BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 792|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 792
Author: DeSaulnier (D)
Amended: 1/27/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/16/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Roth, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/1/13
AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez, Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 1/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SUBJECT : Bay Area regional governance
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the San Francisco Bay Areas joint
policy committee (JPC) to prepare a plan for consolidating the
functions common to its member agencies and requires the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to convene a public
engagement advisory group to assist in the development of a
draft public participation plan, as specified. Requires the
inclusion of additional elements in the region's Sustainable
Communities Strategy (SCS), and assigns responsibility for those
elements to member entities of the JPC.
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ANALYSIS : The San Francisco Bay Area is comprised of nine
counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco,
San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.
The Bay Area has four major regional institutions: the MTC, the
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
(BCDC), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD),
and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).
Each agency has a unique responsibility. MTC is responsible for
regional transportation planning, the programming and funding of
major transportation projects, and when acting as the Bay Area
Toll Authority, managing and establishing the tolls for the
seven state-owned toll bridges. BCDC regulates the land uses of
the bay shoreline. BAAQMD implements federal and state air
quality laws through regulation. ABAG analyzes and forecasts
the region's population, provides advisory services on regional
land use planning to MTC and other agencies, and allocates
shares of the regional housing need to each city and county.
In an effort to coordinate the planning activities of ABAG, MTC,
and BAAQMD, SB 849 (Torlakson, Chapter 791, Statutes of 2004)
created the JPC, comprised of members of each agency.
Subsequent legislation, AB 2094 (DeSaulnier, Chapter 442,
Statutes of 2008) added BCDC representation to the JPC. Each of
the four agencies has five appointments from their respective
governing boards to the JPC. The appointees must be
representatives of local governments.
The purpose of the JPC is to coordinate various regional
planning documents, including the regional transportation plan
prepared by MTC, BAAQMD's ozone attainment plan and clean air
plan, ABAG's housing needs plan, and BCDC's San Francisco Bay
Plan. The JPC is essentially an advisory agency.
SB 375 (Steinberg, Chap 728, Statutes of 2008) requires the Air
Resources Board to provide each region that has a metropolitan
planning organization (MPO) with a greenhouse gas emission
reduction target for the automobile and light truck sector for
2020 and 2035, respectively. Each MPO, in turn, is required to
include within its regional transportation plan a SCS designed
to achieve the ARB targets for greenhouse gas emission
reduction. Each MPO must submit its SCS to ARB for review. ARB
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must accept or reject the MPO's determination that the
implementation of a submitted SCS submitted would achieve the
greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
This bill:
1. Requires the next adopted SCS to include consideration of
local and regional air quality, priority infrastructure
needs, and the goals and policies related to economic
development opportunities and specified social equity goals.
Assigns responsibility for these additional elements to
ABAG, MTC, and BAAQMD, as specified. Specifies the SCS may
also include consideration of sea level rise.
2. Requires the JPC prepare a plan for consolidating the
functions that are common to the member agencies that will
further the goals of the member agencies and reduce
redundancy, and submit a copy of the plan, by December 31,
2015, to each member agency affected by the plan. Requires
the member agencies report to the Senate Transportation and
Housing Committee by December 31, 2016, on the adoption and
implementation of the plan.
3. Requires, prior to initiating public outreach and
participation efforts for a regional transportation plan or
SCS update, the MTC, in consultation with the ABAG, the
BAAQMD, and the BCDC, issue, for public comment, a draft
public participation plan.
4. Requires, at least 180 days before issuing the draft above,
the MTC convene a public engagement advisory group to meet at
least six times before the draft is issued for public
comment.
5. Requires the MTC accept nominations for membership on the
public engagement advisory group from community-based
organizations representing populations that are traditionally
under represented in decision making, including minority and
low-income populations. Requires not less than 60% of the
members of the public engagement advisory group be affiliated
with those community-based groups.
6. Specifies the public engagement advisory group be charged
with all of the following tasks:
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A. Reviewing the public participation process in
connection with the development and adoption of the
previous regional transportation plan and SCS, as
specified;
B. Identifying key decision points in the process by
which the previous regional transportation plan and SCS
was developed and adopted, as specified; and
C. Assisting staff in developing a draft public
participation plan as specified.
7. Requires the JPC maintain an Internet Web site containing
relevant information pertaining to the JPC's activities.
8. Specifies the JPC shall be subject to the Ralph M. Brown
Act.
9. Requires the JPC appoint an advisory committee on economic
competitiveness with members from the business community,
including representatives of small businesses and the
technology and manufacturing sectors, community colleges,
public and private universities, labor, local governments,
community organizations with an interest in expanding
economic opportunity for low-income populations and
communities, and other organizations involved with the
private economy.
10.Requires the JPC, in consultation with the advisory
committee, adopt goals and policies related to the inclusion
of economic development opportunities in the SCS. Specifies
the goals and policies shall also promote amenities that are
special to the region and contribute to the region's quality
of life. Requires social equity goals and considerations
shall be integrated throughout to ensure that low-income
populations and populations of color share fairly in the
benefits and burdens of the economic development goals and
policies and their implementation.
11.Requires the MTC report biannually to the Legislature and
the public at large on progress in implementing the policies
and programs of the SCS.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential reimbursable state mandate costs related to duties
imposed on the JPC and other regional government member
agencies. It is unclear whether the JPC or other regional
entities upon whom the state-mandated program is imposed
would have standing to bring a claim before the Commission on
State Mandates (see staff comments below). If a successful
claim were filed, General Fund reimbursements could be
significant.
One-time costs to the BCDC, likely in the hundreds of
thousands, to prepare a consolidation plan in 2015 (General
Fund).
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/27/14)
Public Advocates
Urban Habitat
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "By expanding
the scope of the SCS and requiring all four agencies to jointly
adopt it, SB 792 requires coordination of the four agencies'
efforts. The bill effectively makes the SCS into a
comprehensive regional plan. SB 792 also improves
community outreach and participation procedures for the next SCS
and ensures consideration of economic goals in regional
planning."
JA:k 1/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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