Bill Text: CA SB415 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

---

Bill Title: Transportation funds: county apportionments: county maintained roads.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB415 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB415-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Senate  April 05, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 415

---

Introduced by Senator Melendez

February 12, 2021

---

An act to amend Section 2106 2121 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation finance.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 415, as amended, Melendez. Transportation finance: motor vehicle fuel tax. funds: county apportionments: county maintained roads.

Existing law provides for a portion of gasoline and diesel excise tax revenues in the Highway Users Tax Account to be distributed by formula by the Controller to cities based on their population and to counties based on their number of registered vehicles and maintained miles of county roads. Existing law requires various funds, including a portion of gasoline and diesel excise tax revenues and revenues from certain vehicle fees, to be deposited in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. Existing law, after certain allocations from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account are made, requires 50% of the remaining funds in the account to be annually apportioned to cities and counties by the Controller pursuant to a specified formula, which, for counties, includes the number of registered vehicles and maintained miles of county roads. Existing law requires the funds distributed to local governments from these accounts to be used for certain transportation purposes. Existing law requires each county to annually submit to the Department of Transportation any additions or exclusions from its mileage of maintained county highways. Existing law requires the department to certify county mileage figures to the Controller.

Existing law, the Community Services District Law, authorizes the formation of community services districts for various specified purposes including acquiring, constructing, improving, and maintaining streets, roads, and any incidental works. Existing law grants a district that acquires, constructs, improves, and maintains streets, roads, and any incidental works the powers, duties, and authority of a county for those works.

This bill would require a county that forms a community services district to maintain public roads within the district to report the mileage of the roads maintained by the district to the Department of Transportation as maintained county highways. The bill would require the Controller to deem those roads reported by a county, and certified by the department, to be maintained county roads for purposes of apportioning funds from the Highway Users Tax Account and the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account.

The Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law imposes a tax upon each gallon of motor vehicle fuel removed from a refinery or terminal rack in this state, entered into this state, or sold in this state, at a specified rate per gallon. Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from the motor vehicle fuel tax and other taxes imposed by the state on fuels used in motor vehicles upon public streets and highways to street and highway and certain mass transit purposes. Existing law requires a portion of the net revenues from that tax on motor vehicle fuel to be apportioned monthly among counties and cities pursuant to a specified formula, which includes a requirement that the base sum be computed using a specified metric.

This bill would require the base sum to be calculated, rather than computed, using that metric and that the calculation of the apportionment be disclosed and made available to the public.

Digest Key

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

---

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 2121 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:

2121.

 (a) In May of each year each county shall submit to the department any additions or exclusions from its mileage of maintained county highways, specifying the termini and mileage of each route added or excluded from its county maintained roads. The department shall either approve or disapprove each inclusion or exclusion. A county may appeal any disapproval as provided in Section 74. The department shall certify county mileage figures to the Controller, as required. No An appeal shall not affect any apportionment made by the Controller pending the determination of the appeal. If, on appeal, additional mileage is allowed the county, the department shall immediately certify the corrected figure to the Controller, and the same shall be used for subsequent apportionments.

(b) Upon relinquishing any state highway or portion thereof to a county, the department shall immediately certify to the Controller the mileage so relinquished and the same shall immediately be added to the county’s maintained mileage of county roads for purposes of subsequent apportionments.

(c) If a county forms a community services district pursuant to Division 3 (commencing with Section 61000) of Title 6 of the Government Code to maintain public roads within the district, the county shall report the mileage of the roads maintained by the community services district to the department as maintained county highways pursuant to subdivision (a). The Controller shall deem the roads reported to the department pursuant to this subdivision and certified by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) to be maintained county roads for purposes of apportioning funds from the Highway Users Tax Account and the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account.

SECTION 1.Section 2106 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:

2106.

Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, a sum equal to the net revenue derived from 5.8 percent of the per gallon tax under the Motor Vehicle Fuel License Tax Law (Part 2 (commencing with Section 7301) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code) shall be apportioned monthly from the Highway Users Tax Account in the Transportation Tax Fund among the counties and cities as follows:

(a)Four hundred dollars ($400) per month shall be apportioned to each city and city and county and eight hundred dollars ($800) per month shall be apportioned to each county and city and county.

(b)On the last day of each month, the sum of six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) shall be transferred to the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund for the Active Transportation Program pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 2380).

(c)The balance shall be apportioned, as follows:

(1)A base sum shall be calculated for each county by using the same proportions of fee-paid and exempt vehicles as are established for purposes of apportionment of funds under subdivision (d) of Section 2104.

(2)For each county, the percentage of the total assessed valuation of tangible property subject to local tax levies within the county that is represented by the assessed valuation of tangible property outside the incorporated cities of the county shall be applied to its base sum, and the resulting amount shall be apportioned to the county. The assessed valuation of taxable tangible property, for purposes of this calculation, shall be that most recently used for countywide tax levies as reported to the Controller by the State Board of Equalization. If an incorporation or annexation is legally completed following the calculation of the base sum, the new city’s assessed valuation shall be deducted from the county’s assessed valuation, the estimate of which may be provided by the State Board of Equalization.

(3)The difference between the base sum for each county and the amount apportioned to the county shall be apportioned to the cities of that county in the proportion that the population of each city bears to the total population of all the cities in the county. Populations used for determining apportionment of money under Section 2107 are to be used for purposes of this section.

(4)The calculation of the apportionment shall be disclosed and made available to the public.

(d)(1)Transfers of revenues from the Highway Users Tax Account to counties or cities pursuant to this section collected during the months of March, April, May, June, and July of 2008, shall be made with the transfer of August 2008 revenues in September of 2008. This suspension shall not apply to a county with a population of less than 40,000.

(2)For the purpose of meeting the cash obligations associated with ongoing budgeted costs, a city or county may make use of any cash balance in the city account that is designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for local streets and roads or the county road fund, including that resulting from the receipt of funds pursuant to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code (hereafter bond act)) for local streets and roads maintenance, during the period of this suspension, without the use of this cash being reflected as an expenditure of bond act funds, provided the cash is replaced once this suspension is repaid in September of 2008. Counties and cities may accrue the revenue received in September 2008 as repayment of these suspensions for the months of April, May, and June of 2008 back to the 2007–08 fiscal year. Nothing in this paragraph shall change the fact that expenditures must be accrued and reflected from the appropriate funding sources for which the moneys were received and meet all the requirements of those funding sources.

(e)(1)The transfer of revenues from the Highway Users Tax Account to counties or cities pursuant to this section collected during the months of January, February, and March 2009, shall be made with the transfer of April 2009 revenues in May 2009.

(2)For the purpose of meeting the cash obligations associated with ongoing budgeted costs, a city or county may make use of any cash balance in the city account that is designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for local streets and roads or the county road fund, including that resulting from the receipt of funds pursuant to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code (bond act)) for local streets and roads maintenance, during the period of this suspension, and the use of this cash shall not be considered as an expenditure of bond act funds, if the cash is replaced when the payments that are suspended pursuant to this subdivision are repaid in May 2009.

(3)This subdivision shall not affect any requirement that an expenditure is required to be accrued and reflected from the appropriate funding source for which the money was received and to meet all the requirements of its funding source.