BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 792
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Date of Hearing: June 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
SB 792 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: May 19, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 33-0
SUBJECT : Regional entities: San Francisco Bay Area.
SUMMARY : Prescribes new duties for regional entities in the Bay
Area related to regional transportation plans (RTP) and
sustainable communities strategies (SCS). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), in
consultation with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
(BAAQMD), San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission (BCDC), and the Association of Bay Area Governments
(ABAG), to issue for public comment a draft public
participation plan to meet the public participation
requirements, under federal law and state law specific to the
development of a sustainable communities strategy.
2)Requires MTC, at least 30 days before issuing the draft public
participation plan, to convene a public engagement advisory
group to meet as needed before the draft is issued for public
comment and until the adoption of the public participation
plan.
3)Requires the public engagement advisory group to include, but
not be limited to, persons representing local planning
agencies, congestion management authorities or other local
government agencies, low-income communities, communities of
color, seniors, persons with disabilities, business, and
environmental organizations.
4)Requires the public engagement advisory group to be charged
with all of the following tasks:
a) Review the public participation process in connection
with the development and adoption of the previous RTP and
SCS, and address both of the following;
i) Strengths and weaknesses; and,
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ii) The degree to which public participation plans were
implemented, and to which specific implementation actions
contributed to robust, inclusive, and transparent
process.
b) Identify key decision points in the process by which the
previous RTP and SCS were developed and adopted; and,
c) Provide recommendations to MTC and ABAG in developing a
draft public participation plan that seek to do all of the
following;
i) Provide a clear process map, timeline, and
description of all key decision points;
ii) Set forth outreach activities designed to
meaningfully inform and engage San Francisco Bay Area
residents, as specified;
iii) Set forth the role of the advisory committee in the
development and approval of the RTP update and SCS;
iv) Set forth the role of other agencies and local
jurisdictions in the planning process, and prescribe
requirements for inclusive public engagement and
transparency; and,
v) Address any other priority concerns raised by the
public engagement advisory group.
5)Specifies that meetings of the public engagement advisory
group are subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act).
6)Requires the joint policy committee (JPC) to appoint an
advisory committee on economic competitiveness with members
from the business community, including representatives of the
following:
a) Small business and the technology and manufacturing
sectors;
b) Community colleges;
c) Public and private universities;
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d) Labor;
e) Local governments;
f) Community organizations with an interest in expanding
economic opportunity for low-income populations and
communities; and,
g) Other organizations involved with the private economy.
7)Requires JPC, in consultation with the advisory committee to
adopt goals and policies related to economic development.
Requires the goals and policies to promote amenities that are
special to the region and contribute to the region's qualify
of life. Requires that social equity goals and considerations
are 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 and include strategies and
opportunities for all residents with special attention given
to opportunities available for low-income residents and
populations of color.
8)Requires the member agencies of JPC to complete an analysis of
common functions and identify opportunities to save costs,
reduce redundancies, and further the goals of the member
agencies. Requires the analysis to also include a statement
as to the expected reduction in the cost of overhead and in
the cost of operation and management of the member agencies.
9)Requires MTC to report biennially to the Legislature and the
public at large on progress in implementing the policies and
programs of SCS required pursuant to existing law and in
preparing the subsequent SCS.
10)Requires JPC to maintain an internet web site containing
relevant information pertaining to JPC's activities.
11)Specifies that JPC is subject to the Brown Act.
12)Requires reimbursement to local agencies, if the Commission
on State Mandates determines that the bill's provisions
contain costs mandated by the state.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates JPC, consisting of ABAG, MTC, BCDC, and BAAQMD, and
includes at least one representative from each of the nine Bay
Area regional counties, to coordinate the development and
drafting of major regional planning documents.
2)Requires, under the provisions of SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter
728, Statutes of 2008, an RTP to include an SCS designed to
achieve the targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed fiscal. The Senate
Appropriations' analysis may not be relevant to the current
version of the bill.
COMMENTS :
1)Background on Bay Area regional agencies . ABAG was created in
1961 by cities and counties through a joint powers agreement
and serves as the region's council of governments (COG). The
Legislature created MTC in 1970 to coordinate transportation
planning in the Bay Area region (AB 363, Foran, 1970), and
serves as the region's metropolitan planning organization
(MPO). Several other regional agencies exist in the Bay Area
as well, including BAAQMD, formed in 1955, and the San
Francisco BCDC, formed in 1965.
In October 2001, the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area
Infrastructure held a hearing to examine a possible merger of
MTC and ABAG. Witnesses said that the existing structure made
it difficult to solve the Bay Area's intertwined regional
problems. Legislation was introduced to combine MTC and ABAG
(SB 1243, Torklakson, 2002), but the bill did not pass the
Assembly.
In 2003, ABAG and MTC formed a "Joint Policy Committee" to
coordinate their regional planning efforts. SB 849
(Torlakson), Chapter 791, Statutes of 2004, required JPC to
prepare a report that analyzed the feasibility of combining
functions, declared the Legislature's intent that BAAQMD be
included on the JPC, and mandated the submittal of a report to
the Legislature by January 1, 2006. SB 849 additionally
required JPC to coordinate the development and drafting of
major policy documents prepared by ABAG, MTC and BAAQMD,
including MTC's RTP, ABAG's housing element planning process,
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and BAAQMD's ozone attainment plan and clean air plan.
AB 2094 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 442, Statutes of 2008, added the
San Francisco BCDC to the JPC and authorized BCDC, in
coordination with local governments, regional councils of
government, and other agencies and interested parties, to
develop regional strategies for addressing the impacts of, and
adapting to, the effects of sea level rise and other impacts
of global climate change on San Francisco Bay and affected
shoreline areas.
The JPC has twenty voting members - five from the Executive
Board of ABAG, five from the Bay Area AQMD, five BCDC
Commissioners, and five MTC Commissions. A representative of
California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is a
non-voting member. JPC meets bi-monthly, or more often as
necessary.
2)Purpose of this bill . This bill establishes several new
requirements for the JPC and its member agencies. First, the
bill requires MTC, in consultation with ABAG, BAAQMD, and
BCDC, to issue for public comment a draft public participation
plan. At least 30 days before issuing the draft, MTC is
required to convene a public engagement advisory group to meet
as needed until the adoption of the public participation plan.
This bill requires specified interests, including low-income
communities and communities of color to be represented on the
advisory group and outlines several tasks regarding the public
participation process and recommendations to MTC and ABAG.
Second, this bill requires JPC to appoint an advisory
committee on economic competitiveness with specified interests
to be represented from the business community, including, but
not limited to, representatives of small business, technology
and manufacturing sectors, community colleges, public and
private universities, labor, local governments, and other
organizations involved with the private economy. Under this
bill, JPC, in consultation with the advisory committee, would
adopt goals and policies related to economic development,
including social equity goals.
Third, this bill requires the four member agencies of JPC to
complete a specified analysis of common functions and identify
opportunities to save costs, reduce redundancies, and further
the goals of the member agencies. This bill is
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author-sponsored.
3)Author's statement . According to the author, "Three of the
Bay Area's four regional agencies will soon be moving into a
shared building. This presents opportunities for the agencies
to consolidate some of their common functions to achieve
efficiencies, reduce costs, and better coordinate efforts.
"Moreover, business groups have expressed concerns about the
lack of consideration of how regional plans and regulations
affect the region's economic competitiveness. In addition,
community groups have expressed a desire for a more inclusive
public participation process around the RTP and SCS.
"[This bill] seeks to streamline the operations of the Bay
Area's four regional agencies and enhance public input into
major regional decision making processes by requiring the four
regional agencies to analyze opportunities for consolidating
common functions, improving community outreach and
participation procedures for the next SCS, and ensuring
consideration of economic goals in regional planning."
4)Previous legislation . There is extensive legislative history
associated with the issue of Bay Area regional governance,
specifically the debate over regional transportation planning
which dates back to the 1960s.
Most recently, SB 878 (DeSaulnier) of 2012 would have required
JPC to submit reports to the Legislature by January 31, 2014,
describing policies and strategies for a regional sustainable
communities program, for the development of a regional
economic development strategy, and for public participation in
regional programs. SB 878 was later amended to a different
issue area.
SB 1149 (DeSaulnier) of 2012 would have established the Bay
Area Regional Commission (BARC), which would have succeeded
and had vested with it all the duties, powers, purposes,
responsibilities, and jurisdiction of JPC, as well as other
additional duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities and
jurisdiction as specified in the provisions of the bill. SB
1149 was set to be heard in the Senate Appropriations
Committee, but the hearing was cancelled at the request of the
author.
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5)Policy considerations . The Committee may wish to consider the
following:
a) SCS . SB 375 requires an RTP to include an SCS designed
to achieve the targets for greenhouse gas emission
reduction. The successful implementation of the SCS
requires close cooperation between regional and local
agencies. SB 375 also mandated significant processes for
local government and public input into the entire process
from the Air Resources Board target-setting, to the MPOs
development of the plans to achieve them, including local
elected official workshops, a plan for general public
participation to include a broad range of stakeholder
groups and workshops throughout each region, required
circulation of the draft SCS or alternative planning
strategy, and the requirement to hold at least three public
hearings on the draft strategies. Considering these
existing requirements, the Committee may wish to consider
if the public engagement advisory group established by this
bill is necessary.
b) Analysis of common functions . This bill requires the
four member agencies of JPC to complete a specified
analysis of common functions and identify opportunities to
save costs, reduce redundancies, and further the goals of
the member agencies. The member agencies have already
retained an independent consulting firm to review possible
options for consolidating activities and overhead,
therefore the Committee may wish to consider if this
provision in the bill is necessary.
c) Mandate . This bill contains language that if the
Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill's
provisions contain costs mandated by the state, then
reimbursement to local agencies must be made pursuant to
existing law. However, the Committee may wish to consider
whether JPC or its member agencies have the ability to seek
reimbursement from the Commission on State Mandates.
6)Committee amendments . The Committee may wish to ask the
author to accept the following amendments:
a) This bill requires MTC to report biannually to the
Legislature and the public at large on the progress in
implementing the policies and programs of SCS. Given the
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requirements in existing law, the Committee may wish to ask
the author to accept a committee amendment to remove this
section (Section 6) from the bill.
b) This bill requires that JPC and meetings of the public
engagement advisory group are subject to the Brown Act,
however, no similar language is included for the meetings
of the advisory committee on economic competitiveness. The
Committee may wish to ask the author to accept an amendment
to explicitly state that the meetings of the advisory
committee on economic competitiveness are subject to the
Brown Act.
7)Arguments in support . Supporters argue that this bill will
ensure that social equity, economic growth and environmental
sustainability are integrated seamlessly throughout the
comprehensive regional plan and will provide for inclusive
public participation in the development of the plan.
8)Arguments in opposition . Opposition argues that this bill is
another attempt to further entrench the concept of regional
government in the minds of citizens and voters thru their own
involvement in the public engagement advisory committee giving
the effect that they are actually contributing to future
plans.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Public Advocates (as of April 10, 2013)
Urban Habitat (as of April 10, 2013)
Opposition
California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958