Amended in Assembly August 19, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 25, 2014

Amended in Senate March 27, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1228

Introduced by Senator Hueso

February 20, 2014

An act to add Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 2192) to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1228, as amended, Hueso. Trade Corridors Improvement Fund.

Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1B at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, provides for transfer of $2 billion of bond proceeds to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, created by the bond act, for infrastructure improvements along federally designated Trade Corridors of National Significance, to be allocated by the California Transportation Commission to eligible projects, as specified.

This bill would continue the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund in existence for the purpose of receipt and expenditure of revenues from sources other than the bond act. The bill would provide for allocation of these revenues, upon appropriation, by the California Transportation Commission for largely similar purposes as the bond act funds, but would specifically reference, as eligible projects, infrastructure improvements that benefit the state’s land ports of entry, seaports, and airports. The bill would require the commission to consult specified plans and a specified strategy in determining the projects eligible for begin delete funding. end delete begin insert funding and to allocate moneys from the fund consistent with a provision of the bond act and specified fund guidelines adopted by the commission. end insert

The bill, to the extent begin delete funds end delete begin insert moneys end insert are transferred to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, would require projects funded with those begin delete funds end delete begin insert moneys end insert to be begin delete consistent with the purposes of the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund and the guidelines adopted for the fund by the commission and to demonstrate how they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals and objectives of end delete begin insert subject to all of the requirements of existing law applicable to the expenditure of moneys appropriated from end insert the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund begin insert , including, among other things, furthering the regulatory purposes of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares that
international trade in California is an increasingly important
component of the state’s $2 trillion economy. In 2013, California
exported $168 billion in products, an increase of more than 4
percent over the amount exported in 2012. California has five
major land ports of entry, yielding $535.9 billion in economic
activity in 2012. California is also home to 11 seaports on over
1,000 miles of coastline. Seaports generate billions of dollars in
economic activity and millions of jobs. Land ports of entry and
seaports create busy borders and harbors with heavy industrial
commerce. It is imperative that safety issues and pollution
generated by trade are mitigated in order to reduce those impacts
and to allow additional growth in international trade.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 2192) is added
to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

 

Chapter  4.8. Trade Corridors Improvement Fund

 

2192.  

(a) The Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, created
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8879.23 of the Government
Code, is hereby continued in existence to receive revenues from
sources other than the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air
Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006. This chapter shall
govern expenditure of those other revenues.

(b) The moneys in the fund from those other sources shall be
available upon appropriation for allocation by the California
Transportation Commission for infrastructure improvements in
this state on federally designated Trade Corridors of National and
Regional Significance, on the Primary Freight Network, and along
other corridors that have a high volume of freight movement, as
determined by the commission. In determining the projects eligible
for funding, the commission shall consult the state Transportation
Agency’s state freight plan as described in Section 13978.8 of the
Government Code, the begin insert State end insert Air Resources Board’s Sustainable
Freight Strategy adopted by Resolution 14-2, and the trade
infrastructure and goods movement plan submitted to the
commission by the Secretary of begin delete the United States Department of end delete
Transportation and the Secretary of begin delete the United States end delete
Environmental Protection Agency. The commission shall also
consult trade infrastructure and goods movement plans adopted
by regional transportation planning agencies, adopted regional
transportation plans required by state and federal law, and the
statewide port master plan prepared by the California Marine and
Intermodal Transportation System Advisory Council
(Cal-MITSAC) pursuant to Section 1730 of the Harbors and
Navigation Code, when determining eligible projects for funding.
Eligible projects for these funds include, but are not limited to, all
of the following:

(1) Highway capacity improvements and operational
improvements to more efficiently accommodate the movement of
freight, particularly for ingress and egress to and from the state’s
land ports of entry and seaports, including navigable inland
waterways used to transport freight between seaports, land ports
of entry, and airports, and to relieve traffic congestion along major
trade or goods movement corridors.

(2) Freight rail system improvements to enhance the ability to
move goods from seaports, land ports of entry, and airports to
warehousing and distribution centers throughout California,
including projects that separate rail lines from highway or local
road traffic, improve freight rail mobility through mountainous
regions, relocate rail switching yards, and other projects that
improve the efficiency and capacity of the rail freight system.

(3) Projects to enhance the capacity and efficiency of ports.

(4) Truck corridor improvements, including dedicated truck
facilities or truck toll facilities.

(5) Border access improvements that enhance goods movement
between California and Mexico and that maximize the state’s
ability to access coordinated border infrastructure funds made
available to the state by federal law.

(6) Surface transportation and connector road improvements to
effectively facilitate the movement of goods, particularly for
ingress and egress to and from the state’s land ports of entry,
airports, and seaports, to relieve traffic congestion along major
trade or goods movement corridors.

(c) (1) The commission shall allocate funds for trade
infrastructure improvements from the fund consistent with Section
8879.52 of the Government Code and the Trade Corridors
Improvement Fund (TCIF) Guidelines adopted by the commission
on November 27, 2007, or as amended by the commission, and in
a manner that (A) addresses the state’s most urgent needs, (B)
balances the demands of various land ports of entry, seaports, and
airports, (C) provides reasonable geographic balance between the
state’s regions, and (D) places emphasis on projects that improve
trade corridor mobility while reducing emissions of diesel
particulate and other pollutant emissions.

(2) In addition, the commission shall also consider the following
factors when allocating these funds:

(A) “Velocity,” which means the speed by which large cargo
would travel from the land port of entry or seaport through the
distribution system.

(B) “Throughput,” which means the volume of cargo that would
move from the land port of entry or seaport through the distribution
system.

(C) “Reliability,” which means a reasonably consistent and
predictable amount of time for cargo to travel from one point to
another on any given day or at any given time in California.

(D) “Congestion reduction,” which means the reduction in
recurrent daily hours of delay to be achieved.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 2192.1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert (a) end insert  To the extent moneys from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund, attributable to the auction or sale of allowances
as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, are transferred to the Trade
Corridors Improvement fund, projects funded with those moneys
shall begin delete demonstrate how they will reduce emissions consistent with
the goals and objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. end delete
begin insert be subject to all of the requirements of existing law applicable to
the expenditure of moneys appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund, including, but not limited to, both of the following: end insert

begin insert

(1) Projects shall further the regulatory purposes of the
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5
(commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code),
including reducing emissions from greenhouse gases in the state,
directing public and private investment toward disadvantaged
communities, increasing the diversity of energy sources, or creating
opportunities for businesses, public agencies, nonprofits, and other
community institutions to participate in and benefit from statewide
efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

end insert begin insert

(2) Projects shall be consistent with the guidance developed by
the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 39715 of the
Health and Safety Code.

end insert begin insert

(b) All allocations of funds made by the commission pursuant
to this section shall be made in a manner consistent with the
criteria expressed in Section 39712 of the Health and Safety Code
and with the investment plan developed by the Department of
Finance pursuant to Section 39716 of the Health and Safety Code.

end insert begin delete

(e) 

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 2192.2. end insert   

end insert

The commission shall allocate funds made available
by this begin delete section end delete begin insert chapter end insert to projects that have identified and
committed supplemental funding from appropriate local, federal,
or private sources. The commission shall determine the appropriate
amount of supplemental funding each project should have to be
eligible for moneys from the fund based on a project-by-project
review and an assessment of the project’s benefit to the state and
the program. Except for border access improvements described in
paragraph (5) of subdivision begin delete (b), end delete begin insert (b) of Section 2192, end insert improvements
funded with moneys from the fund shall have supplemental funding
that is at least equal to the amount of the contribution from the
fund. The commission may give priority for funding to projects
with higher levels of committed supplemental funding.

begin delete

(f) 

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 2192.3. end insert   

end insert

The commission shall include in its annual report to
the Legislature, required by Section 14535 of the Government
Code, a summary of its activities related to the administration of
this begin delete section. end delete begin insert chapter. end insert The summary shall, at a minimum, include
a description and the location of the projects contained in the
program funded by the fund, the amount of funds allocated to each
project, the status of each project, and a description of the mobility
and air quality improvements the program is achieving.