BILL NUMBER: SB 9 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Beall
DECEMBER 1, 2014
An act to amend Sections 75220, 75221, and 75222 of, and to add
Sections 75223, 75224, and 75225 to, the Public Resources Code,
relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 9, as amended, Beall. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Transit
and Intercity Rail Capital Program.
Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties,
collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale
of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative
to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions , to be
deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Existing law provides various sources of funding for
transportation programs, including capital and operating funds for
rail services, including intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems,
including the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program which
receives 10% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Fund as a continuous appropriation. Existing law provides that the
purpose of the program is to fund capital improvements and
operational investments to modernize California's rail systems to
achieve certain policy objectives, including the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions and the expansion and integration of rail
services. Existing law requires the Transportation Agency to
administer the program, with grants to be awarded by the California
Transportation Commission.
This bill would modify the purpose of the program to delete
references to operational investments and instead provide for the
funding of large, transformative capital improvements with a total
cost exceeding $100,000,000. The bill would require the
Transportation Agency, in prioritizing and selecting projects for
funding, to consider the extent to which a project reduces greenhouse
gas emissions, and would add additional factors to be considered in
evaluating applications for funding. The bill would require the
Transportation Agency to develop, by July 1, 2016, an initial 5-year
estimate of revenues reasonably expected to be available for the
program, with subsequent estimates to be made every other year for
additional 5-year periods, and would require the agency to adopt
5-year programs of projects consistent with those estimates. The bill
would require authorize the agency to
make a multiyear funding commitment for a project proposed to be
funded over more than one fiscal year, and would authorize the
California Transportation Commission to approve a letter of no
prejudice that would allow an applicant to expend its own
funds on a project in the adopted program of projects, subject to
future reimbursement from program funds for eligible expenditures.
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. Section 75220 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
75220. (a) The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program is
hereby created to fund large, transformative capital improvements
with a total cost exceeding one hundred million dollars
($1,000,000) ($100,000,000) that will reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and modernize California's intercity,
commuter, and urban rail systems to achieve all of the following
policy objectives:
(1) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(2) Expand and improve rail service to increase ridership.
(3) Integrate the rail service of the state's various rail
operators, including integration with the high-speed rail system.
(4) Improve rail safety.
(b) The Transportation Agency shall evaluate applications for
funding under the program consistent with the criteria set forth in
this chapter and prepare a list of projects recommended for funding.
The list may be revised at any time.
(c) The California Transportation Commission shall award grants to
applicants pursuant to the list prepared by the Transportation
Agency.
SEC. 2. Section 75221 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
75221. (a) Projects eligible for funding under the program
include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Rail capital projects, including acquisition of rail cars and
locomotives, that expand, enhance, and improve existing rail systems
and connectivity to existing and future rail systems, including the
high-speed rail system.
(2) Intercity and commuter rail projects that increase service
levels, improve reliability, and decrease travel times.
(3) Rail integration implementation, including integrated
ticketing and scheduling systems, shared-use corridors, related
planning efforts, and other service integration initiatives.
(4) Bus rapid transit and other bus transit investments to
increase ridership and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(b) In order to be eligible for funding under the program, a
project shall demonstrate that it will achieve a reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions. In prioritizing and recommending projects
for funding, the Transportation Agency shall consider the extent to
which a project reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
(c) The program shall have a programmatic goal of providing at
least 25 percent of available funding to projects benefiting
disadvantaged communities, consistent with the objectives of Chapter
830 of the Statutes of 2012.
(d) In evaluating grant applications for funding, the
Transportation Agency shall consider all of the following:
(1) The cobenefits of projects that support implementation of
sustainable communities strategies through one or more of the
following:
(A) Reducing auto vehicles miles traveled and the number of auto
trips through growth in rail ridership.
(B) Promoting housing development in the vicinity of rail
stations.
(C) Expanding existing rail and public transit systems.
(D) Enhancing the connectivity, integration, and coordination of
the state's various regional and local transit systems.
(E) Providing a direct connection to the high-speed rail system.
(F) Implementing clean vehicle technology.
(G) Promoting active transportation.
(H) Improving public health.
(2) The project priorities developed through the collaboration of
two or more rail operators and any memoranda of understanding between
state agencies and local or regional rail operators.
(3) Geographic equity.
(4) Consistency with adopted sustainable communities strategies.
(5) The extent to which a project has supplemental funding
committed to it from other nonstate sources.
(6) The extent to which the project will increase ridership.
(e) Eligible applicants under the program shall be public
agencies, including joint powers agencies, that operate existing or
planned regularly scheduled intercity or commuter passenger rail
service or urban rail transit service. An eligible applicant may
partner with transit operators that do not operate rail service on
projects to integrate ticketing and scheduling with bus or ferry
service.
(f) A recipient of funds under the program may combine funding
from the program with other funding, including, but not limited to,
the State Transportation Improvement Program, the Low Carbon Transit
Operations Program, the State Air Resources Board clean vehicle
program, and state transportation bond funds.
SEC. 3. Section 75222 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
75222. (a) Applications for grants under the program shall be
submitted to the Transportation Agency for evaluation in accordance
with procedures and program guidelines adopted by the agency. An
eligible applicant may submit an application to the agency to fund a
project over multiple fiscal years. The agency may make multiyear
funding commitments for projects that are proposed to be funded from
the program over a period of more than one fiscal year.
(b) The application shall define the project purpose, intended
scope, proposed cost, intended funding sources, and schedule for
project completion.
(c) The application shall specify the phases of work for which an
eligible applicant is seeking an allocation of funds from the
program, as appropriate:
(1) Studies, environmental review, and permits.
(2) Preparation of project plans and specifications.
(3) Right-of-way acquisition.
(4) Construction or procurement.
(d) The application shall identify the sources and timing of all
funds required to undertake and complete any phase of a project for
which an eligible applicant is seeking an allocation of funds from
the program. The application shall also describe intended sources and
timing of funds to complete any subsequent phases of the project,
through construction or procurement.
SEC. 4. Section 75223 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
75223. (a) The Transportation Agency shall conduct at least two
public workshops on draft program guidelines containing selection
criteria prior to adoption and shall post the draft guidelines on the
agency's Internet Web site at least 30 days prior to the first
public workshop. Concurrent with the posting, the agency shall
transmit the draft guidelines to the fiscal committees and the
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.
(b) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the
development and adoption of procedures and program guidelines for the
program pursuant to this section.
SEC. 5. Section 75224 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
75224. (a) No later than July 1, 2016, the Transportation Agency
shall develop an initial five-year estimate of revenues, in annual
increments, reasonably expected to be available to the program from
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and adopt an initial program of
projects, which shall cover a period of five fiscal years.
(b) The Transportation Agency shall adopt each subsequent program
of projects not later than April 1 of each even-numbered year based
on a five-year estimate of revenues, in annual increments. Each
subsequent program shall cover a period of five fiscal years,
beginning July 1 of the year of adoption, and shall be a statement of
intent by the Transportation Agency for the allocation and
expenditure of funds during those five fiscal years.
(c) The Transportation Agency shall may
enter into and execute a multiyear funding agreement with an
eligible applicant for a project that is proposed to be funded from
the program over a period of more than one fiscal year. The agreement
shall include a proposed schedule of the amount of funds expected to
be provided based on the year funds are anticipated to be available,
and may be for a period that extends beyond the five fiscal years
covered by the program of projects.
SEC. 6. Section 75225 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
75225. (a) A lead applicant agency may apply to the commission
for a letter of no prejudice for a project or for any component of a
project included in the five-year program of projects adopted by the
Transportation Agency. If approved by the commission, the letter of
no prejudice shall allow the lead applicant agency to expend its own
funds for the project or any component of the project and to be
eligible for future reimbursement from funds available for the
program from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
(b) The amount expended under subdivision (a) shall be reimbursed
by the state from funds available for the program from the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The project or project component for which the letter of no
prejudice was requested has commenced, and the regional or local
expenditures have been incurred.
(2) The expenditures made by the lead applicant agency are
eligible for reimbursement in accordance with applicable laws and
procedures. In the event expenditures made by the lead applicant
agency are determined to be ineligible, the state has no obligation
to reimburse those expenditures.
(3) The lead applicant agency complies with all legal requirements
for the project, including the requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000)).
(4) There are funds in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
designated for the program that are sufficient to make the
reimbursement payment.
(c) The lead applicant agency and the commission shall enter into
an agreement governing reimbursement as described in this section.
The timing and final amount of reimbursement is dependent on the
terms of the agreement and the availability of funds in the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the program.
(d) The commission, in consultation with intercity, commuter,
urban rail, and other public transit entities, may develop guidelines
to implement this section.