Bill Text: CA AB2796 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Active Transportation Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB2796 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2796-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2796 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Bloom and Low
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 2381 Sections
2380, 2381, and 2382 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating
to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2796, as amended, Bloom. Active Transportation Program.
Existing law creates the Active Transportation Program in the
Department of Transportation for the purpose of encouraging increased
use of active modes of transportation, such as biking and walking,
with specified available funds to be awarded to eligible projects by
the California Transportation Commission and regional transportation
agencies. Existing law requires the commission to award 50% and 10%
of available funds to projects statewide and to projects in small
urban and rural regions, respectively, with the remaining 40% of
available funds to be awarded to projects by metropolitan planning
organizations, with the funds available for distribution by each
metropolitan planning organization based on its relative population.
Existing law requires the California
Transportation Commission to adopt the 2015 program of projects no
later than January 31, 2016, with each subsequent program of projects
to be adopted by April 1 of each odd-numbered year, and requires the
commission to adopt guidelines for the program.
This bill would would, for a
program cycle adopted on or after January 1, 2018, require a
minimum of 5% of available funds in each of the 3
distribution categories to be awarded for planning and community
engagement for active transportation in disadvantaged communities and
a minimum of 10% of all available Active Transportation
Program funds to be programmed for planning and
noninfrastructure purposes, except as provided.
provided, and would require at least 50 percent of that amount
to be programmed for planning activities to develop comprehensive
active transportation master plans. The bill would also require the
guidelines adopted by the commission to authorize an implementing
agency to expend its own funds in advance of an allocation of funds
to the project by the commission and to subsequently be reimbursed
for eligible expenditures if the agency, for a project programmed in
a future fiscal year, receives commission approval in the
form of a letter of no prejudice or the agency, for a project
programmed in the current fiscal year, notifies the commission of its
intent to expend its own funds in advance of an allocation, as
prescribed.
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) Achieving the Active Transportation Program's goal of
encouraging increased use of active modes of transportation, such as
biking and walking, requires a comprehensive approach that addresses
nonmotorized infrastructure needs and that employs behavioral change
strategies.
(b) Research supported by the Federal Highway Administration has
shown that a comprehensive approach that includes, at a minimum, what
is commonly referred to as the "5 E's" results in the greatest mode
shift to walking and biking. The 5 E's are:
(1) Engineering: Creating operational and physical improvements to
a roadway that reduce speeds and potential conflicts with motor
vehicle traffic and establish safer and fully accessible crossings,
walkways, trails, and bikeways.
(2) Education: Teaching the public, especially children, about the
broad range of transportation choices and instructing them in
important lifelong bicycling and walking safety skills.
(3) Enforcement: Partnering with local law enforcement to ensure
traffic laws related to the safety of people walking and biking are
obeyed, including laws related to enforcement of speeds, yielding to
pedestrians in crossings, and proper walking and bicycling behaviors,
and initiating community enforcement, such as crossing guard
programs.
(4) Encouragement: Using events and activities to promote walking
and bicycling.
(5) Evaluation: Monitoring and documenting outcomes and trends
through the collection of data, including the collection of data
before and after an intervention.
SEC. 2. Section 2380 of the Streets and
Highways Code is amended to read:
2380. There is hereby established the Active Transportation
Program in the department for the purpose of encouraging increased
use of active modes of transportation, such as biking and
walking. walking, through planning and construction of
walking and biking infrastructure and implementation of
behavioral change strategies. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the program achieve all of the following goals:
(a) Increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and
walking.
(b) Increase safety and mobility for nonmotorized users.
(c) Advance the active transportation efforts of regional agencies
to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals as established pursuant to
Senate Bill 375 (Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008) and Senate Bill 391
(Chapter 585, Statutes of 2009).
(d) Enhance public health, including reduction of childhood
obesity through the use of programs including, but not limited to,
projects eligible for Safe Routes to School Program funding.
(e) Ensure that disadvantaged communities fully share in the
benefits of the program.
(f) Provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of
active transportation users.
SECTION 1. SEC. 3. Section 2381 of
the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:
2381. (a) The Active Transportation Program shall be funded by
state and federal funds from appropriations in the annual Budget Act.
Funds for the program shall be appropriated to the department, for
allocation by the commission. The amount to be appropriated shall
include 100 percent of the federal Transportation Alternative Program
funds, except for any federal Recreational Trails Program funds
appropriated to the Department of Parks and Recreation; twenty-one
million dollars ($21,000,000) of federal Highway Safety Improvement
funds or other federal funds; and State Highway Account funds. Future
funding may be augmented if state or federal funds increase, or if
other funding sources are identified. Funds appropriated for the
Active Transportation Program shall be distributed as follows:
(1) Forty percent to metropolitan planning organizations in urban
areas with populations greater than 200,000, in proportion to their
relative share of population. Funds allocated under this paragraph
shall be obligated for eligible projects selected through a
competitive process by the metropolitan planning organizations in
consultation with the department and the commission and in accordance
with guidelines established pursuant to this chapter.
(2) Ten percent to small urban and rural regions with populations
of 200,000 or less, with projects competitively awarded by the
commission to projects in those regions.
(3) Fifty percent to projects competitively awarded by the
commission on a statewide basis.
(b) (1) For each of the funding distribution categories in
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), a minimum of 5
percent of available funds shall be awarded for planning and
community engagement for active transportation in disadvantaged
communities.
(2)
(b) (1) A minimum of 10 percent
of the total funding available for distribution pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be programmed for planning and
noninfrastructure activities, including activities relating to safe
routes to school. Of this amount, a minimum of 50 percent shall
be programmed for planning activities to develop comprehensive active
transportation master plans, including community engagement
activities related to the development of a master plan.
If a project contains both infrastructure activities
and planning and noninfrastructure activities, only the
portion of funding used for planning and noninfrastructure
activities shall contribute to meeting the minimum percentage
required by this paragraph. Any funding programmed for the
purposes of the Active Transportation Resource Center shall not
contribute to meeting the minimum percentage required by this
paragraph.
(3)
( 2) If applications submitted in any
funding cycle are not sufficient to exceed a minimum percentage
required by paragraph (1) or (2), (1),
the applicable funds that would otherwise be required to be used for
the purpose described in paragraph (1) or (2) may
be expended for other authorized purposes.
(3) This subdivision only applies to a program cycle adopted on or
after January 1, 2018.
(c) For the purpose of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the
following shall apply in the region served by the multicounty
designated transportation planning agency described in Section 130004
of the Public Utilities Code:
(1) The multicounty designated transportation planning agency
shall consult with the county transportation commissions created
pursuant to Sections 130050, 130050.1, and 132800 of the Public
Utilities Code, the commission, and the department in the development
of competitive selection criteria to be adopted by the multicounty
designated transportation planning agency, which should include
consideration of geographic equity, consistent with program
objectives.
(2) The multicounty designated transportation planning agency
shall place priority on projects that are consistent with plans
adopted by local and regional governments within the county where the
project is located.
(3) The multicounty designated transportation planning agency
shall obtain concurrence from the county transportation commissions,
adopt the projects selected in a comprehensive program of projects,
and make funds available to selected project recipients.
(d) The Legislature finds and declares that the program described
in this chapter constitutes a highway purpose under Article XIX of
the California Constitution and justifies the expenditure of highway
funds therefor, and all expenditures of Article XIX funds under this
program shall be consistent with Article XIX.
SEC. 4. Section 2382 of the Streets and
Highways Code is amended to read:
2382. (a) The California Transportation Commission shall develop
guidelines and project selection criteria for the Active
Transportation Program in consultation with the Active Transportation
Program Workgroup, which shall be formed for purposes of providing
guidance on matters including, but not limited to, development of and
subsequent revisions to program guidelines, schedules and
procedures, project selection criteria, performance measures, and
program evaluation. The workgroup shall include, but not be limited
to, representatives of government agencies and active transportation
stakeholder organizations with expertise in pedestrian and bicycle
issues, including Safe Routes to School programs.
(b) The guidelines shall be the complete and full statement of the
policies and criteria that the commission intends to use in
selecting projects to be included in the program. The guidelines
shall address subjects that include, but are not limited to, project
eligibility, application timelines, application rating and ranking
criteria, project monitoring, reporting, and transparency, and
project performance measurement.
(c) The guidelines shall include a process to ensure that no less
than 25 percent of overall program funds benefit disadvantaged
communities during each program cycle. The guidelines shall establish
a program definition for disadvantaged communities that may include,
but need not be limited to, the definition in Section 39711 of the
Health and Safety Code and the definition of low-income schools in
paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of former Section 2333.5, as that
section read on January 1, 2013. A project eligible under this
subdivision shall clearly demonstrate a benefit to a disadvantaged
community or be directly located in a disadvantaged community.
(d) The guidelines shall allow streamlining of project delivery by
authorizing an implementing agency to do both of the following:
(1) Seek commission approval of a letter of no prejudice that will
allow the agency to expend its own funds for a project programmed in
a future year of the adopted program of projects, in advance of
allocation of funds to the project by the commission, and to be
reimbursed at a later time for eligible expenditures.
(2) Notify the commission of its intent to expend its own funds
for a project programmed in the current fiscal year of the adopted
program of projects in advance of an allocation of funds to the
project by the commission upon transmittal of an allocation request
and receipt of the request by the commission, and to be reimbursed
upon approval of the allocation by the commission for eligible
expenditures occurring after the commission's receipt of the request.
(d)
( e) The California Transportation
Commission shall adopt the guidelines and selection criteria for, and
define the types of projects eligible to be funded through, the
program following at least two public hearings. Projects funded in
this program shall be limited to active transportation projects. The
guidelines shall ensure that eligible projects meet one or more of
the goals set forth in Section 2380 and may give increased weight to
projects meeting multiple goals.
(e)
( f) In developing the guidelines with
regard to project eligibility, the commission shall include, but need
not be limited to, the following project types:
(1) Development of new bikeways and walkways, or improvements to
existing bikeways and walkways, that improve mobility, access, or
safety for nonmotorized users.
(2) Secure bicycle parking at employment centers, park and ride
lots, rail and transit stations, and ferry docks and landings.
(3) Bicycle-carrying facilities on public transit, including rail
and ferries.
(4) Installation of traffic control devices to improve the safety
of pedestrians and bicyclists.
(5) Elimination of hazardous conditions on existing bikeways and
walkways.
(6) Maintenance of bikeways and walkways.
(7) Recreational trails and trailheads, park projects that
facilitate trail linkages or connectivity to nonmotorized corridors,
and conversion of abandoned railroad corridors to trails.
(8) Safe Routes to School projects that improve the safety of
children walking and bicycling to school, in accordance with
Section 1404 of Public Law 109-59. including
noninfrastructure-related activities to encourage walking and
bicycling to school. These noninfrastructure activities may include,
but are not limited to, public awareness campaigns and outreach to
press and community leaders, traffic education and enforcement in the
vicinity of schools, student sessions on bicycle and pedestrian
safety, heal th, and environment, and funding for
training, volunteers, and managers of safe routes to
school programs.
(9) Safe routes to transit projects, which will encourage transit
by improving biking and walking routes to mass transportation
facilities and schoolbus stops.
(10) Educational programs to increase biking and walking, and
other noninfrastructure investments that demonstrate effectiveness in
increasing active transportation.
(10) Noninfrastructure-related activities to encourage walking and
bicycling, including, but not limited to, public awareness campaigns
and outreach to press and community leaders, traffic education and
enforcement, sessions on bicycle and pedestrian safety, health, and
environment, and funding for training, volunteers, and managers of
walking and bicycling encouragement and safety programs.
(f)
( g) In developing the guidelines with
regard to project selection, the commission shall include, but need
not be limited to, the following criteria:
(1) Demonstrated needs of the applicant.
(2) Potential for reducing pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and
fatalities.
(3) Potential for encouraging increased walking and bicycling,
especially among students.
(4) Identification of safety hazards for pedestrians and
bicyclists.
(5) Identification of walking and bicycling routes to and from
schools, transit facilities, and community centers.
(6) Identification of the local public participation process that
culminated in the project proposal, which may include noticed public
meetings and consultation with local stakeholders.
(7) Benefit to disadvantaged communities. In developing guidelines
relative to this paragraph, the commission shall consider, but need
not be limited to, the definition of disadvantaged communities as
applied pursuant to subdivision (c).
(8) Cost-effectiveness, defined as maximizing the impact of the
funds provided.
(9) The adoption by a city or county applicant of a bicycle
transportation plan, pursuant to Section 891.2, a pedestrian plan, a
safe routes to school plan, or an overall active transportation plan.
(10) Use of California Conservation Corps or qualified community
conservation corps, as defined in Section 14507.5 of the Public
Resources Code, as partners to undertake or construct applicable
projects in accordance with Section 1524 of Public Law 112-141.
(11) Other factors, such as potential for reducing congestion,
improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and
increasing and improving connectivity and mobility of nonmotorized
users.
(g)
( h) For the use of federal Transportation
Alternative Program funds, or other federal funds, commission
guidelines shall meet all applicable federal requirements.
(h)
( i) For the use of federal Highway Safety
Improvement Program funds for active transportation projects specific
to reducing fatalities and serious injuries, the criteria for the
selection of projects shall be based on a data-driven process that is
aligned with the state's Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
(i)
( j) The guidelines may include incentives
intended to maximize the potential for attracting funds other than
program funds for eligible projects.
(j)
( k) In reviewing and selecting projects
funded by federal funds in the Recreational Trails Program, the
commission shall collaborate with the Department of Parks and
Recreation to evaluate proposed projects, and to ensure federal
requirements are met.
(k)
( l) To ensure that regional agencies charged
with allocating funds to projects pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 2381 have sufficient discretion to develop
regional guidelines, the commission may adopt separate guidelines
for the state and for the regional agencies relative to subdivision
(f). (g).
