BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1780 (Bonilla) - Department of Transportation: project
initiation documents.
Amended: March 29, 2012 Policy Vote: T&H 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 16, 2012
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: AB 1780 would require the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to pay for costs related to the review
and approval of specified project initiation documents (PIDs)
prepared by other entities for projects that are on the state
highway system and in an adopted regional transportation plan, a
voter-approved sales tax measure expenditure plan, or other
voter-approved transportation program. Caltrans costs to review
and approve PIDs for projects that aren't included in one of
these plans would be paid by the entity that prepared the
documents.
Fiscal Impact: Permanent shift of approximately $4.5 million in
funding for review and approval of PIDs from local funding
sources on a reimbursement basis to the State Highway Account
(see staff comments).
Background: Existing law authorizes Caltrans to prepare project
studies reports for capacity-increasing state highway projects
that are not included in the state transportation improvement
program (STIP), to the extent the work does not jeopardize
delivery of projects in the adopted STIP. Caltrans is required
to review and approve all project studies reports that are
prepared by an entity other than the department itself.
Existing law requires a project studies report to include the
limits, description, scope, costs, and time necessary to
initiate construction of a project.
A PID must be completed before a project may be programmed into
the STIP or State Highway Operation and Protection Program
(SHOPP) to receive an allocation of capital outlay funds.
Depending on the complexity of the proposed project, a PID may
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take anywhere from a few months to several years to prepare, and
preparation costs can range from tens of thousands to several
million dollars. When Caltrans reviews and approves PIDs
prepared by local agencies, costs have historically been paid by
the local entity on a reimbursement basis through a cooperative
agreement.
Proposed Law: AB 1780 would revise the requirements related to
the preparation of project study reports and equivalent planning
documents, which are commonly known as PIDs. Specifically, this
bill would:
Authorize Caltrans to prepare PIDs for any projects on
the state highway system.
Expands the scope of PIDs to include other information
deemed necessary to form a sound basis tor the commitment
of future state funding and project delivery.
Require Caltrans to pay for costs to review and approve
PIDs prepared by other entities for projects on the state
highway system that are in an adopted regional
transportation plan, a voter-approved sales tax measure
expenditure plan, or other voter-approved transportation
program.
Require the agency that prepares a PID for a project
that is not included in one of the specified plans to pay
for costs incurred by Caltrans for review and approval.
Require open and continuous communication between
Caltrans, the agency requesting preparation of a PID, and
the regional transportation planning agency or county
transportation commission during the development of PIDs.
Related Legislation: AB 1134 (Bonilla), which was held under
submission on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense
File last year, was substantially similar to this bill.
Staff Comments: The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has
focused the Legislature's attention on issues surrounding the
development of PIDs in recent budget discussions. LAO analyses
of Caltrans transportation planning going back to the 2009-10
budget cycle have noted significant overproduction of PIDs
compared to available capital outlay funding, and recommended
reductions of staffing for PID work, development of a
streamlined PID process, and development and implementation of
an expedited process for review and approval of PIDs produced by
local agencies. In response, Caltrans convened a PIDs Working
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Group, and recently reported that it has implemented 18 of 21 of
the recommendations on a 2010 PIDs streamlining report,
including a reduction of the size and scope of PIDs.
During both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 budget cycles, the
Administration has proposed funding Caltrans' PIDs workload
related to locally-sponsored highway projects through local
reimbursements. The Legislature disagreed with this approach
and dedicated State Highway Account funds for this purpose, but
the Governor vetoed the funds. Funding in 2011-12 was
eventually restored on a local reimbursement basis through a
Section 28.00 request, but funding this year remains uncertain
because of Governor Brown's recent line-item veto.
Specifically, funding for transportation planning in item
2660-001-0042 was reduced by $4,545,000 with the following veto
message:
I am reducing this item by $4,545,000 and 23.0 positions to
reserve state funds to fund state projects and not to
subsidize the development and review of project initiation
documents for locally funded projects on the state highway
system. I am sustaining $3,890,000 and 28.0 positions to
complete work on projects where local agencies executed
cooperative agreements with Caltrans to provide
reimbursements.
AB 1780 would permanently shift responsibility for funding the
review and approval of PIDs developed by local agencies to the
State Highway Account. Although the Legislature has attempted
to shift funding for Caltrans' costs from a local reimbursement
basis to state-funded process in recent years, the Governor has
consistently rejected this proposal with line-item vetoes. In
the short-term, this bill would result in increased costs to the
State Highway Account of approximately $4.5 million. Staff
assumes future costs would increase, but actual costs would
depend upon the proportion of PIDs prepared by local agencies
that are included in an RTP or voter-approved local
transportation plan or program of projects.