BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1225
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 2, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 1225 (Padilla) - As Amended: June 27, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : Intercity rail passenger service: interagency
transfer agreement.
SUMMARY : Authorizes, until June 30, 2014, the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to enter into an interagency transfer
agreement (ITA) with the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo
(LOSSAN) Corridor Agency (Agency) for the provision of intercity
passenger rail service. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the Intercity Passenger Rail Act of 2012 for the
Corridor.
2)Permits Caltrans, if authorized by the Secretary of
Transportation (Secretary), to use an ITA to assume all
responsibility for administering a state-funded intercity
passenger rail service in the LOSSAN Corridor (Corridor).
3)Establishes a new deadline of June 30, 2014, for execution of
the ITA.
4)Authorizes the joint powers agency (JPA) or local and regional
entities to augment state-provided resources to expand
services using local resources or to fund shortfalls in
agreed-upon performance standards.
5)Declares the Agency to be an existing JPA established to
provide an organization capable of implementing the
recommendations contained in the State Rail Corridor Study
Group's June 1987 report entitled "Los Angeles-San Diego State
Rail Corridor Study" and undertaking related efforts to
improve intercity services and facilities in the Corridor and
to coordinate subcorridor commuter rail services with
intercity services.
6)Provides that the specified article (encompassing Section #5
above) shall be applicable only if the members of the Agency
enter into an amended joint powers agreement to expand the
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authority of the Agency to permit the administration of
state-funded intercity passenger rail services on the
Corridor, and the Agency thereafter elects to become a party
to an ITA to that effect.
7)Requires the amended joint powers agreement to establish the
terms and conditions for the JPA and requires the agreement to
be subject to the approval of the governing board of each
member agency of the Agency.
8)Provides that only the Agency operating under the amended
joint powers agreement, and not the Agency in existence as of
January 1, 2013, may exercise jurisdiction over intercity
passenger rail services on the Corridor under an ITA.
9)Authorizes the Secretary to modify new performance standards
by December 31, 2014, for Corridor intercity passenger rail
services.
10)Prohibits the expenditure of local resources to offset any
redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by
the state of state resources for operating intercity passenger
rail services, as specified.
11)Requires the Secretary-approved ITA to maintain an annual
level of state funding covering an initial three-year period,
but which may be extended by mutual consent.
12)Requires the Corridor initial business plan to be consistent
with the immediately previous State Rail Plan as developed by
Caltrans.
13)Requires the level of funding provided by the state to be at
an appropriate level as determined in the ITA and at no less
than the funding level provided in the FY 2012-13 operating
contract between Caltrans and the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak).
14)Requires the level of funding provided by the state for
feeder bus service to include funding at the same level
provided as of January 1, 2013, as specified.
15)Prohibits termination of feeder bus services connecting the
LOSSAN and San Joaquin Corridors except in the case of failing
to meet cost-effectiveness standards, as specified.
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16)Prohibits local resources from being used to offset any
redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by
the state of state resources for operating intercity passenger
rail services.
17)Requires the passenger rail equipment regularly used for
intercity passenger rail service on the Corridor to be the
same type of equipment regularly used on other intercity
corridors to ensure that there is a statewide pool of common
intercity passenger rail equipment for purposes of
interoperability among the state-funded corridors and for
vehicle fleet management.
18)Repeals provisions authorizing the Southern California
Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) to be a party to the ITA and
replaces it with the Agency.
19)Defines "LOSSAN Corridor" or "LOSSAN Rail Corridor" to mean
"the San-Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo intercity passenger
rail corridor."
20)States that, through enactment of the bill, it is the intent
of the Legislature that:
a) The Secretary is to be responsible for the overall
planning, coordination, and budgeting of the intercity
passenger rail service;
b) The Secretary may authorize Caltrans to enter into an
ITA with a JPA if it determines that the transfer would
result in administrative or operating cost reductions;
c) The transferred corridor is to remain a component of the
statewide system of intercity passenger rail corridors;
d) The public interest requires expansion of the state
intercity passenger rail program in order to keep pace with
population growth;
e) For not less than a three-year period, the level of
state funding for intercity passenger rail service in each
corridor be maintained equal to at least the current level
of service in the Corridor;
f) It is in the public interest to ensure fiscal
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accountability that the intercity passenger rail service
operating in the Corridor maintain a ratio of fare revenue
to operating cost of no less than 58%; and,
g) It is in the public interest that the Agency retain an
individual to manage the contract with the state who has
previous experience operating or managing intercity or
commuter passenger rail services.
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to the state's
intercity passenger rail system, including the state's
interest in ensuring the protection of its $1.8 billion
investment in the system.
2)Makes various technical or nonsubstantive amendments to
existing law.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Authorizes Caltrans, in cooperation with local
transportation officials, to develop guidelines to
implement the intercity passenger rail program and defines
the intercity passenger rail corridors within which rail
projects are eligible for funding, and requires Caltrans to
develop a comprehensive statewide rail passenger and
freight system plan.
2) Authorizes Caltrans, until December 31, 1996 and subject
to approval of the Secretary, to enter into an ITA under
which a JPA - SCRRA - would take over responsibility for
administering a state-funded intercity passenger rail
corridor service.
3) Establishes the terms of the SCRRA ITA to include
various elements, including the date and conditions of
transfer; the funds to be transferred; the level of service
to be provided and Caltrans' methods for coordination of
services, annual review of the business plan, and annual
proposals on funding and appropriations; the terms for
transferring car and locomotive train sets; and, auditing
and other procedures.
4) Provides for the allocation of state funds by the
Secretary to SCRRA under the terms of the ITA and based on
the annual business plan that includes the level of service
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to be operated, and authorizes SCRRA to provide any
additional funds that are needed to operate the passenger
rail service during a fiscal year from jurisdictions that
receive service.
5) Requires SCRRA to submit an annual business plan which
is the basis of a budget request for service.
6) Authorizes Caltrans and any entity that assumes
administrative responsibility for passenger rail services
through an ITA to contract with specified entities for the
use of tracks and other facilities and for the provision of
intercity passenger rail services.
7) Authorizes Caltrans to contract with Amtrak for
intercity passenger rail services and provides funding for
these services from the Public Transportation Account.
8) Authorizes, pursuant to federal law, states or
state-created entities to contract with Amtrak for
intercity passenger rail service.
9) Requires, pursuant to federal law and beginning in
October 1, 2013, states to pay the full operating and
capital cost, according to a national cost allocation
process adopted by the Service Transportation Board, for
intercity passenger rail service in which the service is
less than 750 miles in length, although interstate service
is exempt.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill will have the following fiscal impacts:
"One-time costs to Caltrans of approximately $200,000 (Public
Transportation Account) to administer the transition of
operations and management to the JPA. Cost pressures related to
provisions in the bill that would shift financial risk from the
JPA to the state, while also removing operational and management
decisions from the state and shifting them to the JPA."
COMMENTS :
1)The 351-mile-long LOSSAN Corridor is the second busiest
passenger rail corridor in the nation, second only to the
Boston-to-Washington D.C. Northeast Corridor. The Corridor
runs through a six-county area, connecting major metropolitan
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areas of Southern California and the Central Coast. These
rail passenger trains operate over tracks that are owned by
two public agencies in San Diego County, OCTA, Metro, the
Union Pacific Railroad, and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe
(BNSF) Railroad. There are three passenger rail carriers
along this route: Amtrak's intercity Pacific Surfliner, which
operates between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, and the
Metrolink (Los Angeles) and Coaster (Oceanside to San Diego)
commuter lines.
2)To coordinate intercity passenger rail service between Los
Angeles and San Diego, the Agency was formed as a JPA in 1989.
In 2001, the Agency expanded to include rail agencies and
operators north of Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo. With this
change, all rail agencies along the entire Pacific Surfliner
Corridor are represented on LOSSAN.
The nine current voting members of the Agency are: Metro,
OCTA, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, North San Diego
County Transit District, San Diego Association of Governments,
Ventura County Transportation Commission, Santa Barbara County
Association of Governments, San Luis Obispo Council of
Governments, and Caltrans. The four non-voting, ex-officio
members are the Southern California Association of
Governments, Amtrak, the California High-Speed Rail Authority
and the Riverside County Transportation Commission. The
Agency also has four additional non-voting technical
advisory committee members representing BNSF, the California
Public Utilities Commission, SCRRA, and Union Pacific.
The Agency advises Caltrans, as administrator of the Corridor,
on Amtrak services and facility improvements within the
Corridor. In 1996, SB 457 (Kelley) was enacted to permit
the Agency to amend its existing joint powers agreement to
assume responsibility for the
Corridor intercity passenger rail service by December 31,
1996. An agreement with Caltrans could not be reached because
the local agencies were unable to reach a consensus on the
structure of the amended JPA. Accordingly, the responsibility
for the service remained with Caltrans. This bill represents
a second attempt for the separate agencies to reach consensus
on a joint powers agreement.
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3)Intercity passenger rail service is a component of the state's
overall transportation system and operates between several
regions of the state, primarily between metropolitan areas and
to rural areas. For California, intercity passenger rail
services include three state-supported corridor routes and
four Amtrak long-distance routes. The three in-state
intercity passenger rail routes were funded, planned and
administered by Caltrans until July 1998, when the Capitol
Corridor JPA assumed administration of the Capitol Corridor
(Auburn-Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose). The other two intercity
passenger rail services, the Pacific Surfliner and the San
Joaquin, continue to be administered by Caltrans.
4)This bill would enact the Intercity Passenger Rail Act of 2012
for the Corridor, which authorizes, until June 30, 2014, the
Agency (a locally-controlled JPA) to assume administrative
responsibilities for the state-supported Corridor via an ITA
with Caltrans.
According to the author, "SB 1225 would codify an existing
joint powers authority into law and allow it to assume
responsibility for passenger service along the rail corridor
running from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo.
Specifically, SB 1225 would implement the governance model
created by the highly successful Capitol Corridor Authority
for the LOSSAN �C]orridor." In order for the transfer to take
effect, an ITA would still need to be negotiated between
Caltrans and the Agency, with the agreement subject to
approval by the Secretary.
The measure is co-sponsored by the Agency, Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), and the Orange
County Transit Authority (OCTA).
5)The Joint Exercise of Powers Act (Act) (Government Code
Section 6500, et seq.) allows
two or more public agencies to use their powers in common if
they sign a joint powers agreement. Sometimes an agreement
creates a new public entity called a joint powers agency or
joint powers authority, referred to here as a JPA, which is
separate from the parties to the agreement. JPAs are subject
to the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act. Having been
formed pursuant to the Act, the JPA authorized by this bill to
take over intercity passenger rail service in the Corridor
would operate in all other ways as required by its amended JPA
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agreement and the Act.
As noted above, this bill would delete existing provisions for a
Corridor ITA between Caltrans and SCRRA, and codify the Agency
in its place. This bill imposes few statutory restrictions on
the Agency, requiring only that it amend its agreement to
authorize the administration of the Corridor and establish
related terms and conditions, subject to the approval of each
member Agency. The bill does not specify the composition of
the JPA,
nor any of its procedures or powers.
6)Given that the original 1996 authorization to transfer
administration of the Corridor never took place because the
local agencies involved could not agree on the proper
structure of the
receiving JPA, the Committee may wish to ask the author and
sponsor to describe the problems that arose in those earlier
discussions.
The Committee may also wish to ask the author and sponsor how
those problems will be avoided under the current plan, and how
the Agency intends to amend its JPA agreement to implement the
provisions of SB 1225.
Finally, the author may wish to make technical amendments to
the bill to address two points:
a) Clarify, under Section 14072.2, that the amended joint
powers agreement would require the approval of each voting
member agency only, not the non-voting ex officio and
technical advisory board members (assuming that was the
intent of the author); and,
b) Revise all references to a "joint powers board" to
instead read "joint powers agency board".
1)The following bills have also addressed the issue of intercity
passenger rail transit:
a) AB 1779 (Galgiani, 2012) would authorize, until June 30,
2014, Caltrans to transfer the administration of the San
Joaquin intercity passenger rail corridor to a JPA
established for that purpose. That measure was approved in
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this Committee on April 25, 2012 on a 7-1 vote. The bill
is set to be heard in the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee on July 3, 2012.
b) SB 1117 (DeSaulnier, 2012) would require the California
Transportation Commission to prepare a statewide passenger
rail transportation plan for conventional and high-speed
intercity passenger rail, commuter rail, and urban rail
transit. The bill is set to be heard in the Assembly
Committee on Transportation on July 2, 2012.
c) SB 1118 (Monteith), Chapter 202, Statutes of 1997,
authorizes the establishment of the San Joaquin Corridor
JPA, and provides direction to the steering committee of
the Caltrans Rail Task Force to coordinate intercity
passenger rail service for the San Joaquin Corridor.
d) SB 457 (Kelley), Chapter 263, Statutes of 1996,
authorized, until December 31, 1996, the transfer of
responsibility for the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner,
and the San Joaquin intercity passenger rail service to
three specified JPAs within those corridors. The transfer
of service was to be accomplished through joint powers
agreements between Caltrans and the agencies, approved by
the Secretary. The JPA for the Capitol Corridor was
ultimately the only entity formed by the deadline.
2)Certain provisions of this bill technically conflict with
those contained in AB 1779 (Galgiani). The author may wish to
consider 'chaptering-out' amendments to resolve the conflict
as the bill moves forward.
3)Support arguments : According to the author, "�a] new joint
powers authority modeled after the highly successful Capital
Corridor Authority would allow for greater administrative,
procurement and operational efficiencies that come with
integration. Nine counties
representing about 25 million people working together with a
common vision would enable the construction of necessary
corridor enhancements creating thousands of new jobs for our
state."
Opposition arguments : None on file.
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4)This bill was heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee
on June 25, 2012, where it passed with a 13-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency
�CO-SPONSOR]
LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency �CO-SPONSOR]
Orange County Transportation Authority �CO-SPONSOR]
California Transit Association
CH2M HILL
Chambers of Commerce Alliance Venture and Santa Barbara Counties
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Mobility 21
Orange County Business Council
Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT)
San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council
Ventura County Transportation Commission (support in concept)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958