BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1183
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Date of Hearing: June 18, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
SB 1183 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 26-9
SUBJECT : Vehicle registration fees: surcharge for bicycle
infrastructure.
SUMMARY : Authorizes a city, county, or regional park district
to impose a vehicle registration surcharge, with two-thirds
voter approval, for bicycle infrastructure improvements and
maintenance, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a city, county, or regional park district to impose
a vehicle registration surcharge as a special tax with
two-thirds voter approval for bicycle infrastructure, as
specified.
2)Requires the amount of the vehicle license surcharge, in whole
dollars and not to exceed $5, to be specified in an ordinance
adopted by the local agency.
3)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to administer
the revenues from the fee.
4)Requires the net revenues to be used by the local agency for
the following:
a) Improvement to paved and natural surface trails and
bikeways, including the rehabilitation, restoration, and
expansion of existing trails and bikeways;
b) Development of new trails and bikeways;
c) Improvement and development of other bicycle facilities,
including, but not limited to, bicycle parking facilities;
and,
d) Maintenance and upkeep of local and regional trail and
bikeway systems, networks and other bicycle facilities.
5)Prohibits the local agency from using more than 5% of the net
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revenues for administrative expenses.
6)Defines "regional park district" to mean "any regional park
district, regional park and open-space district, or regional
open-space district formed pursuant to existing law."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a vehicle registration fee of $46 to be paid for the
registration of every motor vehicle, except those expressly
exempt.
2)Authorizes a variety of additional fees that are related to
the operation of motor vehicles to be paid with the
registration, to address certain air quality and law
enforcement issues.
3)Provides, in Article XIII C, Section 2 of the California
Constitution, that a special tax requires two-thirds voter
approval.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, there are:
1) Estimated one-time costs to DMV in the range of $150,000 to
$200,000 for programming and startup costs to implement a new
fee collection protocol. These costs would be reimbursed in
arrears from fees collected. All ongoing DMV costs would be
deducted from fees collected prior to distribution to the
local agency imposing the surcharge. (Motor Vehicle Account);
2) Additional DMV programming costs of approximately $40,000 for
each subsequent jurisdiction that imposes the surcharge. All
ongoing administrative collection costs would be deducted from
fees collected prior to distribution. (Motor Vehicle Account);
and,
3) Unknown revenue gains on the local level, potentially in the
millions annually, depending on the amount of the surcharge
adopted and the number of registered vehicles in a particular
jurisdiction in which a surcharge is approved by the voters.
COMMENTS :
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1)Vehicle registration fee . Existing law establishes a basic
vehicle registration fee of $46, plus a $24 surcharge for
additional personnel for the California Highway Patrol, for
the new or renewal registration of most vehicles or trailer
coaches. Existing law also authorizes local agencies to
impose separate vehicle registration fee surcharges in their
respective jurisdictions for a variety of special programs, to
abate abandoned vehicles, deter, investigate, and prosecute
vehicle theft, fund fingerprint identification programs, and
to mitigate vehicular air emissions.
AB 1546 (Simitian), Chapter 931, Statutes of 2004, granted the
City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County
(C/CAG) the authority to impose an annual fee on motor
vehicles for programs to manage traffic congestion and
stormwater pollution. This authority was extended until
January 1, 2013, by SB 348 (Simitian), Chapter 377, Statutes
of 2008. SB 613 (Simitian) of 2007, would have extended the
authority until January 1, 2019, but was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger. SB 83 (Hancock), Chapter 554, Statues of
2009, authorized countywide transportation planning agencies
to impose an annual fee of up to $10 on motor vehicles
registered in a county to fund specified programs to address
congestion mitigation and motor vehicle induced pollution.
The definition for congestion mitigation programs and projects
include, but are not limited to, bicycle improvements and
local street and road rehabilitation.
2)Purpose of this bill . This bill authorizes cities, counties,
and regional parks districts to impose a surcharge of up to $5
on motor vehicles registered within their respective
jurisdictions. The amount of the surcharge would be specified
in an ordinance adopted by the local agency, and DMV would
administer the collection of fees and distribution of net
revenues to the local agency, after deducting collection
costs. This bill requires that net revenues are used for
improvements to paved and natural surface trails, including
the rehabilitation, restoration, and expansion of existing
trails, the development of new trails and bikeways, the
improvement and development of other bicycle facilities, and
the maintenance
and upkeep of existing local and regional trail and bikeway
systems, networks, and facilities. The local agency would
only be able to use up to 5% of net revenues for their
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administrative expenses.
Under this bill the vehicle registration surcharge would be a
special tax subject to submittal to the electorate and
approval by a two-thirds vote, pursuant to Article XIII C of
the California Constitution. There are no nexus requirements
for a special tax. This bill is sponsored by the East Bay
Regional Park District.
3)Author's statement . According to the author, "This bill
provides a local funding mechanism, not currently authorized
in state law, to support communities that want to build out
bikeway and trail infrastructure and bicycle network
connectivity. Despite clear health and environmental benefits
of bicycling, which are affirmed by the state in its Active
Transportation Program and its Sustainable Communities Act (SB
375), local communities lack stable funding sources to build
out bicycle and trail networks. Bike paths, trails, and bike
parking facilities provide the crucial safety and security
features that are needed for people of different ages and
abilities to choose biking as a mode of active transportation
and recreation. Promotion of bicycling through a
locally-approved vehicle registration surcharge benefits all
community members, not just bicyclists or the motorists who,
while not currently bike riders, may become comfortable enough
to try bicycling. The overall community benefit is
exemplified by data showing that for every 1% shift in commute
mode from cars to bikes, there is a 5% reduction in traffic
congestion. Studies enclosed herein show that 'if you build
bike infrastructure, the riders will come', and clear safety
benefits of facilities like protected or separated bike lanes
and paths."
4)Existing financial tools . According to a report authored by
CalTrans titled, Transportation Funding in California 2014,
"Regional and local governments provide approximately 49% in
transportation funding, whereas, the state provides 27% and
the federal government provides 24%." Transportation funding
at the local level comes from various sources including user
fees, subsidies, and property-related charges like property
taxes, benefit assessment districts, and developer fees.
Since 1995, there have been 47 countywide transportation
transaction and use tax measures, 34 of those for new taxes.
Only seven of those measures garnered the necessary two-thirds
voter approval.
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The California Taxpayers Association opposes this bill
arguing, "Roads, bike trails and parks already are funded
through various taxes and fees imposed by local governments.
If local entities would like to raise revenue for these
causes, they already possess the tools to do so."
The Committee may wish to ask supporters of the bill why
existing financial tools to raise revenue for bicycle
infrastructure are not sufficient and how they anticipate the
outcomes
of the special tax measure authorized by this bill to fare
better at the local level than existing broader transportation
measures that also require a two-thirds vote.
5)Committee amendments . The Committee may wish to ask the
author to accept committee amendments to address the
following:
a) Reporting requirements . Existing law requires local
agencies to provide an annual report to the Controller's
office regarding revenue raised and expenditures as a
result of increased vehicle registration fees at the local
level for several purposes including vehicle theft and
fingerprint identification programs. Additionally, the
Legislature granted C/CAG the authority to impose a vehicle
registration fee with a number of requirements including a
report to the Legislature, independent audit, and public
noticing requirements. The Committee may wish to ask the
author to accept amendments to require that a local agency
provide an annual report which includes, but may not be
limited to, information regarding the amount of revenue
collected, and expenditures, projects, maintenance,
facilities funded.
b) Sunset date . Although cities, counties, and regional
park districts can include a sunset date on the local
ballot measure put forth to the voters, a sunset date on
the overall authorization this bill grants may be
appropriate given the expansive list of bicycle
infrastructure revenues can be spent on and the number of
other financial tools available to local agencies to fund
these types of projects. The Committee may wish to ask the
author to accept an amendment to sunset the authority
granted by the bill in 2025.
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Due to timing, these amendments will be accepted in the
Transportation Committee.
6)Arguments in support . Supporters argue that this bill
provides an additional tool to raise revenue for bicycle
transportation facilities, which lack a stable ongoing funding
source, especially in the case of the construction and
maintenance of off-road bicycle trails and difficult to fund
intercity bikeways.
7)Arguments in opposition . Opposition argues that although
raising revenue to improve bike trails and infrastructure
enjoyed by bicyclists is a noble goal, vehicle registration
surcharge is not the right approach.
8)Double-referral . This bill is double-referred to the
Transportation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
East Bay Regional Park District [SPONSOR]
Bike East Bay
Breathe California
California Bicycle Coalition
California Park & Recreation Society
California State Association of Counties
Coalition for Clean Air
TransForm
Transportation Authority of Marin
Opposition
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
Association of California Car Clubs
California Taxpayers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
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