Bill Text: CA AB2514 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: State Highway System Management Plan: underserved rural communities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2022-09-25 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2514 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB2514-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 17, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2514


Introduced by Assembly Member Megan Dahle

February 17, 2022


An act relating to transportation. An act to amend Sections 2032 and 2033 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2514, as amended, Megan Dahle. Department of Transportation: highway safety. Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account: apportionment of funds: underserved rural communities.
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 State-Local Partnership Program 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 provide for the allocation by the commission under the Local Partnership Program to underserved rural communities, as defined, regardless of whether they 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. The bill would require the commission to update those guidelines for the allocation of moneys for underserved rural communities.

Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation relating to the department’s highway upgrade priorities in order to account for rural communities and roads that may have fewer drivers, but have a large number of accidents.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   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 local or regional transportation agencies that have sought and received voter approval of taxes or that have imposed fees, including uniform developer fees as defined by subdivision (b) of Section 8879.67 of the Government Code, which taxes or fees are dedicated solely to transportation improvements. improvements, and for underserved rural communities. The Controller shall each month set aside one-twelfth of this amount, except in fiscal year 2017–18, 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 not are 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 allocation by the commission for road maintenance and rehabilitation and other transportation improvement projects pursuant to Section 2033.
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “underserved rural community” has the same meaning as a small urban or rural region described in Section 2381.
(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 created pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 2380) of Division 3 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), (b), and (c), 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), (b), (c), and (d), in the 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, and 2021–22 fiscal years, 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), (b), (c), (d), and (e), 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), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), 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 the purpose 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 only be reimbursed when there is funding available in an amount sufficient to make the reimbursement.
(e) On or before July 1, 2023, the commission shall update the guidelines to incorporate the allocation of funds to underserved rural communities pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2032.

SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation relating to the Department of Transportation’s highway upgrade priorities in order to account for rural communities and roads that may have fewer drivers, but have a large number of accidents.

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