Bill Text: CA SB277 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program: Local Partnership Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-13 - Veto sustained. [SB277 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB277-Enrolled.html

Enrolled  September 13, 2019
Passed  IN  Senate  September 11, 2019
Passed  IN  Assembly  September 10, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  September 06, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  September 03, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  July 01, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 04, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  March 18, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 277


Introduced by Senator Beall
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Frazier)
(Coauthor: Senator Roth)

February 13, 2019


An act to amend Section 2032 of, to amend and repeal Section 2033 of, and to add Section 2033.1 to, the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 277, Beall. Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program: Local Partnership Program.
Under existing law, the California Transportation Commission allocates various state and federal transportation funds through specified state programs to local and regional transportation agencies to implement projects consistent with the requirements of those programs. Existing law continuously appropriates $200,000,000 annually from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account for allocation by the commission for a program commonly known as the Local Partnership Program to local or regional transportation agencies that have sought and received voter approval of taxes or that have imposed certain fees, which taxes or fees are dedicated solely for road maintenance and rehabilitation and other transportation improvement projects. Existing law requires the commission, in cooperation with the Department of Transportation, transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, and other local agencies, to develop guidelines for the allocation of those moneys.
This bill would require the commission to annually deposit 85% of these funds into the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount, which the bill would create, and 15% of these funds into the Small Counties and Uniform Developer Fees Competitive Subaccount, which the bill would create. The bill would require the commission to distribute the funds in the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount pursuant to a specified formula to local or regional transportation agencies that meet certain eligibility requirements. The bill would require the commission to allocate funds in the Small Counties and Uniform Developer Fees Competitive Subaccount through a competitive grant program to local or regional transportation agencies that meet other eligibility requirements. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, and other local agencies, to develop separate guidelines for the distribution or allocation of the funds in each subaccount that, among other things, establish the types of eligible projects consistent with specified requirements. In order to receive a distribution of funds from the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount from the commission in a funding cycle, the bill would require an eligible entity to submit to the commission a description of a project nominated to be funded with the funds, including the project’s status and the amount of eligible local matching funds the eligible entity is committing to the project. The bill would require the commission to review the accompanying documentation for nominated projects to ensure that each nominated project meets certain requirements, and would require that projects determined to meet those requirements be deemed eligible for funding.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 2032 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:

2032.
 (a) (1) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act, as provided in Section 2031.5, two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) of the remaining revenues deposited in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account shall be set aside annually for eligible entities. The Controller shall each month set aside one-twelfth of this amount, except in the 2017–18 fiscal year, the Controller shall set aside one-eighth of this amount, to accumulate a total of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) in each fiscal year. The Controller may adjust the amount in the final month or months of each fiscal year if necessary to achieve the annual amount specified in this subdivision.
(2) Eligible projects under this subdivision include, but are not limited to, sound walls for a freeway that was built before 1987 without sound walls and with or without high-occupancy vehicle lanes if the completion of the sound walls has been deferred due to lack of available funding for at least 20 years and a noise barrier scope summary report has been completed within the last 20 years.
(3) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the funds available under this subdivision in each fiscal year are hereby continuously appropriated for distribution or allocation by the commission for road maintenance and rehabilitation and other transportation improvement projects pursuant to Section 2033 or 2033.1, as applicable.
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, an “eligible entity” means a local or regional transportation agency that has responsibility for funding, procuring, or constructing transportation improvements within its jurisdiction, and that does either of the following, as further specified in subdivision (b) of Section 2033.1:
(A) Has sought and received voter approval for the imposition of taxes or fees dedicated solely to transportation improvements and administers those taxes or fees.
(B) Has imposed uniform developer fees, as defined by subdivision (b) of Section 8879.67 of the Government Code.
(b) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act pursuant to Section 2031.5 and the amount allocated in subdivision (a), beginning in the 2017–18 fiscal year, one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) of the remaining revenues shall be available annually for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, on the Active Transportation Program established pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 2380) to be allocated by the California Transportation Commission pursuant to Section 2381. The Controller shall each month set aside one-twelfth of this amount, except in the 2017–18 fiscal year, when the Controller shall set aside one-eighth of this amount, to accumulate a total of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in each fiscal year. The Controller may adjust the amount in the final month or months of each fiscal year if necessary to achieve the annual amount specified in this subdivision.
(c) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act pursuant to Section 2031.5 and the amounts allocated in subdivisions (a) and (b), beginning in the 2017–18 fiscal year, four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) of the remaining revenues shall be available annually for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, by the department for bridge and culvert maintenance and rehabilitation. The Controller shall each month set aside one-twelfth of this amount, except in the 2017–18 fiscal year, when the Controller shall set aside one-eighth of this amount, to accumulate a total of four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) in each fiscal year. The Controller may adjust the amount in the final month or months of each fiscal year if necessary to achieve the annual amount specified in this subdivision.
(d) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act pursuant to Section 2031.5 and the amounts allocated in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, beginning in the 2017–18 fiscal year, twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of the remaining revenues shall be transferred annually to the State Highway Account for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to supplement the freeway service patrol program. The Controller shall each month set aside one-twelfth of this amount, except in the 2017–18 fiscal year, when the Controller shall set aside one-eighth of this amount, to accumulate a total of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) in each fiscal year. The Controller may adjust the amount in the final month or months of each fiscal year if necessary to achieve the annual amount specified in this subdivision.
(e) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act pursuant to Section 2031.5 and the amounts allocated in subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, in the 2017–18 to 2021–22 fiscal years, inclusive, from revenues in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account that are not subject to Article XIX of the California Constitution, five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be appropriated in each fiscal year to the California Workforce Development Board to assist local agencies to implement policies to promote preapprenticeship training programs to carry out the projects that are funded by the account pursuant to Section 2038. Funds appropriated pursuant to this subdivision in the Budget Act but remaining unexpended at the end of each applicable fiscal year shall be reappropriated for the same purposes in the following year’s Budget Act, but all funds appropriated or reappropriated pursuant to this subdivision in the Budget Act shall be liquidated no later than June 30, 2027.
(f) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act pursuant to Section 2031.5 and the amounts allocated in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive, beginning in the 2017–18 fiscal year, twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of the remaining revenues shall be available annually for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, by the department for local planning grants, as described in Section 2033.5. The Controller shall each month set aside one-twelfth of this amount, except in the 2017–18 fiscal year, when the Controller shall set aside one-eighth of this amount, to accumulate a total of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) in each fiscal year. The Controller may adjust the amount in the final month or months of each fiscal year if necessary to achieve the annual amount specified in this subdivision.
(g) After deducting the amounts appropriated in the annual Budget Act pursuant to Section 2031.5 and the amounts allocated in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, beginning in the 2017–18 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, from the remaining revenues, five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation, to the University of California for the purpose of conducting transportation research and two million dollars ($2,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation, to the California State University for purposes of conducting transportation research and transportation-related workforce education, training, and development. Before the start of each fiscal year, the Secretary of Transportation and the Chairs of the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing may set out a recommended priority list of research components to be addressed in the upcoming fiscal year.
(h) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the balance of the revenues deposited in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account are hereby continuously appropriated as follows:
(1) Fifty percent for allocation to the department for maintenance of the state highway system or for purposes of the state highway operation and protection program.
(2) Fifty percent for apportionment to cities and counties by the Controller pursuant to the formula in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 2103 for the purposes authorized by this chapter.

SEC. 2.

 Section 2033 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:

2033.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2018, the commission, in cooperation with the department, transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, and other local agencies, shall develop guidelines for the allocation of funds pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032.
(b) The guidelines shall be the complete and full statement of the policy, standards, and criteria that the commission intends to use to determine how these funds will be allocated.
(c) The commission may amend the adopted guidelines after conducting at least one public hearing.
(d) The guidelines may include streamlining of project delivery by authorizing local or regional transportation agencies to seek commission approval of a letter of no prejudice that allows the agency to expend its own funds in advance of an allocation of funds by the commission, and to be reimbursed at a later time for eligible expenditures. A letter of no prejudice shall only be available to local or regional transportation agencies for moneys that have been identified for future allocation to the applicant agency. Moneys designated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032 shall be reimbursed only when there is funding available in an amount sufficient to make the reimbursement.
(e) The guidelines developed pursuant to this section shall apply only to programming cycles 1 and 2 of the formulaic program, as described in commission resolution G-17-33, and programming cycle 1 of the competitive program, as described in commission resolution G-17-33.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2024, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 2033.1 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

2033.1.
 (a) For purposes of distributing and allocating the funds that are continuously appropriated in each fiscal year pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032, the commission shall segregate the funds into two separate subaccounts as follows:
(1) Eighty-five percent of the funds shall be deposited into the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount, which is hereby created.
(2) Fifteen percent of the funds shall be deposited into the Small Counties and Uniform Developer Fees Competitive Subaccount, which is hereby created.
(b) (1) The commission shall distribute the funds in the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount to eligible entities, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2032, pursuant to the formula established in subdivision (f) and in accordance with the other applicable requirements of this section.
(2) The commission shall allocate the funds in the Small Counties and Uniform Developer Fees Competitive Subaccount through a competitive grant program to eligible entities, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2032 that have a population of less than 750,000, and to eligible entities, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2032, in accordance with the applicable requirements of this section. For the purpose of calculating population, the commission shall use the most recent information available from the Department of Finance.
(c) (1) On or before April 1, 2020, the commission, in consultation with transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, and other local agencies, shall develop separate guidelines for the distribution or allocation, as applicable, of funds deposited in the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount and the Small Counties and Uniform Developer Fees Competitive Subaccount.
(2) Each set of guidelines shall be the complete and full statement of the policy, standards, and criteria that the commission intends to use to determine how the funds in each subaccount will be distributed or allocated.
(3) Each set of guidelines shall do, but are not limited to doing, all of the following:
(A) Identify eligible local matching funds.
(B) Establish the types of eligible projects consistent with subdivision (d).
(C) Provide additional programmatic details on how the distribution and allocation of funds are to be provided to eligible entities pursuant to this section. In developing these programmatic details, the commission shall consider the statutes and guidelines that were developed, enacted, and implemented for the State-Local Partnership Program established in Article 11 (commencing with Section 8879.66) of Chapter 12.491 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code and funded pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 8879.23 of the Government Code.
(4) The guidelines may include streamlining of project delivery by authorizing eligible entities to seek commission approval of a letter of no prejudice that allows the entity to expend its own funds in advance of a distribution of funds by the commission, and to be reimbursed at a later time for eligible expenditures. A letter of no prejudice shall only be available to eligible entities for moneys that have been identified for future distribution to the entity. Moneys designated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032 shall be reimbursed only when there is funding available in an amount sufficient to make the reimbursement.
(5) The commission may amend the adopted guidelines after conducting at least one public hearing.
(d) A project is eligible to receive funding pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032 if it is eligible pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2030 and is consistent with Section 2 of Article XIX of the California Constitution.
(e) (1) In order to receive a distribution of funds from the commission pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032 from the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount in a funding cycle, an eligible entity shall submit to the commission all of the following:
(A) A description of the eligible project nominated for funding, including a description of the project’s cost, scope, and specific improvements and benefits it is anticipated to achieve.
(B) A description of the project’s current status, including the phase of delivery the project is in at the time it is nominated for funding and a schedule for the project’s completion.
(C) A description of how the project would support transportation and land use planning goals within the region.
(D) The amount of eligible local matching funds the eligible entity is committing to the project.
(E) The amount of program funds the eligible entity seeks from the subaccount for the project.
(2) The commission shall review the accompanying documentation for nominated projects under this section to ensure that each nominated project meets the requirements of this section. Projects determined to meet the requirements of this section shall be deemed eligible.
(f) To establish the distribution formula for the Local Partnership Formula Subaccount for each eligible entity, the commission shall do all of the following before the commencement of a funding cycle:
(1) Determine the total amount of annual revenue generated from voter-approved sales taxes, voter-approved parcel or property taxes, and voter-approved bridge tolls dedicated to transportation improvements according to the most recent available data reported to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the Controller, or the Bay Area Toll Authority.
(2) Establish a northern California and southern California share by attributing the proportional share of revenues from voter-approved sales taxes, voter-approved parcel or property taxes, and voter-approved bridge tolls dedicated to transportation improvements and imposed in counties in northern California to the northern share, and by attributing the proportional share of revenues from voter-approved sales taxes imposed in counties located in southern California to the southern share. The determination of whether a county is located in northern or southern California shall be based on the definitions set forth in Section 187, with northern California comprising the counties in Group No. 1 and southern California comprising the counties in Group No. 2.
(3) Program funds made available to the southern share, based on the determination in paragraph (2), shall be distributed to each eligible entity responsible for programming and allocating revenues from the sales tax in proportion to the following:
(A) Seventy-five percent based on the population of the county in which the entity is located compared to the total population of southern California counties with voter-approved sales taxes dedicated to transportation improvements. For the purpose of calculating population, the commission shall use the most recent information available from the Department of Finance.
(B) Twenty-five percent based on the total amount of sales tax revenue generated from the total number of sales tax measures dedicated to transportation improvements administered by an eligible entity compared to the total amount of sales tax revenue generated from voter-approved sales tax measures dedicated to transportation improvements in southern California. For the purpose of calculating sales tax revenue, the commission shall use the most recent information available from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
(4) Program funds made available to the northern share, based on the determination in paragraph (2), shall be distributed as follows:
(A) Program funds generated by voter-approved bridge tolls and voter-approved parcel or property taxes dedicated to transportation improvements shall be distributed to the entity responsible for programming and allocating revenues from the toll or tax based on the proportional share of revenues generated by the toll or tax by that entity in comparison to the total revenues generated by voter-approved sales taxes, voter-approved parcel or property taxes, and voter-approved bridge tolls dedicated to transportation improvements in northern California.
(B) Program funds generated by voter-approved sales taxes dedicated to transportation improvements shall be distributed to each eligible entity responsible for programming and allocating revenues from the sales tax in proportion to the following:
(i) Seventy-five percent based on the population of the county in which the entity is located compared to the total population of northern California counties with voter-approved sales taxes dedicated to transportation improvements. For the purpose of calculating population, the commission shall use the most recent information available from the Department of Finance.
(ii) Twenty-five percent based on the total amount of sales tax revenue generated from the total number of sales tax measures dedicated to transportation improvements administered by an eligible entity compared to the total amount of sales tax revenue generated from voter-approved sales tax measures dedicated to transportation improvements in northern California. For the purpose of calculating sales tax revenue, the commission shall use the most recent information available from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
(g) This section shall apply to programming cycles beginning after the programming cycles described in subdivision (e) of Section 2033, as it read on January 1, 2020.
(h) An eligible entity that is identified to receive a distribution of funds under this section, but that does not submit a project for funding in a funding cycle, may use its funding share up to, but no later than, the three subsequent funding cycles. Projects receiving a distribution of funds under the program shall encumber funds no later than two years after the end of the fiscal year in which the distribution is made by the commission.

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