Bill Text: CA AB2332 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Transportation funding: complete streets.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB2332 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2332-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2332 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Alejo, Bloom, Campos, and
Holden )
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to add Section 14528.2 to the Government Code,
relating to transportation. An act to amend Sections
14526, 14526.4, and 14526.5 of, and to add Section 14031.9 to, the
Government Code, and to amend Section 167 of the Streets and Highways
Code, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2332, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Transportation.
Transportation funding: complete streets.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has
full possession and control over the highways of the state and is
responsible for preparing the state highway operation and protection
program for the expenditure of transportation funds for major capital
improvements that are necessary to preserve and protect the state
highway system. Existing law requires the department to submit a
draft 5-year interregional transportation improvement program that
consists of, among other things, projects to improve state highways.
Existing law also creates the California Transportation
Commission, with specified powers and duties relative to the
programming of transportation capital improvement projects and the
allocation of state transportation funds for state transportation
improvement projects. Existing law requires the department, in
consultation with the commission, to prepare an asset management plan
to guide selection of projects for the state highway operation and
protection program consistent with any applicable state and federal
requirements. Existing law requires the commission, in connection
with the asset management plan, to adopt targets and performance
measures reflecting state transportation goals and objectives.
This bill would require the department to increase the annual
number of complete street projects undertaken by the department by
20% over the 2016 baseline by the year 2020 and increase
accessibility for low-income and disadvantaged communities by
increasing multimodal transportation proximity to employment, jobs,
housing, and recreation areas. The bill would establish department
goals to reduce by 10% based on the 2016 baseline the number of
transit, pedestrian, and bicyclist fatalities, and reduce by 15%
statewide per capita the vehicle miles traveled by the year 2020, and
to increase travel by nonautomobile modes of travel, as specified.
This bill would require the draft 5-year interregional
transportation program to include projects to implement complete
streets, as defined, and the state highway operation and protection
program to include capital improvements relative to multiuse,
including complete streets. The bill would require the department to
hold at least one public hearing in each of its districts on state
highway operation and protection program projects and would require
the hearing to be accessible by public transit, held at times that
are convenient for disadvantaged community residents, and upon
request, provide translation services. The bill would require the
commission, no later than July 1, 2017, in connection with the asset
management plan, to also adopt targets and performance measures that
reflect state transportation goals and objectives that, among other
things, improve mobility, access, and safety for nonmotorized users
in disadvantaged communities by requiring not less than 35% of state
highway operation and protection program projects be located in urban
and rural disadvantaged communities. The bill would also require
that funds in the State Highway Account in the State Transportation
Fund be programmed for specified safety improvements that would
reduce fatalities and the number and severity of injuries to
pedestrians.
Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare
a State Highway Operation and Protection Program every other year for
the expenditure of transportation capital improvement funds for
projects that are necessary to preserve and protect the state highway
system, excluding projects that add new traffic lanes. Existing law
provides for the programming of transportation capital improvement
funds for other objectives through the State Transportation
Improvement Program administered by the California Transportation
Commission, which includes projects recommended by regional
transportation planning agencies through adoption of a regional
transportation improvement program and projects recommended by the
department through adoption of an interregional transportation
improvement program, as specified.
This bill, by January 1, 2018, would require the California
Transportation Commission to establish a process whereby the
department and local agencies receiving funding for highway capital
improvements from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program
or the State Transportation Improvement Program prioritize projects
that provide meaningful benefits to the mobility and safety needs of
disadvantaged community residents, as specified. The bill would
require the commission to adopt guidelines to implement these
provisions and would authorize the commission to withhold future
funding allocations to an applicant from these programs if it
determines that previous use of funding by the applicant has not
adequately furthered the objectives of these provisions. The bill
would require the commission to report biannually to the Legislature
in this regard.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) For over a century, California has invested in a state highway
system that allowed our state economy to flourish and ensured that
over 38 million residents have access to places of employment,
education centers, and recreation areas.
(b) However, low-income and disadvantaged communities have faced
historic patterns of inequity and disinvestment from our state
highway system.
(1) Low-income and disadvantaged communities bear the burden of
disproportionate impacts from substandard air quality in the form of
higher rates of respiratory illness, hospitalizations, and premature
death.
(2) Due to historic disinvestment, low-income and disadvantaged
communities suffer from lack of safe infrastructure such as bicycle
paths and sidewalks, which leads to increased injuries and fatalities
when traveling on the state highway system.
(3) Due to the low level of car ownership in low-income and
disadvantaged communities, many residents do not have access to
transit or safe infrastructure such as bicycle paths and sidewalks to
travel safely to employment, education centers, and recreation
areas.
(c) The Department of Transportation has updated its mission to
include sustainability, greater focus and awareness on safety for all
users of the transportation system, developing a multimodal
transportation system that expands transit, walking, and bicycling,
and the need for a fix-it-first focus that also achieves cobenefits
such as public health and social equity to address all users of the
transportation system.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that this act continues
the Department of Transportation's greater focus on sustainability
and awareness for all users of the transportation system by directing
resources to the state's most impacted and disadvantaged communities
to ensure that activities taken in pursuit of sustainability will
also provide economic and health benefits to these communities.
SEC. 2. Section 14031.9 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
14031.9. (a) The department shall increase the annual number of
complete streets projects undertaken by the department by 20 percent
over the 2016 baseline by the year 2020.
(b) As used in this section, "complete street" means a
transportation facility that is planned, designed, operated, and
maintained to provide safe mobility for all users, including
bicyclists, pedestrians, transit vehicles, truckers, and motorists,
appropriate to the function and context of the facility.
(c) The department shall have as a goal the reduction by 10
percent, based on the 2016 baseline, of the number of transit,
pedestrian, and bicyclist fatalities and the reduction by 15 percent
of the statewide per capita the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) relative
to 2010 levels reported by district by the year 2020.
(d) It shall also be a goal of the department to increase travel
by nonautomobile modes by doing all of the following:
(1) Tripling the amount of bicycle travel relative to 2010-2012
California Household Travel Survey levels.
(2) Doubling the amount of pedestrian travel relative to 2010-2012
California Household Travel Survey levels.
(3) Doubling the amount of transit travel relative to 2010-2012
California Household Travel Survey levels.
(e) The department shall increase accessibility for low-income and
disadvantaged communities by increasing multimodal transportation
proximity to employment, jobs, housing, and recreation areas.
SEC. 3. Section 14526 of the Government
Code is amended to read:
14526. (a) Not later than October 15 of each odd-numbered year,
based on the guidelines established pursuant to Section 14530.1, and
after consulting with the transportation planning agencies, county
transportation commissions, and transportation authorities, the
department shall submit to the commission the draft five-year
interregional transportation improvement program consisting of all of
the following:
(1) Projects to improve state highways, pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 164 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(2) Projects to improve the intercity passenger rail system.
(3) Projects to improve interregional movement of people,
vehicles, and goods.
(4) Projects to implement or improve complete streets, as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 14031.9.
(b) Projects included in the interregional transportation
improvement program shall be consistent with the state interregional
transportation strategic plan prepared pursuant to Section 14524.4.
(c) Projects may not be included in the draft interregional
transportation improvement program without a project study report or
major investment study.
(d) Major projects shall include current costs updated as of
November 1 of the year of submittal and escalated to the appropriate
year, and shall be consistent with, and provide the information
required in, subdivision (b) of Section 14529.
(e) Projects included in the draft interregional transportation
improvement program shall be consistent with the adopted regional
transportation plan.
(f) On or before November 15 of each odd-numbered year, the
commission shall hold at least one hearing in northern California and
one hearing in southern California to attempt to reconcile any
objections by any member of the public or other stakeholder to the
draft interregional transportation improvement program.
(g) The department shall consider the input received at the
hearings conducted pursuant to subdivision (f) and shall develop a
final interregional transportation improvement program. The final
interregional transportation improvement program shall include a
summary of the major comments received at the hearings and responses
to those comments, and shall be submitted to the commission for
approval not later than December 15 of each odd-numbered year.
(h) The commission shall, when approving the final interregional
transportation improvement program pursuant to subdivision (g),
evaluate the extent to which the program is consistent with funding
priorities established in Section 167 of the Streets and Highways
Code.
SEC. 4. Section 14526.4 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
14526.4. (a) The department, in consultation with the commission,
shall prepare a robust asset management plan to guide selection of
projects for the state highway operation and protection program
required by Section 14526.5. The asset management plan shall be
consistent with any applicable state and federal requirements.
(b) The department may prepare the asset management plan in
phases, with the first phase to be implemented with the 2016 state
highway operation and protection program, and the complete asset
management plan to be prepared no later than the 2020 state highway
operation and protection program.
(c) In connection with the asset management plan, the commission
shall do both of the following:
(1) Adopt Not later than July 1, 2017,
adopt targets and performance measures reflecting state
transportation goals and objectives.
objectives, that shall include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(A) Improving mobility, access, and safety for nonmotorized users
in disadvantaged communities by requiring not less than 35 percent of
state highway operation and protection program projects be located
in urban and rural disadvantaged communities.
(B) Providing targeted and meaningful benefits to residents in
those disadvantaged communities. Projects that provide meaningful
benefits to those residents shall include, but are not limited to,
both of the following:
(i) Walkways, bikeways, and crossing facilities that connect
residents to community-identified amenities such as transit stops,
employment centers, schools, medical facilities, grocery stores, and
other community services.
(ii) Pedestrian or bicycle traffic control devices to improve the
safety of nonmotorized users.
(C) Prioritizing projects identified by the community through
strong public participation in disadvantaged communities.
(D) Prioritizing projects that recruit, hire, or train low-income,
formerly incarcerated, underrepresented, or disconnected youth and
adults and other individuals with barriers to employment, pursuant to
Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code. Priority shall be
awarded for projects that utilize any of the following:
(i) Community workforce agreements.
(ii) Project labor agreements with targeted hire commitments
requiring at least 30 percent of work hours performed by individuals
with barriers to employment, pursuant to Section 14005 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code, or local hire commitments requiring at
least 30 percent of work hours performed by California residents to
be performed by residents of the city in which the project takes
place.
(iii) Partnerships with community-based workforce training
entities preparing low-income youth and adults for employment.
(iv) State certified pre-apprenticeship and registered
apprenticeship programs.
(v) State certified community conservation corps.
(vi) "Earn while you learn" models.
(vii) YouthBuild programs.
(viii) California Workforce Development Board programs serving
disadvantaged populations.
(2) Review and approve the asset management plan, including the
final version of the first phase and the complete plan prepared by
the department pursuant to subdivision (b).
(d) As used in this section, "asset management plan" means a
document assessing the health and condition of the state highway
system with which the department is able to determine the most
effective way to apply the state's limited resources.
resources and advance meaningful benefits in
disadvantaged communities.
(e) As used in this section, "disadvantaged community" means a
community with any of the following characteristics:
(1) An area with a median household income less than 80 percent of
the statewide median household income based on the most current
census tract-level data from the American Community Survey.
(2) An area identified by the California Environmental Protection
Agency pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) An area where at least 75 percent of public school students
are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals under the
National School Lunch Program.
(f) As used in this section, "meaningful benefits" means
transportation projects that address any of the following:
(1) Health harms suffered disproportionately by low-income and
disadvantaged communities due to copollutants, including poor air
quality and a lack of public health benefits.
(2) Increasing job readiness and career opportunities with
workforce development programs, local hiring, or on-the-job training.
(3) Increasing travel for non-motorized users by improving active
transportation infrastructure such as bicycle paths, sidewalks, and
other non-motorized means of travel.
(4) Investing in transportation that will meet an unmet need that
has been identified as a high priority by disadvantaged community
residents and groups.
SEC. 5. Section 14526.5 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
14526.5. (a) Based on the asset management plan prepared and
approved pursuant to Section 14526.4, the department shall prepare a
state highway operation and protection program for the expenditure of
transportation funds for major capital improvements that are
necessary to preserve and protect the state highway system. Projects
included in the program shall be limited to capital improvements
relative to maintenance, safety, multiuse, including complete
streets, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 14031.9, and
rehabilitation of state highways and bridges that do not add a new
traffic lane to the system.
(b) The program shall include projects that are expected to be
advertised prior to July 1 of the year following submission of the
program, but which have not yet been funded. The program shall
include those projects for which construction is to begin within four
fiscal years, starting July 1 of the year following the year the
program is submitted.
(c) The department, at a minimum, shall specify, for each project
in the state highway operation and protection program, the capital
and support budget, as well as a projected delivery date, for each of
the following project components:
(1) Completion of project approval and environmental documents.
(2) Preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates.
(3) Acquisition of rights-of-way, including, but not limited to,
support activities.
(4) Start of construction.
(d) The program shall be submitted to the commission not later
than January 31 of each even-numbered year. Prior to submitting the
plan, the department shall make a draft of its proposed program
available to transportation planning agencies for review and comment
and shall include the comments in its submittal to the commission.
(e) The commission may review the program relative to its overall
adequacy, consistency with the asset management plan prepared and
approved pursuant to Section 14526.4 and funding priorities
established in Section 167 of the Streets and Highways Code, the
level of annual funding needed to implement the program, and the
impact of those expenditures on the state transportation improvement
program. The commission shall adopt the program and submit it to the
Legislature and the Governor not later than April 1 of each
even-numbered year. The commission may decline to adopt the program
if the commission determines that the program is not sufficiently
consistent with the asset management plan prepared and approved
pursuant to Section 14526.4.
(f) The department shall hold at least one public hearing in each
of its districts on state highway operation and protection program
projects. The hearing shall be accessible by public transit and held
at times that are convenient for disadvantaged community residents.
Upon request, translation services shall be provided to ensure
meaningful participation by non-English-speaking residents.
(f)
(g) Expenditures for these projects shall not be
subject to Sections 188 and 188.8 of the Streets and Highways Code.
SEC. 6. Section 167 of the Streets and
Highways Code is amended to read:
167. (a) Funds in the State Highway Account in the State
Transportation Fund shall be programmed, budgeted subject to Section
163, and expended to maximize the use of federal funds and shall be
based on the following sequence of priorities:
(1) Operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the state
highway system.
(2) Safety improvements where physical changes, other than adding
additional lanes, would reduce fatalities and the number and severity
of injuries. injuries to pedestrians
.
(3) Transportation capital improvements that expand capacity or
reduce congestion, or do both.
(4) Environmental enhancement and mitigation programs.
(b) With respect to the funds in the State Highway Account, in the
Public Transportation Account, and in the Passenger Rail Bond Fund,
the proposed budget shall be organized on a program basis. The
proposed budget shall list the proposed expenditures for the
transportation program under the following program elements:
(1) Administration.
(2) Program development.
(3) Maintenance.
(4) State highway operation and protection.
(5) Local assistance.
(6) Interregional improvements.
(7) Regional improvements.
(8) Environmental enhancement and mitigation programs.
(c) State operations expenditure amounts of the department for
interregional and regional transportation improvement projects shall
be listed as required by subdivision (b) of Section 14529 of the
Government Code, but those amounts other than those for the
acquisition of rights-of-way, construction, and construction support
shall not be subject to allocation by the commission.
(d) To align the annual budget with the adopted state
transportation improvement program, the department may submit to the
Department of Finance revised capital outlay support and capital
outlay budget estimates as part of its May Revision process. Budget
proposals related to these changes shall be provided to the
Legislature no later than May 1.
(e) The budget shall not include specific appropriations for
specific transportation improvement projects, and the Legislature
shall not enact legislation containing specific individual
transportation projects.
(f) The basis for defining major and minor capital outlay projects
shall be established by the commission.
(g) The Legislative Analyst shall prepare an analysis of the
proposed expenditures for each program element as a part of the
budget analysis.
(h) The department shall submit to the Legislative Analyst, and
the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly
Committee on Budget, on an annual basis, supplemental information to
substantiate the department's proposed capital outlay support budget.
The information shall be provided no later than May 1 of each year,
and may be provided at an earlier date. The information shall
include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A list of projects for which the department will perform
capital outlay support work in the budget year. For each project, the
department shall include:
(A) The planned project support budget for support of
environmental, design, right-of-way, and construction phases.
(B) The planned capital costs, including construction capital
costs and right-of-way capital costs.
(C) The estimated or actual construction start date and completion
date.
(D) The name and year of the state transportation program in which
the project is programmed, if applicable.
(E) Total prior fiscal year expenditures for capital outlay
support.
(F) The number of full-time equivalent positions requested to
perform support of environmental, design, right-of-way, and
construction work in the fiscal year of the budget request.
(G) Milestones of project work by phases that are planned to be
completed in the fiscal year of the budget request.
(H) The ratio of support to capital costs based on current
programming.
(2) The capital-to-support ratio for all projects completed in the
prior fiscal year in each program in each district.
(3) The current total number of authorized and vacant positions in
the capital outlay support program in headquarters and in each
district.
(4) A five-year projection of the department's staffing needs to
support the state's transportation capital programs and any workload
performed by the department related to federal or local funding for
highway capital projects.
(5) The average cost of a personnel-year equivalent in each
district based on the department's existing contracts for capital
outlay support work performed by a private company under contract
with the department. For each average cost, the department shall
provide a description of what factors are included in that cost.
(6) The average cost of a state staff personnel-year in the
capital outlay support program in each district and in headquarters.
The cost shall include the salary and wages, benefits, program
overhead, administrative overhead, and other associated costs. The
department shall provide a description of each component of the
average cost.
(7) A summary of expected capital outlay support workload for the
budget year that includes the following:
(A) The total full-time equivalents requested for each type of the
following activities: environmental, design, right-of-way, and
construction.
(B) The total full-time equivalents requested for each type of
project, including, but not limited to, the state transportation
improvement program, the state highway operation and protection
program, bond programs, regional and local agency partnership
workload, and any other program.
(8) The total number of projects with requested resources, as well
as the number of projects in which the department is limited to an
oversight role.
(9) The number of milestones scheduled, including environmental,
design, right-of-way, and construction deliverables, as well as the
number of projects expected to begin construction and reach
completion.
(10) A summary for the most recently completed fiscal year for the
following:
(A) Full-time equivalents and related funding expended, including
support of environmental, design, right-of-way, and construction
activities.
(B) Approved and filled positions as of the end of the fiscal
year.
SECTION 1. Section 14528.2 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
14528.2. (a) On or before January 1, 2018, the commission shall
establish a process whereby the department and local agencies
receiving funding for highway capital improvements from the State
Highway Operation and Protection Program or the State Transportation
Improvement Program prioritize projects that provide meaningful
benefits to the mobility and safety needs of disadvantaged community
residents as identified by the community through strong public
participation. Projects that provide meaningful benefits in this
regard shall include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Construction of new walkways, bikeways, and crossing
facilities, or improvements to existing bikeways, walkways, and
crossing facilities, that improve mobility, access, and safety for
nonmotorized users in disadvantaged communities, and that connect
residents to community-identified amenities such as transit stops,
employment centers, schools, medical facilities, grocery stores, and
other community services.
(2) Transit capital improvements that address community-identified
mobility and safety needs, including, but not limited to, shelters,
benches, and lighting.
(3) Open space preservation adjoining parallel active
transportation routes, providing for recreation and wildlife
connectivity, or buffers to minimize impacts of air pollution.
(4) Pedestrian or bicycle traffic control devices to improve the
safety of nonmotorized users.
(b) In order to implement subdivision (a), the commission shall do
all of the following:
(1) Establish a funding floor where no less than 35 percent of
rehabilitation and reconstruction projects are located in urban and
rural disadvantaged communities and provide meaningful benefits to
community residents in those disadvantaged communities.
(2) Include robust public stakeholder engagement on the
development of guidelines relating to prioritization of projects in
disadvantaged communities. The engagement shall include at least two
public hearings in each region around the state at locations that are
accessible by public transit and that are held at times that are
convenient for disadvantaged community residents, with the provision
of translation services to ensure meaningful participation by
non-English-speaking residents. "Region," for the purpose of this
paragraph, means southern California, the Inland Empire, northern
California, and the San Joaquin Valley.
(3) Adopt guidelines and performance criteria for the department
and local agencies relative to social, economic, and regional equity
and public health impacts of highway projects funded from the State
Highway Operation and Protection Program or the State Transportation
Improvement Program.
(4) Require the lead agency on each project to provide a
description of how a proposed project located in a disadvantaged
community provides meaningful benefits to the community. The location
of a project in a disadvantaged community by itself does not mean
that the project provides meaningful benefits to that community in
the absence of a well-grounded description. In order for a benefit to
be meaningful, it shall be direct and assured.
(5) Prioritize projects that recruit, hire, and train low-income,
formerly incarcerated, or disconnected youth and adults and other
individuals with barriers to employment pursuant to Section 14005 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code, including projects that utilize
community workforce agreements, project labor agreements with
targeted hire commitments, and partnerships with community-based
workforce training entities preparing low-income youth and adults for
employment.
(6) Require the lead agency on each project to report to the
commission with documentation on each of the following upon
completion of the project:
(A) A description of and the location of the project, including a
map that delineates the location of targeted persons that will
benefit from the project in relationship to the project site.
(B) The amount of funds expended on the project.
(C) The completion date of the project.
(D) The project's estimated useful life.
(E) A description of
mobility benefits provided as a result of the project to transit,
bicycling, and pedestrians.
(F) A description of the community engagement process and its
accessibility to disadvantaged community residents, and the
contribution of that process to identification of benefits to those
residents from the project and resident engagement in implementation
of project.
(G) An analysis of how mobility benefits of the project are
accessible to disadvantaged community residents within the project
area.
(H) A description and, if feasible, a quantification of the public
health and safety, economic, and environmental cobenefits resulting
from the project. To the extent the performance criteria for each
cobenefit category have not been met, documentation shall be provided
that identifies any statutory or regulatory barriers, or
alternatively, a demonstrated absence of need.
(I) Documentation of the number of disadvantaged project area
residents or individuals with employment barriers who were employed
by the project or were provided workforce training opportunities
through the project, including hours worked, hourly wage, types of
benefits, occupation or trainee classification, and documentation of
any partnerships with community based workforce training entities
preparing low-income youth and adults for employment.
(J) Levels of particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and sulphur
oxides in the project area prior to completion of the project, and
projected levels upon completion of the project.
(K) An analysis of the air pollution burden on low-income and
disadvantaged community residents within the project area.
(7) Evaluate the documentation provided pursuant to paragraph (6)
to determine the effectiveness of each completed project relative to
all of the following:
(A) Improvement of access and mobility for disadvantaged community
residents and connection to community-identified amenities.
(B) Improvement of public health and air quality in the project
area, and particularly benefits and burdens on disadvantaged
community residents.
(C) Improvement of access to workforce development opportunities
and living wage jobs and careers for individuals with barriers to
employment and disadvantaged community residents.
(c) The commission may withhold future funding allocations to an
applicant from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program and
the State Transportation Improvement Program if it determines that
previous use of funding by the applicant has not adequately furthered
the objectives of subdivision (a).
(d) The commission shall provide a biannual report to the
Legislature on the implementation of this section. The report shall
be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e) As used in this section, "disadvantaged community" means a
community with any of the following characteristics:
(1) An area with a median household income less than 80 percent of
the statewide median household income based on the most current
census tract-level data from the American Community Survey.
(2) An area identified as among the most disadvantaged 25 percent
of areas in the state according to the California Environmental
Protection Agency, based on the latest version of the California
Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen)
scores.
(3) An area where at least 75 percent of public school students
are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals under the
National School Lunch Program. To the extent the characteristics of
this paragraph are used to determine that an area is disadvantaged,
the applicant shall either demonstrate how the proposed project
benefits those public school students in the project area or, if the
proposed project does not provide meaningful benefits to those public
school students, demonstrate how the characteristics are applicable
in determining that the larger community is disadvantaged.
