Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency, which has the power of general supervision over specified state entities. Existing law requires the agency to develop and report on legislative, budgetary, and administrative programs to accomplish comprehensive, long-range, coordinated planning and policy formation in the matters of public interest related to the agency.

This bill would require the agency to create and maintain on its internet website a performance dashboard that, for every project overseen by the Department of Transportation, provides metrics, fiscal information, and operational information, as specified. The bill would require the agency to update the dashboard quarterly, using publicly available information. The bill would authorize the department to partner with other state or local agencies to collect the data required to be included in the performance dashboard.

Existing law requires that every letter to any person from a state agency be signed by, or contain the name of, the writer, authorized representative, or contact person familiar with the subject area.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.

Date of Hearing: May 10, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1475

Author:(Vince Fong) – As Amended Ver:April 10, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires creation of an internet-based performance dashboard for every project overseen by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

Specifically, this bill requires the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to create and maintain on its website a performance dashboard that, for every project overseen by Caltrans, provides metrics, fiscal information and operational information, updated quarterly, including (1) safety data, (2) types of safety improvements, (3) types of infrastructure improvements, (4) types of road repairs, (5) structure condition, before and after, (6) pavement condition, before and after, (7) project impact, (8) funding sources and amounts, and (9) environmental mitigation measures.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Caltrans was not able to provide approved information to the committee before this analysis was finalized. However, it is reasonable to expect this bill’s requirements to entail significant costs to Caltrans. Actual costs will depend, to a great extent, on the details of implementation, such as how many individual dashboards Caltrans develops, the amount and detail of information provided on each dashboard and the frequency and manner in which Caltrans updates each dashboard.

COMMENTS:

Background and Purpose. The California transportation system is massive. Each year, the state spends billions of dollars to maintain, upgrade and expand the system. Tracking this spending, the projects funded and the outcome of these efforts is challenging.

Caltrans and other state agencies involved in transportation collect troves of data of the types sought by this bill, which it publishes in a variety of publications, such as the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) and the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP). However, these publications are hundreds of pages long. Pulling data from them about a given transportation project would be challenging.

The author intends this bill to create greater transparency around the state’s transportation system, contending residents “deserve to see where that funding goes and how it is used.” It would do so through creation of an internet based dashboard for every project overseen by Caltrans.

Other states have transportation “dashboards.” that might serve as models for implementation of this bill, should it become law. For example, North Carolina maintains an internet Organizational Performance Scorecard that “serves as an indicator of how well the department is doing in its mission of connecting people, products and places safely and efficiently with customer focus, accountability and environmental sensitivity to enhance the economy and vitality of North Carolina.” North Carolina’s scorecard tracks performance through six core goals, each of which has at least one objective and one measure: make transportation safer; provide great customer service; deliver and maintain infrastructure effectively and efficiently; improve reliability and connectivity of transportation system; and promote economic growth through better use of infrastructure. It is not clear how closely the North Caroline transportation scorecard matches the author’s vision for California transportation dashboards, but it seems these dashboard-like offerings in other states could serve as models.

Analysis Prepared by: Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 17, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Laura Friedman, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1475 (

Author:Vince Fong) – As Amended Ver:April 10, 2023

SUBJECT: Transportation Agency: performance dashboard

SUMMARY: Requires the Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to create and maintain on its Internet website a performance dashboard that, for every project overseen by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), provides metrics, fiscal information, and operational information, as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires Caltrans to create and maintain a performance dashboard that will be published on the Caltrans website and updated quarterly using publicly available information that includes the following: 
2. Safety data;
3. Types of safety improvements;
4. Types of infrastructure improvements;
5. Types of road repairs;
6. Structure condition, before and after;
7. Pavement condition, before and after;
8. Project impact;
9. Funding sources and amounts; and,
10. Environmental mitigation measures.
11. Requires the performance dashboard report metrics, fiscal information, and operational information for any project overseen by Caltrans that began on or after January 1, 2021, and that has not been completed by January 1, 2024, until the project has been completed.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes Caltrans and grants Caltrans full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes. The department is authorized and directed to lay out and construct all state highways between the termini designated by law and on the locations as determined by the commission. (Streets and Highways Code (SHC) 90) 
2. Requires Caltrans to improve and maintain state highways. (SHC 91)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Data allows organizations to track progress towards goals, determine the cause of problems, and establish trends and patterns. Organizations making data transparent and accessible is necessary for government accountability and government function.

The transportation sector is a massive and complex industry in California that includes over 35 million registered vehicles, almost 400,000 lane miles of state and local roads, and more than 100 local transit agencies. This system exists to connect California’s nearly 40 million residents to jobs, housing, services, and recreation. Also, it facilitates trade to and from the world’s 5th largest economy. This complexity is also reflected in the state’s governance of the public aspects of the transportation sector. CalSTA is a state cabinet-level agency responsible for the eight transportation-related departments that include: Board of Pilot Commissioners (BOPC), Caltrans, California Highway Patrol (CHP), California High-Speed Rail Authority (HSR), California Transportation Commission (CTC), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), New Motor Vehicle Board (NMVB), and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). Caltrans owns, operates, maintains, and repairs the state highway system. It also provides the railroad cars for the state’s three intercity rail services.

Caltrans collects a vast amount of data. Caltrans collects and maintains large amounts of information about the projects that it funds. Unfortunately, these datasets are not coordinated, searchable, and able to be downloaded and manipulated by the public. As a result, it is difficult to assess and draw conclusions about that state’s transportation systems and about the types of investments being funded. For example, it is impossible to search a database to determine how much and what types of capacity increasing projects the state is funding, and alternatively what types of projects it is funding to reduce vehicle miles traveled and if either of those types of investments are achieving the desired outcomes.

The data the state maintains is published in a variety of forms; for example, Caltrans produces long-term (10-year) planning documents like the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) and the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), most of which are hundreds of pages long and contain information about hundreds of projects.

The TAMP documents current system conditions, establishes condition targets, quantifies the gaps in conditions, evaluates risks that could impact the system condition or reliability, documents life cycle planning strategies, defines available transportation funding, evaluates funding scenarios relative to established targets, and identifies areas of potential improvement in the management of transportation assets. The SHOPP is the state’s program for repairing and reconstructing the state highway system.  Projects generally include pavement and bridge rehabilitation, major reconstruction, and safety improvements.

The department has created and shared 34 datasets on data.ca.gov. This includes datasets that map all existing, programmed-proposed and under-construction High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on the California state highway system. Finally, the department has created the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) Crash Data Dashboard of traffic safety data, providing direct access to crash data of fatal or serious traffic accidents.

This bill would create a centralized source of information in an approach that is similar to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), which integrates information from its own transportation planning documents into a publicly accessible Dashboard. The public and VDOT stakeholders can find information on individual transportation projects in addition to VDOT’s overall performance in developing and delivering its projects within established timelines and budgets. It presents this information in an intuitive format and enables users to determine the level of detail they want to receive.

CalSTA and Caltrans already collect the data that such a dashboard would require. Specifically, (1) Caltrans, OTS, and CHP collect safety information. (2) Descriptions of project type, purpose, and funding should be available in SHOPP and TAMP. (3) Infrastructure conditions and project impact can be found in TAMP. (4) Finally, CalSTA, in partnership with Caltrans, has contracted with the Mineta Transportation Institute to develop a set of quantitative and qualitative metrics to track program-level outcomes through the implementation of the climate goals detailed in the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI).

Centralized data dashboards have been successfully employed at other California state agencies and transportation agencies in other states. For example, in 2017, the California Department of Education (CDE) created the California School Dashboard. It revealed a sobering gap in educational performance between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This dashboard is a valuable tool for the CDE to measure the effectiveness of education policy to address the learning gap. In addition, in 2016, the Legislature passed the Open and Transparent Water Data Act that required the Department of Water Resources, in consultation with the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, to create, operate, and maintain a statewide integrated water data platform. Now, this centralized database helps manage the state’s water resources.

Finally, States such as North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio have implemented transportation data dashboards that provide access to clear and accessible data such as infrastructure conditions, sources of project funding, and project location.

Data transparency improves equity. Data projections can measure equity impacts from various funding and policy decisions. Statewide demographics and socioeconomic data can be used to analyze the inequities specific communities face in daily transportation decisions – from access to transportation options to commute times to access to jobs, school, healthcare, and recreational activities, as well as pollution exposure due to regional transportation activity.

According to the author, “California’s transportation system is complex and needs more transparency. AB 1475 brings critical information about Caltrans funding, projects, and processes that deserve more attention. The state dedicates spends of tax dollars on roads and infrastructure, and residents deserve to see where that funding goes and how it is used.”

Current and Previous legislation. SB 695 (Gonzalez of 2023) would require the department, beginning November 1, 2024, to annually prepare and make available information and data about activities on the state highway system on a public data portal from the prior fiscal year. This bill is in Senate Appropriations.

AB 744 (Carrillo of 2023) would require the CTC to acquire solutions for data, modeling, and analytic software tools to support the state’s sustainable transportation, congestion management, affordable housing, efficient land use, air quality, economical, and climate change strategies and goals. This bill is in Assembly Appropriations.

AB 1047 (Daly of 2021) would have required CalSTA to improve the capability of the SB 1 website to provide a public reporting interface. This bill died in Assembly Appropriations.

SB 992 (Beall of 2020) would have required the Transportation Agency to oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive one-stop reporting interface available to the public through an internet website maintained by the agency, including timely fiscal information regarding the development and implementation status of each transportation program or project funded, at least in part, by revenues from the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. This bill died in the Senate Transportation Committee.

SB 1 (Beall) Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017 increases several taxes and fees to raise roughly $52.4 billion over ten years in new transportation revenues and makes adjustments for inflation every year; directs the funding to be used towards deferred maintenance on the state highways and local streets and roads, and to improve the state's trade corridors, transit, and active transportation facilities.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

AAA Northern California

Auto Club of Southern California

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Dirk Spencer / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093