BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1225|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1225
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 8/30/12
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM. : 9-0, 4/24/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 5/30/12
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Strickland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Interagency transfer agreement
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority Los Angeles-San Diego Rail Corridor Agency
Orange County Transportation Authority
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
2
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to enter into a transfer of
services agreement with the Los Angeles-San Diego Corridor
Agency for the provision of intercity passenger rail
service in the corridor.
Assembly Amendments revise and recast this bill to
basically align its provisions with AB 1779 (Galgiani) of
the current legislative session.
ANALYSIS : Since 1976, Caltrans has been contracting with
Amtrak for providing intercity passenger rail service in
the Los Angeles-San Diego (LOSSAN) Corridor. The initial
service was between San Diego and Los Angeles and later
extended to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The
institutional environment in which the trains operate is
complex. The trains operate over tracks that are owned by
two public agencies in San Diego County, the Orange County
Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Union Pacific
Railroad , and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)
Railroad. In addition, the Riverside County Transportation
Commission (RCTC) acquired the passenger rail rights
between Fullerton and Los Angeles from BNSF in the 1990s.
This requires any passenger rail operator, except Amtrak,
to secure RCTC's concurrence before initiating or
increasing service in that segment of the corridor.
Railroad services operating in the corridor include freight
provided by Union Pacific and BNSF, and commuter rail
service by METROLINK in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and
Ventura counties and by the Coaster in San Diego County.
In addition to the state-supported service, Amtrak operates
interstate passenger rail services to Seattle beginning in
Los Angeles. In the future, the segment of the corridor
from Burbank to Los Angeles and Anaheim will include
high-speed rail service. One segment of the corridor,
Commerce to Fullerton, is among the most heavily used
corridors in the country with over 100 trains daily
traversing it. Currently, the number of passenger and
freight trains is about equal.
The LOSSAN Corridor is the second most heavily patronized
Amtrak corridor in the country, after the Northeast
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
3
Corridor between Washington-New York-Boston. Approximately
6.7 million passengers travel in LOSSAN corridor annually.
Of those passengers, 2.6 million use Amtrak, 2.4 million
rely on Metrolink, and the Coaster carries 1.7 million.
The travelers are very different. The users of Metrolink
and Coaster are typically commuters. The average length of
a commuter trip is 30 miles, the average fare is $6.69 and
income of the commuters is $75,000 annually. The Amtrak
rider is typically a leisure traveler, students, or a
business traveler who uses the service intermittently. The
average length of the trip is 90 miles, the average fare is
about $21, and traveler's average income is $80,000
annually.
In addition to the LOSSAN Corridor, the state has funded
Amtrak service from Bakersfield to Oakland via Stockton and
Martinez since 1979. In 1991, the state contracted with
Amtrak to operate service from Sacramento to Oakland/San
Jose. The management of the service was devolved to the
Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Agency in 1998 by an
interagency transfer agreement (ITA).
Existing state law:
1. Authorizes Caltrans to:
A. Contract with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail
service.
B. Program in the State Transportation Improvement
Program (STIP) 15 percent of the funds available for
interregional transportation improvements to
intercity passenger rail and grade separations.
C. Enter into contracts with motor coach operators to
provide feeder bus service to intercity passenger
rail service, provided the service does not require
an operating subsidy.
D. Provide marketing services for the intercity
passenger rail program, acquire passenger cars and
locomotives, and take other actions to facilitate the
operation of the service.
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
4
E. Prepare a 10-year intercity passenger rail plan
updated every two years to be adopted by the
California Transportation Commission.
2. Authorizes Caltrans, subject to the approval of the
Secretary of Business and Transportation Agency
(Secretary), to enter into an agreement with a joint
powers board transferring responsibility for
administering intercity passenger rail service in a
corridor.
3. Assigns Caltrans responsibility for operating intercity
passenger service for trains operating up to 125 miles
per hour.
4. Requires a joint powers board to submit an annual
business plan which is the basis of a budget request for
service.
5. Authorizes the Secretary to do the following:
A. Establish the level of state funding available for
operation of intercity passenger rail service in
available in each corridor in which service operates.
B. Allocate funds to a joint powers board consistent
with an interagency agreement that includes, among
other things, the level of service to be operated.
6. Authorizes joint powers agencies (JPAs) to augment state
funds at their discretion to expand service, address
funding shortfalls, or achieve agreed upon performance
standards.
Existing federal law:
1. Authorizes states or state-created entities to contract
with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail service.
2. Requires states, according to a national cost allocation
process adopted by the Service Transportation Board, to
pay the full operating and capital cost for intercity
passenger rail service in which the service is less than
750 miles in length beginning in October 1, 2013.
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
5
Interstate service is exempt from this provision.
This bill:
1. States the intent of the Legislature that the Secretary
of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
(Secretary) authorize Caltrans to enter into an
interagency transfer agreement (ITA) if the Secretary
determines that transferring the service would result in
administrative or operating cost reductions. Deletes
the requirement of the Secretary to make a determination
of cost effectiveness prior to authorizing Caltrans to
enter into the ITA.
2. States the intent of the Legislature as well as a
requirement that the ITA cover an initial three-year
period that provides the level of funding that supports
the level of service at the time of execution of the
ITA.
3. Authorizes the use of local resources to offset any
redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification
by the state of state resources for operating intercity
passenger rail services only if the local resources are
dedicated by a vote of the local agency providing funds,
with the concurrence of the JPA.
4. Requires the Secretary to establish uniform performance
standards by June 30, 2014, for all corridors.
Authorizes, to the extent necessary, revisions to the
performance standards no later than July 30, 2015, or
the effective date of the ITA, whichever comes first.
5. Prohibits the termination of feeder bus services for
passengers utilizing state-supported passenger rail
unless specified cost-effectiveness standards cannot be
met from the existing services.
6. Deletes the prohibition of the state from requiring a
corridor agency to use local funds to augment service or
fund shortfalls when agreed upon performance standards
are not met.
7. Deletes the prohibition on the use of local funds to
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
6
offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or
reclassification of state resources for operating
intercity passenger rail services in the corridor.
8. Extends the date by which the JPA must execute the ITA
to December 31, 2015. Authorizes extension of the ITA
by mutual agreement between Caltrans and the JPA.
9. Clarifies requirements of the ITA include coordination
of the intercity rail passenger services with feeder bus
services. Eliminates auditing provisions of the ITA
pertaining to evaluating the transfer of rail equipment.
10.Requires the Secretary to provide a report to the
Governor and the Legislature if there is no signed ITA
by June 30, 2015, indicating why an acceptable agreement
has not been developed along with specific
recommendations for developing one.
11.Specifies if the intercity passenger rail service is
operated by a contractor, the contractor shall, as a
condition of entering into an operating agreement with
the entity, agree that its labor relations shall be
governed by the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.
Sec. 151 et seq.).
12.Authorizes Caltrans and the LOSSAN corridor agency to
contract, through competitive bids, with Amtrak or with
organizations authorized to provide intercity rail
services. Deems the LOSSAN corridor agency as an entity
of the state, allowing it to be a direct recipient
federal public transportation grants.
13.Requires a contractor operating the LOSSAN corridor
services, as a contractual condition, to agree to abide
by federal railway labor laws.
14.Repeals provisions authorizing the Southern California
Regional Rail Authority to be a party to the ITA and
replaces it with the LOSSAN corridor agency.
15.Stipulates that this bill is only operative if the
members of the LOSSAN corridor agency enter into an
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
7
amended joint powers agreement to expand the authority
of the existing agreement.
Background
In the last 35 years, the number of intercity trains funded
by the state resources operating in the LOSSAN Corridor has
increased from 1 to 11 round trips between Los Angeles and
San Diego on weekdays, of which five are extended to San
Barbara. Two of the Santa Barbara trains provide round
trip service to San Luis Obispo. There are also five round
trips daily from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Since the
beginning of service, $1.152 billion has been invested in
the corridor. Of that amount, $746 million, or 65% of the
investment, has been state funds. The next largest
investor in the corridor has been local governments, with
$188 million, about 16% of the funds. The remaining 20% of
the investment has been from federal sources, Amtrak, and
the private railroads. Caltrans has been responsible for
managing the investment program.
Even with the investments in the corridor, the track and
signaling system in the corridor from Ventura County to San
Luis Obispo is antiquated. In San Diego County, there are
segments of the corridor that remain single track. Lack of
double track and inadequate signaling reduces system
capacity and reliability of service.
LOSSAN Corridor Agency . The LOSSAN Corridor Agency is
currently made up of nine members: Caltrans, Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, North County
Transit District, Orange County Transportation Authority,
San Diego Association of Governments, San Diego
Metropolitan Transit System, San Luis Obispo Council of
Governments, Santa Barbara County Association of
Governments, and the Ventura County Transportation
Commission. The Agency advises Caltrans on Amtrak services
and facility improvements for the corridor. Legislation
enacted in 1996, provided an opportunity for the LOSSAN
Agency to create a joint powers group to assume
responsibility for the LOSSAN intercity passenger 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 corridor agency. The
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
8
responsibility for the service remains with Caltrans.
This bill establishes a deadline of December 31, 2013 for
the LOSSAN Agency to enter into an agreement with the state
to devolve the service.
Caltrans' role . Caltrans' Division of Rail is the largest
state rail agency in the country. It has earned this
distinction by managing the largest state-contracted Amtrak
service. Caltrans has managed the $2.8 billion statewide
capital improvement program for the intercity passenger
rail program. About 8% of the STIP funds are dedicated to
interregional rail, for which Caltrans is responsible for
programming. Caltrans funded and is managing the design
and construction in collaboration with BNSF of a third new
track and signal system, costing $165 million, between Los
Angeles and Fullerton. This will significantly improve
system capacity and reliability for both passenger and
freight service.
With funds provided from Proposition 116, the Clean Air and
Transportation Improvement Act of 1990, Caltrans managed
the development and design of a bi-level (double deck)
intercity passenger rail car. Last year, the Federal
Railway Administration designated that car, referred to as
the "California" car, as the only bi-level car in the
country eligible for federal funding. Caltrans is managing
a $552 million project for the procurement of 135 bi-level
cars. Depending on the final bid, Caltrans will acquire
about 40 cars. The rest are for Illinois, Iowa, and
Missouri. Next year, Caltrans will manage the procurement
of 27 locomotives, of which six are for California. The
total value of this acquisition is expected to be $130
million.
This bill shifts operating responsibility to the LOSSAN
Corridor Agency, but maintains the state's responsibility
for STIP preparation for the rail program and equipment
acquisition.
Comments
The LOSSAN Corridor Agency is proposing to become an agent
of the state by entering into an ITA with Caltrans to
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
9
manage the operation of Amtrak services with existing state
resources in order to better coordinate schedules and other
operating matters with the commuter rail services provided
by Metrolink and Coaster. The author's office points out
that the LOSSAN corridor parallels two of Southern
California's most heavily congested freeways, Interstate 5
and Highway 101, through six counties: San Diego, Orange
County, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis
Obispo. The line provides an alternative to driving these
corridors and benefits southern California in terms of
increased mobility, congestion relief, and decreased
greenhouse gas emissions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
one-time special fund cost to Caltrans in the range of
$200,000 to implement a transfer agreement with the LOSSAN
corridor agency, including supporting the transition of
Caltrans' equipment and facilities. Caltrans also
indicates a one-time payment of $300,000 to $400,000 would
be made to the LOSSAN corridor agency associated with the
transfer of operational and capital projects. Caltrans
would thereafter realize ongoing administrative savings of
about $300,000.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/12)
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(co-source)
Los Angeles-San Diego Rail Corridor Agency (co-source)
Orange County Transportation Authority (co-source)
California Transit Association
CHM2 HILL
League of California Cities, Los Angeles County Division
Los Angeles County Business Federation
Mobility21
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
Orange County Business Roundtable
Sacramento Regional Transit District
San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments
CONTINUED
SB 1225
Page
10
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
Ventura County Transportation Commission
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/31/12)
North County Transportation District
Department of Finance
JJA:m 8/31/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED