BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 792
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 792 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended June 30, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :33-0
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 8-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Achadjian, Levine, Alejo, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Bradford, Gordon, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Frazier, Rendon, Waldron | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Donnelly |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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
SB 792
Page 2
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,
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.
SB 792
Page 3
5)Specifies that meetings of the public engagement advisory
group and the advisory committee on economic competitiveness
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
small business 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.
7)Requires JPC, in consultation with the advisory committee to
adopt goals and policies related to economic development.
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,
as specified, of common functions and identify opportunities
to save costs, reduce redundancies, and further the goals of
the member agencies.
9)Requires JPC to maintain an internet web site containing
relevant information pertaining to JPC's activities.
Specifies that JPC is subject to the Brown Act.
10)Requires reimbursement to local agencies, if the Commission
on State Mandates determines that the bill's provisions
contain costs mandated by the state.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, 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
SB 792
Page 4
the Commission on State Mandates.
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. The
Legislature created MTC in 1970 to coordinate transportation
planning in the Bay Area region (AB 363 (Foran), Chapter 801),
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 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 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, 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 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 20 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.
SB 792
Page 5
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. 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 author-sponsored.
3)Author's statement. According to the author, "[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 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, which would have succeeded and had
vested with it all the duties and responsibilities of JPC, as
well as other additional duties 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.
SB 792
Page 6
5)Policy considerations. The Legislature may wish to consider
the following:
a) SCS. SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008,
requires an RTP to include an SCS designed to achieve the
targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction. 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
Legislature 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 Legislature may wish to consider if this
provision in the bill is necessary.
6)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.
7)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.
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
SB 792
Page 7
319-3958 FN:
0004430