BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1780
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Date of Hearing: April 23, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1780 (Bonilla) - As Amended: March 29, 2012
SUBJECT : California Department of Transportation: project
study reports
SUMMARY : Assigns responsibilities, including cost-sharing
responsibilities, for completion of project study reports (PSRs)
or equivalent planning documents. Specifically, this bill :
1)Recasts existing provisions explicitly to state that the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) may prepare
PSRs or equivalent planning documents for projects on the
State Highway System (regardless of whether the project is in
an adopted State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)).
2)Modifies the elements to be included in a PSR or equivalent
planning document to include cost estimate, schedule, and
other information deemed necessary to form a sound basis for
committing future state funding and project delivery.
3)Directs Caltrans to review and approve PSRs or equivalent
planning documents that are prepared by other entities for
projects on the State Highway System.
4)Mandates that, for state highway projects that are in an
adopted regional transportation plan, a voter-approved county
sales tax measure expenditure plan, or other voter-approved
transportation program, Caltrans is to review and approve the
PSR or equivalent planning document at its own expense; for
other projects, Caltrans's costs for review and approval of
the PSRs or equivalent planning documents are to be paid by
the entity performing the work.
5)Requires that, during development of PSRs for state highway
projects, there is to be open and continuous communication
between Caltrans, the agency requesting the PSR, and the
regional transportation planning agency or county
transportation commission.
6)Makes other, minor changes to provisions related to project
study reports.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes Caltrans to prepare PSRs for capacity-increasing
projects that are not included in the STIP provided the doing
so does not jeopardize delivery of STIP projects.
2)Provides that preparation of PSRs is to be limited to
Caltrans' available resources, supplemented as appropriate by
regional or local resources.
3)Sets forth required elements of PSRs including: project
limits, description, scope, costs, and schedule estimates.
4)Requires Caltrans to review and approve PSRs performed by
another agency.
5)Provides that Caltrans may be requested to prepare a PSR for a
capacity-increasing state highway project that is proposed for
inclusion in a future STIP. Caltrans has 30 days to determine
if it can complete the PSR in a timely manner. If it
determines that it cannot, the requesting entity may prepare
the report.
6)Sets forth timeframes to ensure timely reviews by Caltrans of
PSRs prepared by other entities.
7)Requires a PSR to be completed before a project may be
included in the STIP.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS: PSRs and equivalent planning documents (referred to
collectively as project initiation documents, or PIDS) are used
to document the initial stages of a project's development. They
contain specific information related to a project idea such as
the identification of the transportation problem that is to be
addressed, an evaluation of potential alternatives to address
the problem, and the justification and description of the
preferred solution. Each PSR also includes the estimated cost,
scope, and schedule of the project-information needed to decide
if, how, and when to fund the project. Existing law requires
PSRs to be completed before a project can be included in an
adopted STIP and the California Transportation Commission (CTC)
administratively requires PSRs for projects to be included in
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the State Highway Operation and Protection Program.
Caltrans' efforts related to preparing and providing oversight
for PIDS, including development of PSRs, have come under
scrutiny in the last couple of years, focused largely on a
significant over-production of PIDs and resultant wasteful
costs. Much of the scrutiny was as a result of the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO) budget analyses that identified
deficiencies in the program, including (in addition to the
over-production issue) a lack of any cost-sharing arrangements
with other agencies for the development of PIDs. As a result,
the Legislature requested Caltrans to collaborate with external
stakeholders to identify ways to improve the project initiation
process, including consideration of potential cost-sharing
arrangements and a streamlined PID process.
Caltrans responded to LAO's concerns and recommendations by
working with local agencies and the CTC to streamline PIDs.
These efforts sought to ensure that PSRs did not include more
information than was prudent to collect at the beginning stages
of a project's development and that PSRs were not being done for
more projects than could reasonably be expected to be developed.
Budget discussions are continuing this year and continue to
focus on: 1) identifying the appropriate source of funding for
PSRs and other planning documents; and 2) resolving the
appropriate content and scope of these documents. Previous
attempts by the Legislature to ensure that Caltrans be
responsible for costs for locally-sponsored state highway
projects have been twice vetoed by the Governor, who directed,
instead, that Caltrans' costs for the work be reimbursed by
local agencies.
Committee concerns: This bill may be premature given that the
issue addressed in the bill is currently under discussion as a
part of the budget process.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Self-Help Counties Coalition (sponsor)
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
AB 1780
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093