TO: Joe Wallace, President, And

October 14, 2005

TO: Joe Wallace, President, and

Members of the AC Transit Board of Directors

Jim Gleich, DGM

FR: Lynn M. Suter & Associates

RE: Legislative Update – End of Session Bill Summary

With the Legislature having adjourned, the Governor spent the last month signing veto letters, and gearing up for the November Special Election. Since we are at the halfway point of this two-year session, all measures that remain in the Legislature are eligible to be acted on next year. The following is an overview of the current status of the main bills LMSA followed on behalf of the AC Transit this year.

Bill / Topic / Status / Client-Position
AB 144 (Hancock)
C-07/18/2005 / Bay Area state-owned toll bridges: financing. / Signed Into Law Chapter # 71, Statutes of 2005 / Support
NOTE: AB 144 contains the agreement for financing the Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program deficit. As signed by the Governor, AB 144 maintains the existing single tower design, transfers control of the tolls to BATA, increases project oversight and reporting requirements, and increases tolls by one dollar no sooner than January 1, 2007. In exchange for the state contributing $630 million toward the shortfall, any future overruns would be the responsibility of BATA.
AB 691 (Hancock)
E-09/01/2005 / Transit village plans. / Signed Into Law
Chapter #309, Statutes of 2005 / Support
NOTE: AB 691 streamlines the process for creating a transit village by authorizing a city or county to declare that a previously adopted specific plan or redevelopment plan is also a transit village plan. However, the city or county must adopt findings prior to December 31, 2006 stating it conforms to the definition of a transit village. The bill also requires the city or county to publish a notice of the time, date, and place of the public meeting if an existing plan will become a transit village plan.
AB 694 (Chan)
E-09/07/2005 / Motor vehicle air pollution control: district fees: Bay Area Air Quality Management District. / Signed Into Law
Chapter 568, Statutes of 2005 / Support
NOTE: AB 694 makes several clarifying changes Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Transportation Fund for Clean Air program. The bill replaces the low-emission and zero-emission vehicle programs with a mobile source emissions reduction program. This program will provide funding for projects, such as engine repowers, engine retrofits, fleet modernization, and alternative fuels. In addition, AB 694 would allow the District to award funds for mobile source emission projects to private entities.
AB 697 (Oropeza)
I-02/17/2005 / Highway Users Tax Account: appropriation of funds. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Suspense File / Watch
NOTE: In any year in which a Budget Act has not yet been enacted by July 1, AB 697 would require all previously appropriated transportation funds to be continuously appropriated until a budget is enacted. The intent is to avoid delays and disruptions in work on transportation projects and to avoid the associated costs and consequences.
AB 697 was held on the Suspense File due to the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s policy of not approving measures that would create a continuous appropriation
AB 713 (Torrico)
I-02/17/2005 / Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Transportation Committee / Watch
NOTE: AB 713 would move the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act from the November 2006 ballot to the November 2008 ballot. This would be the second time this bond proposal has been moved. This bond act seeks voter approval for nearly $10 billion in bonds, of which $9 billion is dedicated to the High Speed Rail Authority. The remainder is dedicated to specific local and intercity rail projects.
Moving or repealing this bond proposal is likely if an agreement is reached on placing an infrastructure bond, such as SB 1024 (Perata), on the November 2006 ballot. SB 1024 currently contains language that would repeal High-Speed Rail Bond Act if SB 1024 is approved by the voters.
AB 1020 (Hancock)
I-02/22/2005 / Planning: smart growth models. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Transportation Committee / Watch
NOTE: AB 1020 would require metropolitan planning organizations and state-designated regional transportation planning agencies to develop and implement improved regional travel models incorporating smart growth concepts. The bill would also require all transportation models used by state or regional agencies to be usable on personal computers and to be made available to the public.
This bill is sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council and it is intended to introduce transportation investment decisions early in the land use planning process. This bill will not be moving forward in its current form.
AB 1112 (Cohn)
A-04/04/2005 / Loitering: transit facilities. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Public Safety / AC Transit-Watch
NOTE: Sponsored by the CTA, this bill proposed to increase the penalties for a person loitering in a transit facility. The Assembly Public Safety expressed grave concerns about the need for this measure, and the vagueness of some provisions raised Constitutional concerns. If this bill is heard in January it will require significant amendments to be approved.
AB 1169 (Torrico)
A-05/27/2005 / Transit district operators: assault and battery: penalties. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Public Safety / Support
NOTE: Another CTA sponsored bill, AB 1169 proposed to create new penalties for assault and battery on operators of transit district vehicles. The increased fined would be $5,000 where an assault is committed against the operator who is performing his or her duties, $10,000 where an assault is committed while the vehicle is in motion and $15,000 where a battery is committed while the vehicle is in motion.
This bill failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee, but reconsideration was granted. The primary concern expressed by the Committee was that AB 1169 would create a separate class of penalties for transit workers that exceed the existing penalties for police and firefighters. The Committee was reluctant to approve AB 1169 due to concerns that it would spawn numerous bills seeking specific penalties for certain victims, along with ever increasing penalties.
AB 1234 (Salinas)
C-10/07/2005 / Local agencies: compensation and ethics. / Signed Into Law
Chapter # 700, Statutes of 2005 / Watch
NOTE: AB 1234 clarifies the rules pertaining to compensation to members of a local government legislative body for attendance at authorized meetings and conferences; requires the establishment of guidelines for reimbursement of members of a local government legislative body for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties; and, establishes provisions for ethics training for local government officials and designated employees.
The most significant change enacted in AB 1234 is a requirement for all locally elected officials to complete am ethics training course every two years.
AB 1623 (Klehs)
E-09/14/2005 / County transportation agencies: congestion management and environmental mitigation fee. / Vetoed / Support
NOTE: The Governor vetoed AB 1623 because it did not include a 2/3 public vote requirement. The Governor vetoed similar measures for Santa Clara and San Francisco for the same reason.
This bill would have allowed the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency and the transportation agencies in Contra Costa, Marin, Napa and Sacramento to impose an annual fee of up to $5 on motor vehicles registered within each county. The revenue would be used for traffic congestion projects, such as the Smart Corridors Program, and the mitigation of environmental impacts of motor vehicles within that county.
AB 1631 (Klehs)
A-09/07/2005 / Sales and use taxes: exemptions: fuel cell vehicle. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Revenue & Taxation / Sponsor
NOTE: Assemblyman Klehs originally introduced AB 1618 to clarify that the sale and use tax is not applied to parts purchased to build a prototype hydrogen fuel cell bus. Assemblyman Klehs will attempt to move this bill forward next year.
Rather than proceed with the convoluted proposal contained in AB 1618, AB 1631 was amended to simply exempt from the sale and use tax the purchase of a hydrogen fuel cell bus. Specifically, AB 1631 would exempt a pubic entity from paying the sales and use tax on any 40 foot or larger bus powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The bill would also exempt from the sales and use tax a fuel cell system purchased by a public entity.
ACA 4 (Plescia)
A-05/09/2005 / Transportation Investment Fund. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Transportation / Support
NOTE: This measure would delete the provision authorizing the Governor and the Legislature to suspend the transfer of Prop 42 revenues from the General Fund to the Transportation Investment Fund.
ACA 7 (Nation)
I-12/06/2004 / Local governmental taxation: special taxes: voter approval. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Appropriations Suspense File / Support
NOTE: This constitutional amendment lowers the voter approval requirement for a city, county or special district to impose a special tax from two-thirds to 55 percent of the voters voting on the measure.
ACA 11 (Oropeza)
I-02/16/2005 / Transportation funds: loans. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Transportation / Support
NOTE: ACA 11 deletes the ability to suspend Prop 42 and it would strengthen provisions relating to loaning transportation funds to the general fund
This proposal expands the protections for loaning any transportation funds by requiring interest to be paid if the loan is not repaid during the same fiscal year in which it was made. The loans must be made pursuant to a statute establishing the terms for repayment and would prohibit the enactment of a statute making a new loan prior to the full repayment of each previous loan. The measure would also prohibit a loan from being authorized by a statute more than twice within any period of 10 consecutive fiscal years.
SB 17 (Escutia)
A-04/19/2005 / Property tax: change in ownership. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Floor / Support
NOTE: SB 17 would close a significant property tax loophole by redefining a change in ownership with respect to real property owned by a legal entity. This bill provides that property owned by these legal entities would be subject to reassessment to current market value whenever more than 50 percent of the ownership interests in the legal entity are transferred in a year.
SB 172 (Torlakson)
A-05/27/2005 / Bay area state-owned toll bridges: financing. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Transportation Committee / Support
NOTE: Basically all of the provisions in SB 172 were incorporated into AB 144.
SB 172 proposed reforming the management of the toll bridge seismic retrofit program and outlined how to fund the cost overruns. With the enactment of AB 144, SB 172 will likely be amended to address other issues.
SB 250 (Campbell)
A-06/21/2005 / Department of Food and Agriculture: hydrogen fuel standards. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Appropriations / Support
NOTE: This bill calls for the establishment of standards for hydrogen fuels and fuel cells. With hydrogen beginning to emerge as a transportation fuel, there is a need to establish standards for hydrogen that currently exist for all other types of transportation fuels, such and gasoline and diesel.
SB 393 (Ortiz)
A-05/10/2005 / Special districts. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Appropriations Suspense File / Oppose
NOTE: This bill proposed to place on special districts significant new and costly operating requirements. SB 393 would require ethics training for special district officials, specify audit standards, and place limits on board members' compensation. In addition, SB 393 would require the State Controller (SCO) to develop and publish audit guidelines, oversee local audits of special districts, and require SCO audit reviews of special districts.
With the enactment of AB 1234, this issue of special district oversight will not be revisited next year.
SB 519 (McClintock)
A-04/07/2005 / Highways: exclusive-use or preferential-use lanes. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Appropriations Suspense File / Watch
NOTE: SB 519 requests the University of California to evaluate the effectiveness of HOV lanes and expresses the Legislature's intent that the study includes a traffic model comparing the alternatives of establishing a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane, a mixed-flow lane, or not establishing additional lanes.
SB 521 (Torlakson)
A-09/02/2005 / Local planning: transit village plans. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Housing Committee / Watch
NOTE: This bill would allow a city or county to create a transit village redevelopment area surrounding a rail transit station. The number of transit village redevelopment areas would be limited to 25 statewide. The bill also adds to the definition of blight to include the lack of high density development within the transit village area.
SB 682 (Simitian)
A-08/15/2005 / Identity Information Protection Act of 2005. / Two-Year Bill
Assembly Appropriations Suspense File / Watch
NOTE: SB 682 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File. However, Senator Simitian bypassed this obstacle by amending similar provisions into SB 768, which remains on the Assembly Floor
SB 768 would enact the Identity Information Protection Act of 2005. In short, this bill would regulate the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in government issued identification documents. This would include bus passes and FastTrack passes with some limited exceptions.
RFID technology permits information to be transmitted between an ID card and a reader without contact using radio waves. Supporters of the bill contend that such technology raises security and privacy concerns because a card can be read without a person's knowledge and can broadcast personal information about a person.
SB 987 (Migden)
C-07/19/2005 / County transportation authorities. / Signed Into Law
Chapter #83, Statutes of 2005 / Watch
NOTE: SB 987 allows a county transportation authority created pursuant to the Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act to spend funds on projects included in the expenditure plan, but located in another county. The also increase the dollar threshold for contracts that must be competitively bid from $25,000 to $75,000.
The purpose of SB 987 is to allow the San Francisco Transportation Authority to use Proposition K sales tax funds on the electrification of Caltrain.
SB 1020 (Migden)
I-02/22/2005 / County sales and use taxes: rate increase / Two-Year Bill
Senate Revenue & Taxation / Support
NOTE: SB 1020 was placed on the Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee’s suspense file, and may be revisited at a later date.
This bill would authorize a county or city and county to impose an additional 1/4 of 1% sales and use tax rate under the Bradley-Burns Law. This bill would require a county or city and county to deposit all revenues into a local transportation fund, and expend the funds in a manner consistent with the Transportation Development Act.
SB 1024 (Perata)
A-09/08/2005 / Public works and improvements: bond measure. / Two-Year Bill
Senate Floor / Support
NOTE: On the last day of session, Senator Perata amended SB 1024 to include funding for the High Speed Rail Authority, incentive funding for transit oriented development projects, and funding for the development of “regional growth plans.” These amendments add approximately $2 billion to the bond package, pushing the Safe Facilities, Improved Mobility, and Clean Air Bond Act over $10 billion.
SB 1024 remains on the Senate Floor and efforts to reached the 2/3 vote requirement needed to move this bond act to the Assembly will be renewed in January.
As amended, SB 1024 would enact the Safe Facilities, Improved Mobility, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2005, which would place on the November 2006 ballot a $10.275 bond that would fund various transportation, housing, flood control, and goods movement projects. The September 8 amendments also add poison pill language that repeals the Safe, Reliable High Speed Passenger Train Bond Act if SB 1024 is approved in November. In addition, the bill provides $1 billion for STIP projects, repays $2.3 billion in Prop 42 loans, and provides over $1 billion for flood control projects.