BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1339
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1339
AUTHOR: Yee
AMENDED: As Introduced
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: April 30, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Peter Cowan
SUBJECT : COMMUTE BENEFITS: SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Establishes air quality management districts, including the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and
provides that they have primary responsibility for controlling
air pollution from all sources, other than emissions from
mobile sources. (Health and Safety Code �40000 et seq.).
2) Establishes the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC),
for the purpose of developing regional transportation plans in
the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin,
Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. (Government
Code �66500 et seq.).
This bill :
1) Allows BAAQMD and MTC to jointly adopt a commute benefit
ordinance for their common jurisdiction that requires
employers to offer one of the following options:
a) A pretax option consistent with federal law allowing
covered employees to exclude from taxable wages certain
employee transit pass, vanpool, or bicycle commuting costs.
b) An employer-paid benefit whereby the covered employer
offers a subsidy to offset the transit or vanpool commuting
costs. In 2013 the subsidy must be equal to either the
monthly cost of commuting or $75, whichever is lower, and
annually thereafter the subsidy must be adjusted as
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consistent with the California Consumer Price Index.
c) Transportation furnished by the covered employer at no
or low cost to the covered employee in a vanpool, bus, or
multipassenger vehicle operated by or for the employer.
2) Allows an employer offering an alternative commuter benefit
not identified above to seek approval of the alternative
benefit from BAAQMD or MTC, if the alternative benefit
provides at least the same benefit in terms of reducing
single-occupant vehicle trips as any of the options above.
3) Provides that an employer participating in, or represented by
a transportation management association that provides the
employer's covered employees a benefit that meets the
requirements above, is deemed in compliance and requires
BAAQMD and MTC to communicate directly with the transportation
management association, rather than the participating
employers, to determine compliance.
4) Requires that the commute benefit ordinance provide covered
employers with at least six months to comply after adoption of
the ordinance.
5) Requires a commute benefit ordinance to specify how the
implementing agencies will inform covered employers, how
compliance will be demonstrated, the procedures for proposing
and criteria used to evaluate an alternative commuter benefit,
and any consequences for noncompliance.
6) Requires BAAQMD and MTC, if they implement an ordinance on or
before July 1, 2016, to report to the Legislature and sets
various requirements for that report.
7) Defines "covered employer" to mean any employer for which an
average of 50 or more employees perform work for compensation
on a full-time basis within the area where a commute benefit
ordinance is adopted.
8) Defines "covered employee" to mean an employee who performed
at least an average of 20 hours of work per week within the
pervious calendar month within the area where the ordinance is
adopted.
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9) Provides that the statutory or regulatory authority of BAAQMD
and MTC is not limited or restricted.
10)Provides the above provisions sunset and are repealed January
1, 2017.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author SB 1339 "will help
reduce congestion, cut air pollution, and achieve the
transportation-related greenhouse gas reduction targets
adopted by the �ARB] in 2010, consistent with Senate Bill 375
(Steinberg, 2008). Without legislation, such a commute
benefit requirement would not be allowed."
2) Covering enough . Several cities, including Berkeley,
Richmond, and San Francisco have already adopted commute
benefit ordinances with similar options as those provided in
SB 1339, however all have more expansive definitions of
"Covered employers" or "Covered employees." SB 1339 applies
to all businesses with 50 or more employees and requires that
only employees working 20 hours or more a week be counted.
Berkeley and Richmond ordinances apply to businesses with 10
or more employees while San Francisco's ordinance applies to
businesses with 20 or more employees, but defines "employee"
to be any person who works for compensation.
According to the California Employment Development Department
(EDD) in 3rd quarter 2009, businesses with 50 or more full or
part-time employees constituted 59.5% of all employees
statewide (14.5 million total). Businesses with 20 or more
employees constitute 75.8% of the workforce while businesses
with 10 employees or larger constitute 85.6%.
3) Expanded role for MTC . Under current law, MTC's primary
responsibility is "to provide comprehensive regional
transportation planning" to the nine-county Bay Area region.
MTC as regional transportation planning agency has authority
to allocate certain federal and state highway and transit
funds. While MTC can use its authority to program for funding
those projects that it deems meet regional priorities as a
means to compel local transportation agencies within its
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jurisdiction to adopt policies and programs consistent with
regional transportation goals, it does not have authority to
directly govern either public agencies or businesses as this
bill provides.
4) Ensuring compliance . SB 1339 does not specify how a commute
benefit ordinance will be enforced. How will MTC and/or BAAQMD
know whether or not an employer is complying with the
ordinance? What are the penalties for failure to comply?
5) Trying again . This bill is similar to SB 582 (Emmerson),
except that SB 1339 applies only to the San Francisco Bay Area
and is limited to businesses of 50 employees or more.
(Amendments taken in the Assembly changed the author of SB 582
from Senator Emmerson to Senator Yee). In his SB 582 veto
message Governor Brown wrote:
"This bill authorizes a regional planning organization,
under certain conditions, to require businesses with 20 or
more employees to offer commute benefits.
City and county governments already can mandate programs of
this type-and some have.
While I support the goal of reducing vehicle trips, this
bill would impose a new mandate on small businesses at a
time of economic uncertainty."
6) Support and opposition concerns . According to supporters, SB
1339 would provide both environmental and economic benefits,
noting that a reduction in vehicle miles traveled would reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases, emissions of other pollutants,
and traffic congestion. Supporters also contend that the
pretax option is a "win-win" reducing taxes for both employees
and employers.
According to the California Taxpayers Association "Existing
state and federal ridesharing tax incentives have been
available to employers for almost three decades on a voluntary
basis - they are not mandated by government?many companies
with 50 or more employees simply cannot afford to offer
ridesharing benefits, especially when business is slow."
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SOURCE : Bay Area Air Quality Management District
SUPPORT : American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
American Lung Association
Bayer HealthCare
Burlingame Mayor Jerry Deal
California Air Pollution Control Officers
Association
California Transit Association
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company of San Francisco
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Regional Asthma Management and Prevention
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender
Community
Center
San Francisco Planning and Urban Research
Association
Sierra Club California
Schumacher & Walker Insurance Associates
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean
OPPOSITION : California Taxpayers Association