Bill Text: CA AB1041 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1041 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Bay Area Toll Authority and oversight committee: conflict of interest.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-06-01 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 16, Statutes of 2018. [AB1041 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB1041-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly January 03, 2018

Amended IN Assembly April 18, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1041

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 16, 2017

An act to amend Section ~~11051~~ 30923 of the ~~Vehicle~~ Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1041, as amended, Levine. ~~Transportation funding: transportation improvement fee.~~ Bay Area Toll Authority and oversight committee: conflict of interest.

Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) as a regional agency in the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) as a separate entity governed by the same governing board as the MTC and makes the BATA responsible for the programming, administration, and allocation of toll revenues from the state-owned toll bridges in the San Francisco Bay area.
Existing law provides for a proposed toll increase on the state-owned toll bridges to be submitted to voters of the 9 bay area counties, to be known as Regional Measure 3. Existing law requires the BATA to, among other things, establish an independent oversight committee within 6 months of the effective date of the Regional Measure 3 toll increase with a specified membership, to ensure the toll revenues generated by the toll increase are expended consistent with a specified expenditure plan and requires the BATA to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the status of the projects and programs funded by the toll increase.
This bill would prohibit a representative appointed to the oversight committee from being a member, former member, staff, or former staff of the commission or the authority, a current employee of any organization or person that has received or is receiving funding from the commission or the authority, or a former employee or person who has contracted with any organization or person that has received or is receiving funding from the commission or the authority within one year of having worked for or contracted with that organization or person.
The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, as proposed to be enacted by SB 1 of the 2017–18 Regular Session, imposes a transportation improvement fee on each vehicle, as specified. The act requires that the revenues from that fee be available for expenditure only on specified transportation purposes.
~~This bill would amend a provision to be added by SB 1 to correct an erroneous cross-reference in these provisions.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 30923 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:

30923.

(a) For purposes of the special election to be conducted pursuant to this section, the authority shall select an amount of the proposed increase in the toll rate, not to exceed three dollars ($3), for vehicles crossing the bridges described in Section 30910 to be placed on the ballot for approval by the voters.

(b) The toll rate for vehicles crossing the bridges described in Section 30910 shall not be increased by the rate selected by the authority pursuant to subdivision (a) prior to the availability of the results of a special election to be held in the City and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma to determine whether the residents of those counties and of the City and County of San Francisco approve the toll increase.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of the Elections Code, the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco and of each of the counties described in subdivision (b) shall call a special election to be conducted in the City and County of San Francisco and in each of the counties that shall be consolidated with a statewide primary or general election, which shall be selected by the authority.

(2) The authority shall determine the ballot question, which shall include the amount of the proposed toll increase selected pursuant to subdivision (a) and a summary of the Regional Measure 3 expenditure plan. The ballot question shall be submitted to the voters as Regional Measure 3 and stated separately in the ballot from state and local measures.

(d) The ballot pamphlet for the special election shall include a summary of the Regional Measure 3 expenditure plan regarding the eligible projects and programs to be funded pursuant to Section 30914.7. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission shall prepare a summary of the Regional Measure 3 expenditure plan.

(e) The county clerks shall report the results of the special election to the authority. If a majority of all voters voting on the question at the special election vote affirmatively, the authority may phase in the increased toll schedule consistent with subdivision (c) of Section 30916.

(f) If a majority of all the voters voting on the question at the special election do not approve the toll increase, the authority may by resolution resubmit the measure to the voters at a subsequent statewide primary or general election. If a majority of all of the voters vote affirmatively on the measure, the authority may adopt the toll increase and establish its effective date and establish the completion dates for all reports and studies required by Sections 30914.7 and 30950.3.

(g) (1) Each county and city and county shall share translation services for the ballot pamphlet and shall provide the authority a certified invoice that details the incremental cost of including the measure on the ballot, as well as the total costs associated with the election.

(2) The authority shall reimburse each county and city and county participating in the election for the incremental cost of submitting the measure to the voters. These costs shall be reimbursed from revenues derived from the tolls if the measure is approved by the voters, or, if the measure is not approved, from any bridge toll revenues administered by the authority.

(h) (1) If the voters approve a toll increase pursuant to this section, the authority shall establish an independent oversight committee within six months of the effective date of the toll increase to ensure that any toll revenues generated pursuant to this section are expended consistent with the applicable requirements set forth in Section 30914.7. ~~The~~

(2) The oversight committee shall include two representatives from each county within the jurisdiction of the commission. Each representative shall be appointed by the applicable county board of supervisors and serve a four-year term and shall be limited to two terms. The oversight committee shall annually review the expenditure of funds by the authority for the projects and programs specified in Section 30914.7 and prepare and submit a report to the transportation committee of each house of the Legislature summarizing its findings. The oversight committee may request any documents from the authority to assist the committee in performing its functions.

(3) A representative appointed to the oversight committee shall not be a member, former member, staff, or former staff of the commission or the authority, shall not be employed by any organization or person that has received or is receiving funding from the commission or the authority, and shall not be a former employee or a person who has contracted with any organization or person that has received or is receiving funding from the commission or the authority within one year of having worked for or contracted with that organization or person.

(i) If voters approve a toll increase pursuant to this section, the authority shall annually prepare a report to the Legislature, in conformance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on the status of the projects and programs funded pursuant to Section 30914.7.

(j) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 30916 and Section 30918, the toll increase adopted by the authority pursuant to this section shall not be changed without statutory authorization by the Legislature.

SECTION 1.Section 11051 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as added by Senate Bill 1 of the 2017–18 Regular Session, is amended to read:
11051.
(a)In addition to any other fee imposed on a vehicle by this code or the Vehicle Code, a transportation improvement fee is hereby imposed on each vehicle as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 11050 effective on January 1, 2018, or as soon after that date as the department is able to commence collection of the fee. The transportation improvement fee shall be in the amounts specified in Section 11052.
~~(b)The department shall collect the fee at the same time and in the same manner as the department collects the vehicle registration fee pursuant to Section 9250 of the Vehicle Code.~~
(c)The fee imposed pursuant to this chapter is imposed for the privilege of a resident of California to operate upon the public highways a vehicle or trailer coach, the registrant of which is subject to the fee under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10751).
~~(d)The revenues from the transportation improvement fee imposed by this chapter shall be available for expenditure only on transportation purposes as provided in Section 11053.~~