BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 792
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 792 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: June 30, 2014
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:8 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the San Francisco Bay Area's joint policy
committee (JPC) to complete an analysis of common functions and
identify opportunities to save costs, reduce redundancies, and
further the goals of the 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. The bill also
requires the JPC be subject to the Brown Act and maintain an
internet website.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, potentially reimbursable state mandate costs related to
duties imposed on the JPC and other regional government member
agencies. It is unclear, but unlikely, that 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.
This bill places new duties on regional entities and the
rather unique JPC, but not directly on local agencies that
normally have standing to bring a claim for reimbursement to
the Commission on State Mandates. As noted below, the JPC was
originally a voluntary partnership established by MTC and
Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), and later
statutorily required to add the San Francisco Bay Conservation
and Development Commission (BCDC) and the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District (BAAQMD), so eligible local government
claimants are several steps removed from the mandates imposed
by this bill. As such, this bill could theoretically create a
SB 792
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reimbursable state-mandated local program, but there is no
known similar precedent.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, three of the four agencies
comprising the JPC will soon move 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. SB 792 seeks to
streamline the operations of the Bay Area's four regional
agencies and enhance public input into major regional decision
making processes.
2)Background . With nine counties and 101 cities, the San
Francisco Bay Area is home to several single-purpose regional
agencies, including ABAG, BAAQMD, MTC, BCDC, and the San
Francisco Bay Region Regional Water Quality Control Board.
While each entity has a unique stand-alone function, existing
law requires these entities to cooperate in coordinating
regional planning, including the development of regional
planning documents such as regional transportation plans, the
regional housing needs assessment, the Ozone Attainment Plan,
the Clean Air Plan, and the San Francisco Bay Plan.
These coordinated efforts are performed through a joint policy
committee, which was originally formed voluntarily for
regional coordination between MTC and ABAG, but later codified
to include members of each of the nine counties in the region
and participation of BAAQMD and BCDC with the passage of SB
849 (Torlakson), Chapter 791 of 2004, and AB 2094
(DeSaulnier), Chapter 442 of 2008.
3)Previous Legislation .
a) There is extensive legislative history associated with
Bay Area regional governance, in particular regional
transportation planning dating back to the 1960s. The
recent conversation regarding regional coordination began
in October 2001, with a hearing of the Select Committee on
Bay Area Infrastructure examining a possible merger of MTC
and ABAG. Initial legislation to produce the merger was not
successful (SB 1243, Torlakson, 2002), but in 2003, ABAG
and MTC voluntarily formed a JPC to coordinate their
regional planning efforts.
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b) Most recently, SB 878 (DeSaulnier) of 2012 would have
required the 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 ultimately amended to a different topic.
c) SB 1149 (De Saulnier) of 2012 would have created a
regionally-elected Bay Area Regional Commission to succeed
the JPC, while retaining all its powers, duties,
jurisdiction and responsibilities. That bill was set in the
Senate Appropriations Committee, but died without a
hearing.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081