Bill Text: CA SB1225 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Intercity rail agreements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2012-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 802, Statutes of 2012. [SB1225 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB1225-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1225	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 27, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 29, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 1, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 9, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla
    (   Coauthor:   Senator   Correa
  ) 
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Galgiani   and Williams   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 14031.8, 14070.2, 14070.4, and 14070.6
of, and to repeal and add Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14072)
of Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, the Government
Code, relating to transportation.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1225, as amended, Padilla. Intercity rail agreements.
   Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to
contract with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail services and
provides funding for these services from the Public Transportation
Account. Existing law, until December 31, 1996, authorized the
department, subject to approval of the Secretary of the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency, to enter into an interagency
transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes
responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail
service in a particular corridor. Existing law, with respect to a
transferred corridor, requires the board to demonstrate the ability
to meet performance standards established by the secretary.
   This bill would authorize the department, with the approval of the
secretary, to enter into an additional interagency transfer
agreement with respect to the LOSSAN Corridor, defined to mean the
intercity passenger rail corridor between San Diego, Los Angeles, and
San Luis Obispo, if the LOSSAN Agency, an existing joint powers
agency, is reconstituted through an amended joint powers agreement
approved by the governing boards of its members to enable that agency
to enter into an interagency transfer agreement with the secretary
relative to the LOSSAN Corridor.
   This bill would require an interagency transfer agreement for the
LOSSAN Corridor to cover the initial  5-year  
3-year  period after the transfer. The bill would require a
transfer agreement  , as provided above,  to be entered into
by June 30, 2014  , subject to negotiation and approval by the
state and the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency  .
   Existing law requires the level of service to be funded by the
state pursuant to a transfer agreement to not be less than the
current number of intercity round trips operated in a corridor and
serving the same endpoints.
   This bill would delete this provision and would require  the
service funded by the state to be at an appropriate level as
determined in the interagency transfer agreement, and would require
 the level of funding provided by the state pursuant to a
transfer agreement for the LOSSAN Corridor to not be less than the
funding level provided in the 2012-13 fiscal year operating contract
between the department and Amtrak.
   Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the
secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer
agreement based on the annual business plan for the intercity rail
corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law
states that the interagency transfer agreement may provide that any
additional funds required to operate the passenger rail service
during a fiscal year shall be provided by the joint powers board from
jurisdictions that receive service.
   This bill would delete the provision requiring additional funds to
be provided by the board, and would instead provide that those funds
may be provided by the board. The bill, with respect to the LOSSAN
Corridor, would provide that local resources shall not be available
to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or
reclassification  by the state  of state resources for
operating intercity rail services. In addition, with regard to that
corridor, the bill would require the passenger rail equipment used
for intercity passenger rail services to be the same type of
equipment used on other state-funded intercity passenger rail
services. The bill would prohibit termination of feeder bus services
connecting the LOSSAN and San Joaquin Corridors except for specified
reasons.
   This bill would authorize the secretary to adopt new performance
standards by December 31, 2014, for intercity rail services.
   This bill would repeal now-obsolete provisions authorizing the
Southern California Regional Rail Authority to be a party to an
interagency transfer agreement for intercity rail services in
specified counties.
   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.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Intercity Passenger Rail Act of 2012.
  SEC. 2.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) An intercity passenger rail system, linking major urban
centers and complemented by feeder bus services that provide access
to outlying areas and destinations, is an important element of the
state's transportation system, and shall remain a state-funded
program.
   (2) The state has a continuing interest in the provision of
cost-effective intercity passenger rail services and has a
responsibility to coordinate intercity passenger rail services
statewide.  Some state function needs to be sustained even if the
responsibility for the current operations on intercity rail
passenger routes is transferred. 
   (3) Since 1976, the state has invested over one billion eight
hundred million dollars ($1,800,000,000) in capital improvements and
operating support for intercity passenger rail service and must
ensure the protection of that investment.
   (b) The Legislature, through the enactment of this act, intends
all of the following:
   (1) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing to be
responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and budgeting of
the intercity passenger rail service consistent with this act.
   (2) If the secretary determines that transferring responsibility
for intercity passenger rail service in a particular corridor or
corridors to a statutorily created joint powers agency would result
in administrative or operating cost reductions, the secretary may
authorize the Department of Transportation to enter into an
interagency transfer agreement to effect a transfer of those
administrative functions, consistent with this act.
   (3) Any intercity passenger rail corridor for which administrative
responsibility has been transferred to a joint powers board through
an interagency transfer agreement to remain a component of the
statewide system of intercity passenger rail corridors.
   (4) The public interest requires expansion of the state intercity
passenger rail program in order to keep pace with the needs of an
expanding population. 
   (5) It is desirable that the level of state funding for intercity
passenger rail service in each corridor be maintained at a level
equal to at least the current level of service in the corridor for
not less than a five-year period, thus providing fiscal stability
that will allow appropriate planning and operation of these services.
 
   (5) For not less than a three-year period, the level of state
funding for intercity rail service in each corridor should be
maintained at a level equal to at least the current level of service
in the corridor, thus providing fiscal stability that will allow
appropriate planning and operation of these services. 
   (6) It is in the public interest to ensure fiscal accountability
that the intercity passenger rail service operating in the LOSSAN
Corridor maintain a ratio of fare revenue to operating cost of no
less than 58 percent.
   (7) It is in the public interest that the LOSSAN Corridor Joint
Powers Agency retain an individual to manage the contract with the
state who has previous experience operating or managing intercity or
commuter passenger rail services.
  SEC. 3.  Section 14031.8 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   14031.8.  (a) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and
Housing shall establish, through an annual budget process, the level
of state funding available for the operation of intercity passenger
rail service in each corridor.
   (b) Where applicable, operating funds shall be allocated by the
secretary to the joint powers board in accordance with an interagency
transfer agreement that includes mutually agreed-upon rail services.
Funds for the administration and marketing of services, as
appropriate, shall also be transferred by the secretary to the joint
powers board, subject to the terms of the interagency transfer
agreement.
   (c) The joint powers board or local or regional entities may, but
shall not be required to, augment state-provided resources to expand
intercity passenger rail services using local resources, or to
address funding shortfalls in achieving agreed-upon performance
standards.
   (d) The department may provide any support services as may be
mutually agreed upon by the board and the department.
   (e) Operating costs shall be controlled by dealing with, at a
minimum, the Amtrak cost allocation formula and the ability to
contract out to Amtrak or other rail operators as a part of federal
legislation dealing with Amtrak reauthorization.
   (f) Not later than December 31, 1997, the secretary shall
establish a set of uniform performance standards for all corridors
and operators to control cost and improve efficiency. To the extent
necessary, as determined by the secretary, performance standards may
be modified not later than December 31, 2014, relative to including
the San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Corridor among the
corridors subject to an interagency transfer agreement.
   (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, with
regard to the LOSSAN Corridor, local resources described in
subdivision (c) shall not be available for expenditure to offset any
redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification  by the
state  of state resources for operating intercity passenger rail
services as identified in subdivision (b).
  SEC. 4.  Section 14070.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   14070.2.  (a) If authorized by the secretary, the department may,
through an interagency transfer agreement, transfer to a joint powers
board, and the board may assume, all responsibility for
administering state-funded intercity passenger rail service in the
corridor. Upon the date specified in the agreement, the board shall
succeed to the department's powers and duties relative to that
service, except that the department shall retain responsibility for
developing budget requests for the service through the state budget
process, which shall be developed in consultation with the board, and
for coordinating service in the corridor with other intercity
passenger rail services in the state.
   (b) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2), the
interagency transfer agreement shall be executed on or before
December 31, 1996.
   (2) With respect to the LOSSAN Corridor, an interagency transfer
agreement  for that corridor shall be entered  
pursuant to subdivision (a) for that corridor shall be entered 
into on or before June 30, 2014  , subject to negotiation and
approval by the state and the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency
 .
   (c) The secretary shall require the board to demonstrate the
ability to meet the performance standards established by the
secretary pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 14031.8.
  SEC. 5.  Section 14070.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   14070.4.  (a) An interagency transfer agreement between the
department and a joint powers board, when approved by the secretary,
shall do all of the following:
   (1) Specify the date and conditions for the transfer of
responsibilities and identify the annual level of funding and ensure
that the level of funding is consistent with and sufficient for the
planned service improvements within the corridor. For purposes of the
LOSSAN Corridor, the interagency transfer agreement shall cover the
initial  five-year   three-year  period
after the transfer, but may be extended thereafter by mutual
agreement.
   (2) Identify, for the initial year and subsequent years, the funds
to be transferred to the board including state operating subsidies
made available for intercity rail services in the corridor, and funds
currently used by the department for administration and marketing of
the corridor, with the amounts adjusted annually for inflation and
in accordance with the business plan.
   (3) Specify the level of service to be provided, the respective
responsibilities of the board and the department, the methods that
the department will use to ensure the coordination of services with
other rail passenger services in the state, and the methods that the
department will use for the annual review of the business plan and
annual proposals on funding and appropriations.
   (4) Describe the terms for transferring to the joint exercise of
powers agency car and locomotive train sets, and other equipment and
property owned by the department and required for the intercity
passenger rail service in the corridor, including, but not limited
to, the number of units to be provided, liability coverage,
maintenance and warranty responsibilities, and indemnification
issues.
   (5) Describe auditing responsibilities and process requirements,
reimbursement and billing procedures, the responsibility for funding
shortfalls, if any, during the course of each fiscal year, an
operating contract oversight review process, performance standards
and reporting procedures, the level of rail infrastructure
maintenance, and other relevant monitoring procedures. The
description shall contain an evaluation of the impact of any transfer
of equipment on other intercity corridors. The agreement shall
endeavor to minimize the impact and maximize the efficient use of the
equipment, including continued joint use of equipment that is
currently shared by one or more corridors.
   (b) Use of the annual state funding allocation, as set forth in
the interagency transfer agreement, shall be described in an annual
business plan submitted by the board to the secretary for review and
recommendation by April 1 of each year. The business plan, when
approved by the secretary, shall be deemed accepted by the state. The
budget proposal developed by the department for the subsequent year
shall be based upon the business plan approved by the secretary. The
business plan shall be consistent with the interagency transfer
agreement and shall include a report on the recent as well as
historical performance of the corridor service, an overall operating
plan including proposed service enhancement to increase ridership and
provide for increased traveler demands in the corridor for the
upcoming year, short-term and long-term capital improvement programs,
funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, and an action
plan with specific performance goals and objectives. The business
plan shall document service improvements to provide the planned level
of service, inclusion of operating plans to serve peak period work
trips, and consideration of other service expansions and
enhancements. With respect to the LOSSAN Corridor, the initial
business plan shall be consistent with the immediately previous State
Rail Plan developed by the department pursuant to Section 14036. The
business plan shall clearly delineate how funding and accounting for
state-sponsored intercity passenger rail services shall be separate
from locally sponsored services in the corridor. Proposals to expand
or modify intercity passenger rail services shall be accompanied by
the identification of all associated costs and ridership projections.
The business plan shall establish, among other things: fares,
operating strategies, capital improvements needed, and marketing and
operational strategies designed to meet performance standards
established in the interagency transfer agreement.
   (c) Based on the annual business plan and the subsequent
appropriation by the Legislature, the secretary shall allocate state
funds on an annual basis to the board. As provided in the interagency
transfer agreement, any additional funds that are needed to operate
the passenger rail service during a fiscal year may be provided by
the board from jurisdictions that receive service. In addition, the
board may use any cost savings or farebox revenues to provide service
improvements related to intercity service. In any event, the board
shall report the fiscal results of the previous year's operations as
part of the annual business plan.
   (d) The level of  service funded by the state shall be at an
appropriate level as determined in the inter   agency
transfer agreement, and the funding provided by the state for
the LOSSAN Corridor shall in no case be less than the funding level
provided in the 2012-13 fiscal year operating contract between the
department and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
for the LOSSAN Corridor. Subject to Section 14035.2, the level of
funding provided by the state shall also include funding at the same
level provided as of January 1, 2013, for feeder bus service that is
operated in conjunction with the trains. However, the interagency
transfer agreement shall not prohibit the joint powers board from
reducing the number of feeder bus route miles if the joint powers
board determines that a feeder bus route is not cost effective as
provided in Section 14035.2.
   (e) Feeder bus services that provide connections for intercity
rail passengers from the LOSSAN Corridor to the state-supported San
Joaquin passenger rail service shall not be terminated unless the bus
services fail to meet the cost-effectiveness standard described in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14035.2.
   (f) Nothing in this article shall be construed to preclude
expansion of state-approved intercity rail service.
   (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, with
regard to the LOSSAN Corridor, local resources described in
subdivision (c) shall not be available for expenditure to offset any
redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification  by the
state  of state resources for operating intercity passenger rail
services.
   (h) The passenger rail equipment regularly used for intercity
passenger rail service on the LOSSAN Corridor shall be the same type
of equipment regularly used on other intercity corridors funded by
the state. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that there is
a statewide pool of common intercity passenger rail equipment for
purposes of interoperability among the state-funded corridors and for
vehicle fleet management.
  SEC. 6.  Section 14070.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   14070.6.  The department and any entity that assumes
administrative responsibility for intercity passenger rail services
through an interagency transfer agreement, may, through a competitive
solicitation process, contract with the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) or with organizations authorized by state or
federal law to provide intercity passenger rail services, and may
contract with rail corporations and other rail operators for the use
of tracks and other facilities and for the provision of intercity
passenger rail services on terms and conditions as the parties may
agree. The department is deemed to be a third-party beneficiary of
the contract, and the contract shall not contain any provision or
condition that would negatively impact on or conflict with any other
contracts the department has regarding intercity passenger rail
services. Any entity that succeeds the department as sponsor of
state-supported intercity passenger rail services through an
interagency transfer agreement, is deemed an agency of the state for
all purposes related to intercity passenger rail services, including
Section 5311 of Title 49 of the United States Code.
  SEC. 7.  Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14072) of Chapter 1
of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code is
repealed.
  SEC. 8.  Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14072) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
to read:

      Article 5.2.  LOSSAN Corridor


   14072.  (a) The LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, also known as the
LOSSAN Agency, is an existing joint powers authority established to
provide an organization capable of implementing the recommendations
contained in the State Rail Corridor Study Group's June 1987 report
entitled "Los Angeles-San Diego State Rail Corridor Study" and
undertaking related efforts to improve intercity services and
facilities in the corridor and to coordinate subcorridor commuter
rail services with intercity services. The LOSSAN Agency is composed
of voting members, as specified in the joint powers agreement.
   (b) "LOSSAN Corridor" or "LOSSAN Rail Corridor" means the San
Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo intercity passenger rail corridor.
   14072.2.  This article shall be applicable only if the members of
the LOSSAN Agency enter into an amended joint powers agreement to
expand the authority of the agency to permit the administration of
state-funded intercity passenger rail services on the LOSSAN
Corridor, and the LOSSAN Agency thereafter elects to become a party
to an interagency transfer agreement pursuant to Article 5
(commencing with Section 14070). The amended joint powers agreement
shall establish the terms and conditions for the joint powers agency
and is subject to the approval of the governing board of each member
agency of the LOSSAN Agency. Only the LOSSAN Agency operating under
the amended joint powers agreement, and not the LOSSAN Agency
existing on January 1, 2013, may exercise jurisdiction over intercity
rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor under an interagency transfer
agreement.
               
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