BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          SB 878 (DeSaulnier)
          
          Hearing Date: 01/19/2012        Amended: 06/09/2011
          Consultant: Mark McKenzie       Policy Vote: T&H 7-1
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: SB 878 would require a joint policy committee of 
          the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the 
          Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the Bay Area Air 
          Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and the San Francisco Bay 
          Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) to submit a 
          report to the Legislature by January 31, 2013 that includes the 
          following:
           Methods and strategies for developing a regional sustainable 
            communities strategy, including public participation and 
            transparency.
           Strategies for improving regional coordination among member 
            agencies.
           Recommendations on organizational reform that effectuates 
            regional coordination.
           A work plan for a nine-county economic development strategy, 
            as specified.
          The bill would require public meetings associated with the 
          development of these reports in each of the region's counties, 
          and the formation of advisory committees.  SB 878 would also 
          require each member agency of the joint policy committee to 
          submit a report to the Legislature by January 31, 2013 that 
          identifies the outreach efforts performed when carrying out the 
          respective missions of their agencies.
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2012-13      2013-14       2014-15    Fund
           Local mandate          Unknown reimbursable mandate costs, 
          General
                                 likely in the range of $100-$300 
          (one-time costs)
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS:  SUSPENSE FILE. 









          SB 878 (DeSaulnier)
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          With nine counties and 101 cities, the San Francisco Bay Area is 
          home to several single-purpose regional agencies, including the 
          Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the Bay Area Air 
          Quality Management District (BAAQMD), the Metropolitan 
          Transportation Commission (MTC), the San Francisco Bay 
          Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and the San 
          Francisco Bay Region Regional Water Quality Control Board.  
          While each entity has a unique stand-alone function, existing 
          law requires these entities to cooperate in coordinating 
          regional planning, including the development of regional 
          planning documents such as regional transportation plans, the 
          regional housing needs assessment, the ozone attainment plan, 
          and the clean air plan and the San Francisco Bay Plan.  These 
          coordinated efforts are performed through a joint policy 
          committee, which was originally formed voluntarily for regional 
          coordination between MTC and ABAG, but later codified to include 
          members of each of the nine counties in the region and 
          participation of BAAQMD and BCDC with the passage of SB 849 
          (Torlakson), Chapter 791 of 2004, and AB 2094 (DeSaulnier), 
          Chapter 442 of 2008.

          This bill is intended to build upon past efforts at regional 
          coordination through the joint policy committee.  Specifically, 
          SB 878 would require the joint policy committee to submit 
          reports to the Legislature related to the regional development 
          of a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) to achieve 
          greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, as required by SB 375 
          (Steinberg), Chapter 728 of 2008, and the development of a 
          regional economic development work plan, as specified.  The bill 
          also requires public participation and transparency in the 
          preparation of these reports.

          SB 878 bill creates a new reimbursable state-mandated local 
          program by placing new duties on the various local agencies 
          involved in the preparation of the reports and work plan 
          required by this bill, including numerous public meetings and 
          the formation of advisory committees.  Actual reimbursable costs 
          are unknown, but staff estimates total one-time costs to be in 
          the range of $100,000 to $300,000, if agencies seek 
          reimbursement.  Staff notes that although potential costs 
          associated with this mandate are moderate and one-time, the 
          Committee may wish to consider whether it is prudent to approve 
          an additional reimbursable mandate while the Legislature has 
          acted to suspend, repeal, or defer reimbursements for various 








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          mandates in current law over the past several years.

          Staff notes that it is unlikely that the requirements of this 
          bill can be accomplished within the specified timeframes.  For 
          instance, SB 878 requires several reports to be completed and 
          submitted to the Legislature by January 31, 2013 (one month 
          after the bill becomes law).