BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 141
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: ammiano
VERSION: 7/2/14
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: NO
Hearing date: August 5, 2014 URGENCY: YES
SUBJECT:
Treasure Island Transportation Management Act
DESCRIPTION:
This bill separates legally the Treasure Island Mobility
Management Agency from the San Francisco County Transportation
Authority for the purposes of implementing the Treasure Island
transportation program.
ANALYSIS:
Treasure Island is located in San Francisco Bay, midway between
San Francisco and Oakland, and is within the city and county of
San Francisco. It was built between 1937 and 1939 as an
addition to the existing, natural Yerba Buena Island and as the
site of the 1939 and 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition.
In 1941, the Navy began leasing Treasure Island.
In 1993, the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission
listed Treasure Island for shutdown. The naval base on the
island officially closed on September 30, 1997.
In April 1997, the Board of Supervisors of the city and county
of San Francisco created the Treasure Island Development
Authority (TIDA) to develop and implement a reuse plan for
Treasure Island. AB 699 (Migden), Chapter 898, Statutes of
1997, permitted the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to
designate TIDA as a redevelopment agency and invest it with the
powers in California's Community Redevelopment Law. AB 699
removed Treasure Island from the jurisdiction of the San
Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the San Francisco Port
Commission and turned those powers over to a single-purpose
entity (TIDA).
AB 981 (Leno), Chapter 317, Statutes of 2008, provides for a
transportation program for Treasure Island and Yerba Buena
AB 141 (AMMIANO) Page 2
Island (together called Treasure Island in state law), including
authorizing tolls to vary with traffic conditions and to be paid
by drivers of motor vehicles entering and exiting Treasure
Island from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
AB 981 authorizes the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, based
on TIDA's recommendation, to designate a board or agency,
including possibly itself, to adopt and implement a
comprehensive transportation program for Treasure Island that
will encourage public transit and bicycle, pedestrian, and
waterborne modes of transportation and minimize the impact of
Treasure Island development on traffic on and around the Bay
Bridge.
On April 1, 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
designated the San Francisco County Transportation Authority
(SFCTA) as the transportation management agency for Treasure
Island. The SFCTA is the long-range transportation planning for
the city and county, and it analyzes, designs, and funds
improvements for San Francisco's roadways and public
transportation networks. Its 11-member board consists of the 11
members of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors.
AB 981 grants the transportation management agency extensive
powers to implement the transportation program for Treasure
Island, including the power to:
Administer and collect the congestion pricing fees
Regulate on- and off-street parking, including adopting and
collecting parking fees, fines, and penalties
Adopt and collect transit pass fees from residents and other
users of Treasure Island
Undertake studies, evaluations, and other mechanisms to adopt
and amend the transportation program and to recommend fees
with the purpose of relieving transportation-related impacts
Use fee revenues for operation, maintenance, construction,
collection and enforcement, and administration of the
transportation program
Enter into contracts and agreements with governmental agencies
and private parties as necessary and proper to implement its
transportation program, including construction and maintenance
of transportation facilities, transit operations, and traffic
impact mitigation measures
This bill :
AB 141 (AMMIANO) Page 3
1.Allows the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to revise or
revoke its designation of an entity to serve as the
transportation management agency at any time.
2.Renames the transportation management agency for Treasure
Island as the "Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency"
(TIMMA).
3.Provides that the transportation management agency is an
independent and autonomous public agency governed by the board
of the SFCTA, as designated by the board of supervisors on
April 1, 2014, or by a body the board of supervisors
designates in the future.
4.Affirms that the transportation management agency is a
separate and distinct legal entity that is responsible for its
own obligations, debts, and liabilities.
5.Authorizes the transportation management agency under its own
name to do all acts necessary or convenient to exercise its
designated powers and financing of projects, including to:
Employ agents or employees
Acquire, construct, manage, maintain, lease, or operate
any public facility or improvements
Sue and be sued
Invest any money not required for the immediate
necessity of the agency
1.Requires the transportation management agency to adopt an
annual budget and to compensate its board members, including
reimbursing them for costs they incur while performing their
duties.
2.Authorizes the SFCTA to make direct contributions or
contributions on a reimbursement-for-costs basis to the
transportation management agency for costs the agency incurs
in implementing the transportation program for Treasure
Island.
3.Is an urgency measure.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The San Francisco Board of Supervisors endorsed a
development plan for Treasure Island in December 2006, after
AB 141 (AMMIANO) Page 4
an exhaustive planning process involving the Treasure Island
Citizen's Advisory Board, TIDA, and other public forums. The
plan calls for 8,000 homes, 500 hotel rooms, and 550,000
square feet of office and retail uses. One of the major
constraints to the development plan, however, is limited
access to Treasure Island, because a single auto route, the
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, connects it to the rest of
San Francisco. To address this constraint, AB 981 (Leno) of
2008 established a scheme to provide a comprehensive
transportation program for Treasure Island, including roadway
and transit capital improvements and operating subsidies, that
could be put in place and managed over time.
On April 1 of this year, the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors designated the SFCTA to manage the transportation
program on Treasure Island. Proponents of this bill
anticipate that the Treasure Island transportation management
agency will initiate major financial commitments for long-term
contracts beginning early next year. They are endorsing this
legislation in order to shield the local transportation sales
tax and other revenues from any liabilities of TIMMA. This
bill establishes what they describe as a highly desirable
firewall to provide the necessary protection for the SFCTA and
its revenue.
2.Precedent . Other examples exist where state law establishes
legally distinct entities that have the same board of
directors to manage separate transportation programs. For
example, in 2003, SB 916 (Perata), Chapter 715, made the Bay
Area Toll Authority legally distinct from the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission, despite having the same board, for
purposes of managing the Bay Area toll bridges.
3.New bill . The Transportation and Housing Committee heard this
bill last year when it had a different author and related to a
different subject. Last month, this bill was gutted and
amended to include the current language. As a result, this is
the first hearing for the current content of the bill.
4.Technical amendments .
On page 3, lines 20-21, delete "Sections 1967.3 and
1967.5" and insert "Section 1967.3"
On page 6, line 28, delete "1967.4" and insert "1967.3"
AB 141 (AMMIANO) Page 5
Assembly Votes are not relevant
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, July 30,
2014.)
SUPPORT: San Francisco County Transportation Authority
(sponsor)
Hon. Edwin Lee, Mayor of San Francisco
Treasure Island Development Authority
OPPOSED: None received.