Bill Text: CA AB179 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 179 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: California Transportation Commission.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 737, Statutes of 2017. [AB179 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB179-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 20, 2017

Amended IN Assembly February 14, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 179

Introduced by Assembly Member Cervantes
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Cristina Garcia, and Eduardo Garcia)

January 18, 2017

An act to amend Section 14502 of, and to add ~~Sections 14506.7 and~~ Section 14516 to, the Government Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 179, as amended, Cervantes. California Transportation Commission.

Existing law creates the California Transportation Commission, with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocation of funds to those projects pursuant to the state transportation improvement program and various other transportation funding programs.

Existing law provides that the commission consists of 13 members: 11 voting members, of which 9 are appointed by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation, one is appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one is appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and 2 Members of the Legislature who are appointed as nonvoting ex officio members.

This bill would require that 7 one of those voting members have ~~specified qualifications.~~ worked directly with those communities in the state that are most significantly burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution, including, but not limited to, those communities with racially and ethnically diverse populations or with low-income populations.

This bill would require the commission to create an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, comprised of at least 5 members, to advise the commission in its allocation and programming of transportation moneys and any other pertinent transportation policy matters. The bill would require that the members of the committee represent communities disproportionately burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution and other environmental justice issues, and would require that the commission appoint only individuals nominated by environmental justice organizations and community groups to that committee.

This bill would require the commission and the State Air Resources Board to hold at least 2 joint meetings per calendar year to coordinate their implementation of transportation policies.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 14502 of the Government Code is amended to read:

14502.

The commission consists of 13 members appointed as follows:

(a) (1) Nine members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, with neither of these members subject to confirmation by the Senate. A member appointed pursuant to this subdivision shall not simultaneously hold an elected public office, or serve on any local or regional public board or commission with business before the commission.

(2) Of the members appointed pursuant to this ~~subdivision, seven members shall have the following qualifications:~~

~~(A)Two members shall~~ subdivision one member shall have worked directly with those communities in the state that are most significantly burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution, including, but not limited to, those communities with racially and ethnically diverse populations or with low-income populations.

~~(B)One member shall have training and experience in sustainable transportation that includes addressing bicycle and pedestrian safety issues in transportation.~~
~~(C)One member shall have training and experience in sustainable transportation that includes addressing transit issues.~~
~~(D)One member shall have training and experience in, or be an authority on, the public health effects of transportation.~~
~~(E)One member shall have training and experience in, or be an authority on, climate change mitigation, including the role of transportation projects on that mitigation.~~
~~(F)One member shall have training and experience in, or be an authority on, air pollution.~~

(3) When an appointment is made to the commission after January 1, 2018, the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, and Senate Committee on Rules shall ensure that it is made in conformance with this subdivision.

(b) One Member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and one Member of the Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall be ex officio members without vote and shall participate in the activities of the commission to the extent that that participation is not incompatible with their positions as Members of the Legislature.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a voting member of the commission may serve on the High-Speed Rail Authority as established in Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) of the Public Utilities Code.

SEC. 2.Section 14506.7 is added to the Government Code, to read:
14506.7.
(a)The commission shall create an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to advise the commission in its allocation and programming of transportation moneys and any other pertinent transportation policy matters.
~~(b)(1)The committee shall be comprised of at least five members.~~
(2)Each member of the committee shall represent a community disproportionately burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution and other environmental justice issues, including, but not limited to, communities with diverse racial and ethnic populations or low-income populations.
~~(3)The commission shall appoint only individuals nominated by environmental justice organizations and community groups to the committee.~~
~~(c)The commission shall provide members of the committee with a reasonable per diem for attending the committee’s meetings.~~

SEC. 3.SEC. 2.

Section 14516 is added to the Government Code, to read:

14516.

The commission and the State Air Resources Board shall hold at least two joint meetings per calendar year to coordinate their implementation of transportation policies, including interagency efforts, which shall include, but not be limited to, implementation of the sustainable freight action plan developed pursuant to Executive Order B-32-15, development of the California Transportation Plan update pursuant to Section 65071, and the setting of targets pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080.