period, the board shall continue to
provide at least the same level of intercity rail and feeder bus
services as were in operation on the effective date of the
interagency transfer agreement, except that the interagency transfer
agreement shall not prohibit the board from reducing the number of
feeder bus route miles if the board determines that a feeder bus
route is not cost effective as provided in Section 14035.2.
(e) Nothing in this article shall be construed to preclude
expansion of state-approved intercity rail service.
(f) Local resources may be available to offset any redirection,
elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state
resources for operating intercity rail services identified in
subdivision (b) only if the local resources are dedicated by a vote
of the local agency providing the funds, with the concurrence of the
board.
SEC. 5. SEC. 6. Section 14070.6 of
the Government Code is amended to read:
14070.6. The department and any entity that assumes
administrative responsibility for intercity passenger rail services
through an interagency transfer agreement, may, through a competitive
solicitation process, contract with the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) or with organizations not precluded by state or
federal law to provide intercity passenger rail services, and may
contract with rail corporations and other rail operators for the use
of tracks and other facilities and for the provision of intercity
passenger services on terms and conditions as the parties may agree.
The department is deemed to be a third-party beneficiary of the
contract, and the contract shall not contain any provision or
condition that would negatively impact on or conflict with any other
contracts the department has regarding intercity passenger rail
services. Any entity that succeeds the department as sponsor of
state-supported intercity passenger rail services through an
interagency transfer agreement is deemed an agency of the state for
all purposes related to intercity passenger rail services, including
Section 5311 of Title 49 of the United States Code. If the intercity
passenger rail service is operated by a contractor, the contractor
shall, as a condition of entering into an operating agreement with
the entity, agree that its labor relations shall be governed by the
federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.).
SEC. 6. SEC. 7. Article 5.4
(commencing with Section 14074) of Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 7. SEC. 8. Article 5.4
(commencing with Section 14074) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 5 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
Article 5.4. San Joaquin Corridor
14074. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Authority" or "San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority" means a
joint exercise of powers agency formed under Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 for purposes of assuming
administrative responsibility for the San Joaquin Corridor under an
interagency transfer agreement pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with
Section 14070).
(b) "Board" means the governing board of the San Joaquin Joint
Powers Authority established under Section 14074.2.
(c) "San Joaquin Corridor" or "corridor" means the Los
Angeles-Bakersfield-Fresno-Stockton-Sacramento-Oakland intercity
passenger rail corridor.
14074.2. (a) There shall be created the San Joaquin Joint Powers
Authority Board, subject to being organized pursuant to the
provisions of this article. Except as otherwise provided in
subdivisions (b) and (c), the board shall be composed of not more
than 11 members, as follows:
(1) One member of the board of directors of the Sacramento
Regional Transit District, appointed by that board.
(2) One member of the board of directors of the San Joaquin
Regional Rail Commission, appointed by that board, who shall be a
resident of San Joaquin County.
(3) One member of the board of directors of the Stanislaus Council
of Governments, appointed by that board.
(4) One member of the board of directors of the Merced County
Association of Governments, appointed by that board.
(5) One member of the board of directors of the Madera County
Transportation Commission, appointed by that board.
(6) One member of the board of directors of the Fresno Council of
Governments, appointed by that board.
(7) One member of the board of directors of the Kings County
Association of Governments, appointed by that board.
(8) One member of the board of directors of the Tulare County
Association of Governments, appointed by that board.
(9) One member of the board of directors of the Kern Council of
Governments, appointed by that board.
(10) One member of the board of directors of a regional
transportation agency or rail transit operator that serves Contra
Costa County, appointed by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority,
who shall be a resident of the county.
(11) One member of a regional transportation agency or rail
transit operator that serves Alameda County, appointed by the Board
of Supervisors, who shall be a resident of the county.
(b) The board shall be organized when at least six of the agencies
described in paragraphs (1) to (11), inclusive, of subdivision (a)
elect to appoint a member to serve on the board prior to December 31,
2013. Once organized, those agencies described in paragraphs (1) to
(11), inclusive, of subdivision (a) that have not yet appointed
members to serve on the board may elect to appoint a member to serve
and be represented on the board at any time thereafter.
(c) If the rail service boundaries of the San Joaquin Corridor are
extended, an additional member from each additional county receiving
rail service may be added to the board pursuant to Section 14074.6.
(d) The authority shall protect existing services and facilities
and seek to expand service as warranted by ridership and available
revenue.
14074.4. The authority shall be created only if the agencies that
would be represented on the board enter into a joint exercise of
powers agreement to form the authority.
14074.6. The board shall make its decisions in accordance with
the votes of its members, with a majority vote required for all
matters with the exception of the approval of the business plan,
revisions to that plan, and the addition of new members pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 14074.2, which shall require a two-thirds
vote of the members.
14074.8. The Steering Committee of the Caltrans Rail Task Force
shall remain in existence. If a joint powers authority is formed
pursuant to this article and an interagency transfer agreement is
executed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14070.2, the Steering
Committee of the Caltrans Rail Task Force shall become the Steering
Committee of the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority for the purpose
of advising the joint powers board.