SB 848: Transportation.

(1)Existing law authorizes the Department of General Services to enter into agreements for the purchase and development of various state facilities. The exercise of certain of these authorizations is conditioned upon the approval of other state departments or upon entering into agreements with other governmental entities.

This bill would authorize the Department of General Services, with the consent of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, to enter into a lease-purchase agreement, or lease with an option to purchase agreement, for a build-to-suit office facility to replace the California Highway Patrol area office in Tracy in San Joaquin County. The bill would require the facility to be designed and built to standards prescribed in the Essential Services Buildings Seismic Safety Act of 1986 and be subject to oversight and inspection in a manner consistent with state infrastructure projects. The bill would prescribe certain characteristics that the facility would be anticipated to contain. The bill would require a lease and related agreements authorized by its provisions to be subject to Department of Finance approval of its terms and conditions, as well as specified legislative notice requirements and approval pursuant to the Property Acquisition Law.

(2)Existing law governing public contracting authorizes regional transportation agencies, as defined, to use the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) project delivery method, as specified, to design and construct certain expressways and bridges if there is an evaluation of the traditional design-bid-build method of construction and of the CM/GC method and the board of the regional transportation agency adopts the method in a public meeting. Existing law defines the term project for these purposes to mean the construction of an expressway that is not on the state highway system, the construction of specified bridges that are not on the state highway system, and specified projects in the County of Riverside. Existing law defines the term regional transportation agency for these purposes to include specified entities and specified categories of entities. Existing law requires that specified information provided to a regional transportation agency under the CM/GC method be verified under oath.

This bill would include in the definition of project the construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, or improvement of the Golden Gate Bridge. The bill would include the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in the definition of regional transportation agency. By expanding the scope of the existing crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

(3)Existing law requires that ¹/₄% of the local sales and use tax be transferred to the local transportation fund of each county for allocation, as directed by the transportation planning agency, for various transportation purposes. Existing law, after deductions for administration and various other transportation purposes, generally requires the remaining revenues in the local transportation fund to be used for transit purposes in urbanized areas of counties with a population of 500,000 or more, but allows these revenues to also be used for streets and roads, or for other specified purposes in smaller counties, in nonurbanized areas of the larger counties, and in cities with a population of 100,000 or less within an urbanized area of a larger county, as specified, if the transportation planning agency finds that there are no unmet transit needs or no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet. Existing law, notwithstanding these provisions, requires the remaining local transportation fund revenues in the County of Ventura to be used for transit purposes.

Existing law provides that a transportation planning agency, prior to making any allocation of revenues from the local transportation fund that are not directly related to transit or certain other purposes, is required to consult with the social services transportation advisory council, and to identify the unmet transit needs of the jurisdiction and those needs that are reasonable to meet, following a public hearing.

This bill, notwithstanding these provisions, would provide that the Ventura County Transportation Commission may allocate local transportation fund revenues apportioned to the City of Thousand Oaks for local streets and roads and other specified purposes.

(4)Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation shall have full possession and control of the state highway system and associated property. Existing law provides for cooperative agreements between the department and public entities for the performance of work by the department and those entities and apportionment of associated expenses.

This bill, until July 1, 2021, would prohibit the department from charging any self-help counties with countywide sales tax measures dedicated to transportation improvements more than 10% for administration indirect cost recovery, as outlined in the departments Indirect Cost Recovery Proposal, and would require the department to charge those self-help counties for functional overhead. The bill would require the department to report, on or before July 1, 2021, to the Legislature on the type and amount of engineering work performed annually for self-help counties pursuant to these provisions for the 201819, 201920, and 202021 fiscal years.

(5)Existing law creates the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program and, after certain allocations for the program are made, requires the remaining funds available for the program to be allocated 50% for maintenance of the state highway system or for purposes of the state highway operation and protection program and 50% for apportionment to cities and counties by the Controller pursuant to a specified formula. Prior to receiving an apportionment of funds under the program from the Controller in a fiscal year, existing law requires a city or county to submit to the California Transportation Commission a list of projects proposed to be funded with these funds. Existing law authorizes an eligible city or county to expend other funds on eligible projects and to reimburse the source of those other funds when it receives its apportionment from the Controller.

This bill would specify that reimbursement of those other funds when the eligible city or county receives its apportionments from the Controller may occur over one or more years.

(6)Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish contracts for electronic programs that allow qualified private industry partners to join the department in providing services that include processing and payment programs for vehicle registration and titling transactions, and services related to reporting vehicle sales and producing temporary license plates. Existing law requires the department to charge a $3 transaction fee for the provision of the information and services, and to deposit the fees collected into the Motor Vehicle Account. Existing law authorizes the private industry partner to pass on the transaction fee to the customer, as specified.

This bill would require the department to impose an additional $1 transaction fee for implementation of the private industry partners proportionate share of departmentwide system improvements, and would prohibit a private industry partner from passing on the additional fee to the customer. The bill would discontinue imposition of the additional transaction fee when the Director of Motor Vehicles determines that sufficient funds for the system improvements have been received, or on December 31, 2023, whichever occurs first. If sufficient funds are received first, the bill would require the director to execute and retain a declaration making that determination, and post the declaration on the departments Internet Web site.

(7)Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs). Existing federal law authorizes, until September 30, 2019, a state to allow low emission and energy-efficient vehicles to use lanes designated for HOVs without regard to vehicle occupancy. Existing federal law also authorizes, until September 30, 2025, a state to allow alternative fuel vehicles and new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles to use those HOV lanes without regard to vehicle occupancy. Existing law also authorizes super ultra-low emission vehicles (SULEV), advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicles (AT PZEV), or transitional zero-emission vehicles (TZEV), that display a valid identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to use these HOV lanes without regard to vehicle occupancy until January 1, 2019, or until the date federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, whichever occurs first. Existing law makes the use by a single occupant vehicle of an HOV lane without those identifiers a crime. Existing law makes SULEV, AT PZEV, and TZEV identifiers issued between January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2019, valid until January 1, 2019, those issued on or after January 1, 2019, valid until January 1, 2022, and those issued on or after January 1, 2019, valid until January 1 of the 4th year after the year in which they were issued. Existing law generally prohibits issuing an identifier for a vehicle more than once.

This bill would make SULEV, AT PZEV, and TZEV identifiers issued between January 1, 2017, and March 1, 2018, valid until January 1, 2019, would make those issued between March 1, 2018, and January 1, 2019, valid until January 1, 2022, and would make those issued on or after March 1, 2018, for a vehicle that had previously been issued an identifier, valid until January 1, 2022. The bill would make additional conforming changes.

(8)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(9)This bill would appropriate $8,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Transportation Agency for allocation to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency for the River to Rails Project, as specified, subject to certain conditions.

(10)This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.