Bill Text: CA AB1175 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Toll facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 515, Statutes of 2009. [AB1175 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB1175-Amended.html
Bill Title: Toll facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 515, Statutes of 2009. [AB1175 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB1175-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1175 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torlakson
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 188.61 to 12419.12
to the Government Code, and to amend Section 30918 of, and to add
Sections 188.61, 188.62, 30914.1, 30921.5, and 30959 to, the
Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation, and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1175, as amended, Torlakson. Toll bridges: seismic
safety retrofit program. Toll facilities.
Existing
(1) Existing law provides for the Controller to offset, among
other things, amounts due to various public agencies from a person or
entity, against any amount owing that person or entity from state
income, franchise, and sales and use tax refunds and winnings in the
California State Lottery.
This bill would require the Controller, to the extent feasible, to
offset amounts overdue and unpaid for nonpayment of a bridge toll or
high-occupancy toll lane fee by a person or entity against state
income, franchise, and sales and use tax refunds and winnings in the
California State Lottery due to that person or entity, as specified.
(2) Existing law specifies the
powers and duties of the Department of Transportation, the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the Bay Area Toll
Authority with respect to the collection and expenditure of toll
revenue from the 7 state-owned toll bridges within the geographic
jurisdiction of the commission. Existing law provides a funding plan
from various sources, including bridge tolls and state funds, for
seismic safety improvement projects for certain of the state-owned
toll bridges pursuant to a statutory schedule of cost estimates for
each toll bridge. Existing law identifies specified cost overruns
beyond those cost estimates for bridges in the geographic
jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, provides
a funding plan in that regard, and appropriates various revenues for
this purpose. Existing law requires the Bay Area Toll Authority to
provide the funding for any additional cost overruns beyond the
amounts identified in the funding plan, including revenues from
increasing the $1 seismic toll surcharge. Existing law provides for
revenues identified in the funding plan to be shared between the
state and the authority pursuant to a specified formula to the extent
the cost overruns are less than estimated.
This bill would add seismic safety improvement projects on the
Antioch and Dumbarton Bridges to the toll bridge seismic safety
program. The bill would provide that surplus cost overrun revenues to
be shared between the state and the Bay Area Toll Authority be
redirected to the authority for the Antioch and Dumbarton seismic
safety projects, and would appropriate those funds for that purpose.
The bill would require the authority to provide all remaining funds
necessary to complete those seismic safety projects. The bill would
provide for the authority to increase tolls on all Bay Area
state-owned toll bridges in that regard. The bill would
continuously appropriate to the department all amounts paid to the
department by the authority for various purposes relative to the toll
bridges. The bill would also authorize the authority to make
contributions to the commission in furtherance of the exercise of the
authority's powers, as specified.
Existing
(3) Existing law provides for a
cooperative agreement between the Department of Transportation and
the Bay Area Toll Authority and imposes other related requirements
relative to project oversight and control responsibilities for the
Bay Area toll bridge seismic safety projects.
This bill would provide that those provisions would also apply to
the Antioch and Dumbarton bridge seismic safety projects.
Existing
(4) Existing law provides for
maintenance expenditures on Bay Area state-owned toll bridges to be
funded from the State Highway Account or from toll revenues, as
specified.
This bill would provide that maintenance expenditures that are to
be funded from toll revenues shall be funded from toll revenues
remaining after payment of all obligations of the Bay Area Toll
Authority that are secured by toll revenues.
(5) Existing law provided for submission of 2 regional measures to
the voters of 7 Bay Area counties in 1988 and 2004 relative to
respective $1 increases in bridge auto tolls on the Bay Area
state-owned toll bridges, subject to approval by a majority of the
voters.
This bill would generally authorize the Bay Area Toll Authority to
submit a regional measure containing a toll increase to the voters
of those counties for approval along with a statement of the projects
and programs to be undertaken with the increased toll revenues. The
bill would require the projects and programs to consist of
infrastructure projects, the acquisition of transit vehicles, transit
operating assistance, and other improvement projects intended to
reduce congestion and improve travel options in the bridge and
transportation network. The bill would require the boards of
supervisors of these counties to call a special election, which may
be consolidated with a general or primary election, upon the request
of the authority, and would require the authority to reimburse the
counties from bridge toll revenues for the incremental cost of
submitting the regional measure to the voters.
(6) Existing law specifies the basic uniform toll rate for various
classes of vehicles for all of the Bay Area state-owned toll
bridges, but authorizes the authority to increase tolls as may be
necessary to meet bond obligations.
This bill, notwithstanding these provisions, would authorize the
authority to vary the toll structure on each bridge and to provide
discounts for vehicles classified by the authority as high-occupancy
vehicles and for vehicles paying tolls via electronic toll
collection.
(7) The bill would enact other related provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12419.12 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
12419.12. (a) (1) The Controller shall, to the extent feasible,
offset any amount overdue and unpaid for a bridge toll or a
high-occupancy toll lane fee and any interest, fine, penalty, bail,
collection fee, or other charge on account of nonpayment of the
bridge toll or high-occupancy toll lane fee as and when due to a
government entity entitled thereto, from a person or entity, against
any amount owing the person or entity by a state agency on a claim
for a refund from the Franchise Tax Board under the Personal Income
Tax Law or the Bank and Corporation Tax Law or from winnings in the
California State Lottery. Standards and procedures for submission of
requests for offsets shall be as prescribed by the Controller.
Whenever insufficient funds are available to satisfy an offset
request, the Controller, after first applying the amounts available
to any amount due a state agency, may allocate the balance among any
other requests for offset.
(2) Any request for an offset pursuant to this section shall be
submitted within three years of the date the bridge toll or
high-occupancy toll lane fee was due.
(b) The Controller shall deduct and retain from any amount so
offset an amount sufficient to reimburse the Controller, the
Franchise Tax Board, the California State Lottery, and the Department
of Motor Vehicles for their administrative costs of processing the
offset payment.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 188.61 is
added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read:
188.61. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that in order to
provide maximum safety for the traveling public and to ensure
continuous and unimpeded operation of the state's transportation
network, the Antioch Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge are each in need
of a seismic safety retrofit. The current estimated cost of
the retrofits is ____ dollars ($____).
(b) The Antioch Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge are hereby deemed
to be part of the state toll bridge seismic retrofit program
described in Section 188.5. Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of
Section 188.6 or any other provision of law, the cost overrun savings
described in that subdivision shall not be shared between the state
and the Bay Area Toll Authority, but shall instead be transferred to
the Bay Area Toll Account, and are hereby appropriated to the
authority for expenditure on the Antioch Bridge and the Dumbarton
Bridge seismic safety retrofit projects. All other funds required to
complete the Antioch Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge seismic safety
retrofit projects shall be provided by the authority. The authority
may increase the amount of the tolls collected on the toll bridges
described in Section 30910 pursuant to Sections 30887 and 31011 for
the purpose of completing these projects.
(c) All of the requirements of Sections 30952.05, 30952.1,
30952.2, and 30952.3 shall also be applied to the seismic retrofit of
the Antioch Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge. The Toll Bridge Program
Oversight Committee, established by Section 30952.1, shall have
project oversight and control responsibilities for these projects to
the same extent as for the Benicia-Martinez Bridge project.
(d) All maintenance expenditures required to be funded by Section
188.4 with authority toll revenues shall be funded from toll revenues
remaining after provision is made for payment of all obligations of
the authority that are secured by a pledge of toll revenues.
SEC. 3. Section 188.62 is added to the
Streets and Highways Code , to read:
188.62. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
there is hereby continuously appropriated to the department for
expenditure all amounts paid to the department by the Bay Area Toll
Authority for the planning, design, construction, operation,
maintenance, repair, replacement, rehabilitation, and seismic
retrofit of the state-owned toll bridges specified in Section 30910
pursuant to the state toll bridge seismic retrofit program or any
other program of the authority, including, without limitation,
amounts paid to the department as advances or to reimburse the
department for payments to contractors working on the program.
SEC. 4. Section 30914.1 is added to the
Streets and Highways Code , to read:
30914.1. Funding of the TransLink operating program in the amount
of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall be made pursuant to
paragraph (10) of subdivision (d) of Section 30914 without regard to
the three-year limitation stated therein.
SEC. 5. Section 30918 of the Streets
and Highways Code is amended to read:
30918. (a) It is the intention of the
Legislature to maintain tolls on all of the bridges specified in
Section 30910 at rates sufficient to meet any obligation to the
holders of bonds secured by the bridge toll revenues. The authority
shall retain authority to set the toll schedule as may be necessary
to meet those bond obligations. The authority shall provide at least
30 days' notice to the transportation policy committee of each house
of the Legislature and shall hold a public hearing before adopting a
toll schedule reflecting the increased toll rate.
(b) The authority shall increase the toll rates specified in the
adopted toll schedule in order to meet its obligations and covenants
under any bond resolution or indenture of the authority for any
outstanding toll bridge revenue bonds issued by the authority and the
requirements of any constituent instruments defining the rights of
holders of related obligations of the authority entered into pursuant
to Section 5922 of the Government Code and, notwithstanding Section
30887, subdivision (c) of Section 30916, or any other law, may
increase the toll rates specified in the adopted toll schedule to
provide funds for the planning, design, construction, operation,
maintenance, repair, replacement, rehabilitation, and seismic
retrofit of the state-owned toll bridges specified in Section 30910,
to provide funding to meet the requirements of Sections 30884 and
30911, and to provide funding to meet the requirements of
voter-approved regional measures pursuant to Sections 30914, 30921,
and 30921.5.
(c) The authority's toll structure for the state-owned toll
bridges specified in Section 30910 may vary from bridge to bridge and
may include discounts for vehicles classified by the authority as
high-occupancy vehicles and for electronic toll collection,
notwithstanding any other law.
(d) If the authority establishes high-occupancy vehicle lane fee
discounts or access for vehicles classified by the authority as
high-occupancy vehicles for any bridge or highway, the authority's
requirements for the number of persons that must occupy each vehicle
to qualify for those discounts or that access shall be applied by the
department on each segment of highway that connects with that bridge
or highway unless otherwise agreed by the authority and the
department, notwithstanding any other law.
(e) All tolls referred to in this section and Sections 30916,
31010, and 31011 may be treated by the authority as a single revenue
source for accounting and administrative purposes and for the
purposes of any bond indenture or resolution and any agreement
entered into pursuant to Section 5922 of the Government Code.
SEC. 6. Section 30921.5 is added to the
Streets and Highways Code , to read:
30921.5. (a) The toll rate for vehicles crossing the state-owned
toll bridges specified in Section 30910 shall be increased by the
authority pursuant to Section 30918 following voter approval of each
measure submitted to the voters of the City and County of San
Francisco and the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San
Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano as a "regional measure" as described
in subdivision (b). The revenue derived from the toll increase shall
be applied in accordance with the regional measure.
(b) A regional measure shall consist of a question to the effect
that "Shall voters authorize a regional traffic relief plan that does
the following," followed by a general description of the projects
and programs to be included therein, together with a statement of the
amount of the toll increase that will be implemented if the regional
measure is approved by the voters. The projects and programs shall
consist of infrastructure projects, the acquisition of transit
vehicles, transit operating assistance, and other improvement
projects to reduce congestion and to improve travel options on the
Bay Area state-owned toll bridges and transportation corridors
closely associated with those bridges.
(c) Upon the request of the authority and notwithstanding any
provision of the Elections Code, the Board of Supervisors of the City
and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Alameda, Contra
Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano shall call a special
election to be conducted in those jurisdictions to consider each
regional measure. If the authority so elects, the special election
shall be consolidated with a primary election or a general election.
(d) The ballot pamphlet for each election described in subdivision
(c) shall include a detailed description, prepared by the authority,
of the regional traffic relief plan included in the regional
measure.
(e) The county clerks shall report the results of the election to
the authority. If a majority of all the voters voting on the regional
measure vote affirmatively, the authority shall adopt the increased
toll schedule and establish its effective date. The authority shall
reimburse each county and city and county participating in the
election for the incremental cost of submitting the regional measure
to the voters. The cost of those reimbursements shall be paid from
bridge toll revenues.
SEC. 7. Section 30959 is added to the
Streets and Highways Code , to read:
30959. The authority may make contributions to the commission in
furtherance of the exercise of the authority's powers under this
division, including, without limitation, contributions in the form of
personnel services, office space, and funding. The authority may
also make contributions to the commission on a reimbursement-for-cost
basis; provided, however, that reimbursement shall not be required
to the extent that the contributions provided to the commission are
determined by the authority to be in furtherance of the exercise of
the authority's powers under this division.
