BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1117
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1117 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended August 20, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :32-3
TRANSPORTATION 10-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield, |
| |Achadjian, Blumenfield, | |Bradford, |
| |Bonilla, Buchanan, Eng, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Furutani, Galgiani, | |Davis, Fuentes, Hall, |
| |Norby, Portantino | |Hill, Cedillo, Mitchell, |
| | | |Solorio |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Logue, Miller |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Modifies requirements of the State Rail Plan.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the new
planning requirements of the federal Passenger Rail Investment
and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) and the need to build on
these new requirements to improve the state's rail planning
activities.
2)Identifies the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) as the designee to prepare, maintain, coordinate,
and administer the federal state rail plan required under
PRIIA and to consist of a passenger rail element and a freight
rail element.
3)Restructures the State Rail Plan, as follows:
a) Requires the State Rail Plan to comply with federal
requirements under PRIIA;
b) Adds required elements of the State Rail Plan to
include:
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i) Plans for a comprehensive and integrated statewide
passenger rail system, including high-speed rail,
conventional intercity and commuter rail, and connections
to urban rail systems;
ii) A review of all high-speed rail routes, the freight
rail system, conventional intercity and commuter rail
systems, and urban system connections to other passenger
rail systems, including a statement of the state's
passenger rail objectives for routes in the state;
iii) Identification of improvements that have the
potential to benefit both rail freight and passenger rail
services in the state; and,
iv) An inventory of the existing rail transportation
system, services, and facilities in the state, and an
analysis of the role of rail within the state's overall
transportation system.
c) Maintains the requirement to include a freight rail
element, with specific components, in the State Rail Plan;
d) Deletes specific, detailed requirements of the existing
State Rail Plan, including:
i) Actual, estimated, and proposed encumbrances for
capital and operating subsidies and for state operations;
ii) Identification of high-priority capital improvement
projects;
iii) Performance evaluation of all services in
operations;
iv) Recommended levels of service for the next ten
years;
v) Evaluations of regional planning agency reports of
commuter services;
vi) Maps of existing routes;
vii) Expenditure data and strategies related to Caltrans'
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marketing activities;
viii) The specific requirement that the report be prepared
in consultation with Amtrak and the Public Utilities
Commission;
ix) Discussions of fare policies; and,
x) The freight element, including issues related to
environmental aspects, financing, intermodal connections,
current system deficiencies, new technology, and light
density rail.
e) Modifies required due dates and sets forth a review and
submittal process to require Caltrans to:
i) Submit the draft State Rail Plan to the High-Speed
Rail Authority (HSRA) and the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) by December 1, 2015;
ii) Prior to submitting the draft plan, requires
Caltrans to hold two public workshops on the draft plan;
iii) Submit the final plan to the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency by March 1, 2016, for
approval pursuant to federal requirements; and,
iv) Submit the final, approved plan to the Legislature,
the Governor, the Public Utilities Commission, HSRA, and
the CTC.
4)Requires the State Rail Plan to be updated every five years,
at a minimum.
5)Directs the CTC to include in its Regional Transportation Plan
(RTP) guidelines:
a) Direction regarding the integration of all passenger
rail service into a coordinated system, with emphasis on
intermodal facilities connecting various passenger rail
systems with each other as well as with the overall
transportation system; and,
b) The provision of cost-effective passenger rail services
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that contribute to climate stabilization, job access,
environmental enhancements, and improved mobility.
6)Directs the HSRA to plan for implementation of blended
systems, consistent with Proposition 1A (2008), the policy
objectives set forth in the State Rail Plan, the HSRA's
business plan, and any written, third-party agreements with
operators in the corridor; requires the following prescribed
elements to be included in the HSRA implementation plan:
a) Identification of investments in passenger rail projects
in the San Francisco Transbay Terminal-to-Los Angeles Union
Station-to-Anaheim (Phase 1) high-speed rail corridor that
benefits conventional intercity and commuter rail services
and are compatible with being upgraded to high-speed rail
in the future; and,
b) Investments in operable segments in the Phase 1 corridor
that generate sufficient passenger revenue to be attractive
to private investors.
7)In developing the blended systems, requires HSRA to consult
with Caltrans, regional transportation planning agencies,
agencies administering or operating commuter rail, freight
railroads operating in conventional intercity and commuter
rail corridors and in the Phase 1 high-speed rail corridors,
and firms that have expertise in commercial high-speed
intercity rail operations; also requires that HSRA ensure the
blended system is consistent with written, third-party
agreements with other operators in the corridor.
8)Requires the HSRA to submit its draft blended program to the
CTC, Caltrans and the Legislature by December 31, 2013, and to
subsequently incorporate it into its business plan.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes, under the federal PRIIA, a federal policy for
intercity passenger rail that includes a federal capital grant
program and new requirements for state rail plans. PRIIA also
conditions submittal of federal capital grant applications
upon completed state rail plans. State rail plans are to be
updated every five years.
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2)Requires Caltrans to prepare a 10-year rail plan to be updated
biennially. The report is required to be submitted by March
31 of every even-numbered year. (Note: With the advent of new
federal requirements for state rail plans, Caltrans notified
legislative policy committees that the 2012 report would be
delayed so that new federal state rail plan requirements could
be incorporated. That new plan is now under development.)
3)Requires CTC, in consultation with Caltrans and the State Air
Resources Board, to maintain guidelines for travel demand
models used in the development of regional transportation
plans (RTPs) by federal designated metropolitan planning
organizations.
4)Requires each transportation planning agency, every four
years, to prepare and adopt an RTP directed at achieving a
coordinated and balanced regional transportation system,
including, but not limited to, mass transportation, highway,
railroad, maritime, bicycle, pedestrian, goods movement, and
aviation facilities and services.
5)Requires that an RTP consider both the short-term and
long-term future an incorporate the transportation plans of
cities, counties, districts, state, and federal agencies.
6)Requires RTPs to be consistent with federal planning and
programming requirements and conform to the RTP guidelines
adopted by CTC.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Absorbable costs to Caltrans and the CTC. Caltrans indicates
that the bill is consistent with its current efforts to meet
the planning requirements of the PRIIA.
2)Costs for the HSRA to complete and submit the plan for blended
systems should be absorbable. HSRA staff argues, however,
that this requirement is redundant of current law and work
already being done by HSRA, and will thus be an inefficient
use of staff resources.
COMMENTS : According to the author, successful rail development
depends on the integration of various modes of
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transportation-including intercity, commuter and urban rail
transit, as well as the state and local roadway network. He has
introduced this bill to incorporate the state's efforts relative
to high-speed rail planning, regions' efforts relative to urban
rail, and new federal rail planning requirements into a new,
recast State Rail Plan.
The revised State Rail Plan will complement efforts already
underway within in the Administration to develop the next
iteration of a state rail plan consistent with federal
requirements for state rail plans as set forth under PRIIA.
These requirements, as identified in the federal preliminary
state rail plan outline, are much more extensive than the
existing state requirements. PRIIA requires an integrated and
comprehensive plan for existing and proposed conventional and
high-speed rail systems and freight rail. The plan must include
detailed 5- and 20-year capital project plans for all high-speed
and conventional intercity rail projects that may be financed
with federal grant funds and rail system planning is required to
be integrated into the entire transportation system.
This bill builds on the work of regions to develop RTPs and
focuses on connectivity between rail systems and opportunities
to develop those systems to benefit the state's entire
transportation system.
Concerns: Although not formally opposed to the bill, Union
Pacific Railroad (UP) has raised the concern that the bill
requires a focus on blended systems but that there are capacity
constraints in blended passenger-freight rail operations, and
shared use of passenger and freight use on many of the state's
rail lines is not possible.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0005056