Bill Text: CA SB824 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 479, Statutes of 2016. [SB824 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB824-Enrolled.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 824	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 25, 2016
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 23, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 15, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 21, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 31, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 11, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 15, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Beall

                        JANUARY 7, 2016

   An act to amend Section 75230 of, and to add Section 75231 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to transportation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 824, Beall. Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.
   Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties,
collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale
of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative
to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be deposited in the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
   Existing law continuously appropriates specified portions of the
annual proceeds in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to various
programs, including 5% for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program,
for expenditures to provide transit operating or capital assistance
consistent with specified criteria. Existing law provides for
distribution of available funds under the program by a specified
formula to recipient transit agencies by the Controller, upon
approval of the recipient transit agency's proposed expenditures by
the Department of Transportation.
   This bill would require a recipient transit agency to demonstrate
that each expenditure of program moneys allocated to the agency does
not supplant another source of funds. The bill would authorize a
recipient transit agency that does not submit an expenditure for
funding under the program in a particular fiscal year to retain its
funding share for expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year for a
maximum of 4 years. The bill would allow a recipient transit agency
to loan or transfer its funding share in any particular fiscal year
to another recipient transit agency within the same region, or to
apply to the department to reassign, to other eligible expenditures
under the program, any savings of surplus moneys from an approved and
completed expenditure under the program or from an approved
expenditure that is no longer a priority, as specified. The bill
would also allow a recipient transit agency to apply to the
department for a letter of no prejudice for any eligible expenditures
under the program for which the department has authorized a
disbursement of funds, and, if granted, would allow the recipient
transit agency to expend its own moneys and to be eligible for future
reimbursement from the program, under specified conditions. The bill
would also require a recipient transit agency to provide additional
information to the department to the extent funding is sought for
capital projects.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 75230 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
   75230.  (a) The Low Carbon Transit Operations Program is hereby
created to provide operating and capital assistance for transit
agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve mobility,
with a priority on serving disadvantaged communities.
   (b) Funding for the program is continuously appropriated pursuant
to Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code from the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund established pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the
Government Code.
   (c) Funding shall be allocated by the Controller on a formula
basis consistent with the requirements of this part and with Section
39719 of the Health and Safety Code, upon a determination by the
Department of Transportation that the expenditures proposed by a
recipient transit agency meet the requirements of this part and
guidelines developed pursuant to this section, and that the amount of
funding requested is currently available.
   (d) A recipient transit agency shall demonstrate that each
expenditure of program moneys allocated to the agency reduces
greenhouse gas emissions.
   (e) A recipient transit agency shall demonstrate that each
expenditure of program moneys does not supplant another source of
funds.
   (f) Moneys for the program shall be expended to provide transit
operating or capital assistance that meets any of the following:
   (1) Expenditures that directly enhance or expand transit service
by supporting new or expanded bus or rail services, new or expanded
water-borne transit, or expanded intermodal transit facilities, and
may include equipment acquisition, fueling, and maintenance, and
other costs to operate those services or facilities.
   (2) Operational expenditures that increase transit mode share.
   (3) Expenditures related to the purchase of zero-emission buses,
including electric buses, and the installation of the necessary
equipment and infrastructure to operate and support these
zero-emission buses.
    (g) For recipient transit agencies whose service areas include
disadvantaged communities, as identified pursuant to Section 39711 of
the Health and Safety Code, at least 50 percent of the total moneys
received pursuant to this chapter shall be expended on projects or
services that meet the requirements of subdivisions (d), (e), and (f)
and benefit the disadvantaged communities, as identified consistent
with the guidance developed by the State Air Resources Board pursuant
to Section 39715.
   (h) The Department of Transportation, in coordination with the
State Air Resources Board, shall develop guidelines that describe the
methodologies that recipient transit agencies shall use to
demonstrate that proposed expenditures will meet the criteria in
subdivisions (d), (e), (f), and (g) and establish the reporting
requirements for documenting ongoing compliance with those criteria.
   (i) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the
development of guidelines for the program pursuant to this section.
   (j) A recipient transit agency shall submit the following
information to the Department of Transportation before seeking a
disbursement of funds pursuant to this part:
   (1) A list of proposed expense types for anticipated funding
levels.
   (2) The documentation required by the guidelines developed
pursuant to this section to demonstrate compliance with subdivisions
(d), (e), (f), and (g).
   (k) For capital projects, the recipient transit agency shall also
do all of the following:
   (1) Specify the phases of work for which the agency is seeking an
allocation of moneys from the program.
   (2) Identify the sources and timing of all moneys required to
undertake and complete any phase of a project for which the recipient
agency is seeking an allocation of moneys from the program.
   (3) Describe intended sources and timing of funding to complete
any subsequent phases of the project, through construction or
procurement.
   (l) A recipient transit agency that has used program moneys for
any type of operational assistance allowed by subdivision (f) in a
previous fiscal year may use program moneys to continue the same
service or program in any subsequent fiscal year if the agency can
demonstrate that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be
realized.
   (m) Before authorizing the disbursement of funds, the Department
of Transportation, in coordination with the State Air Resources
Board, shall determine the eligibility, in whole or in part, of the
proposed list of expense types, based on the documentation provided
by the recipient transit agency to ensure ongoing compliance with the
guidelines developed pursuant to this section.
   (n) The Department of Transportation shall notify the Controller
of approved expenditures for each recipient transit agency, and the
amount of the allocation for each agency determined to be available
at that time of approval.
   (o) A recipient transit agency that does not submit an expenditure
for funding in a particular fiscal year may retain its funding
share, and may accumulate and utilize that funding share in a
subsequent fiscal year for a larger expenditure, including operating
assistance. The recipient transit agency must first specify the
number of fiscal years that it intends to retain its funding share
and the expenditure for which the agency intends to use these moneys.
A recipient transit agency may only retain its funding share for a
maximum of four years.
   (p) A recipient transit agency may, in any particular fiscal year,
loan or transfer its funding share to another recipient transit
agency within the same region for any identified eligible expenditure
under the program, including operating assistance, in accordance
with procedures incorporated by the Department of Transportation in
the guidelines developed pursuant to this section, which procedures
shall be consistent with the requirement in subdivision (g).
   (q) A recipient transit agency may apply to the Department of
Transportation to reassign any savings of surplus moneys allocated
under this section to the agency for an expenditure that has been
completed to another eligible expenditure under the program,
including operating assistance. A recipient transit agency may also
apply to the Department of Transportation to reassign to another
eligible expenditure any moneys from the program previously allocated
to the agency for an expenditure that the agency has determined is
no longer a priority for the use of those moneys.
   (r) The recipient transit agency shall provide annual reports to
the Department of Transportation, in the format and manner prescribed
by the department, consistent with the internal administrative
procedures for the use of the fund proceeds developed by the State
Air Resources Board.
   (s) The Department of Transportation and recipient transit
agencies shall comply with the guidelines developed by the State Air
Resources Board pursuant to Section 39715 of the Health and Safety
Code to ensure that the requirements of Section 39713 of the Health
and Safety Code are met to maximize the benefits to disadvantaged
communities as described in Section 39711 of the Health and Safety
Code.
   (t) A recipient transit agency shall comply with all applicable
legal requirements, including the requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000)), and civil rights and environmental justice obligations under
state and federal law. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
expand or extend the applicability of those laws to recipient
transit agencies.
   (u) The audit of public transportation operator finances already
required under the Transportation Development Act pursuant to Section
99245 of the Public Utilities Code shall be expanded to include
verification of receipt and appropriate expenditure of moneys from
the program. Each recipient transit agency receiving moneys from the
program in a fiscal year for which an audit is conducted shall
transmit a copy of the audit to the Department of Transportation, and
the department shall make the audits available to the Legislature
and the Controller for review on request.
  SEC. 2.  Section 75231 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   75231.  (a) A recipient transit agency under the program created
pursuant to Section 75230 may apply to the Department of
Transportation for a letter of no prejudice for any eligible
expenditures under the program, including operating assistance, for
which the department has authorized a disbursement of funds. If
approved by the department, the letter of no prejudice shall allow
the recipient transit agency to expend its own moneys for the
expenditures and to be eligible for future reimbursement from moneys
available for the program.
   (b) The amount expended under subdivision (a) shall be reimbursed
by the state from moneys available for the program if all of the
following conditions are met:
   (1) The expenditures for which the letter of no prejudice was
requested have commenced, and any regional or local expenditures, if
applicable, have been incurred.
   (2) The expenditures made by the recipient transit agency are
eligible under the program. If expenditures made by the recipient
transit agency are determined to be ineligible, the state has no
obligation to reimburse those expenditures.
   (3) The recipient transit agency complies with all applicable
legal requirements for the expenditures, including the requirements
of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing
with Section 21000)), and civil rights and environmental justice
obligations under state and federal law. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to expand or extend the applicability of those
laws to recipient transit agencies.
   (4) There are moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
designated for the program and from the recipient transit agency's
formula allocation share as determined pursuant to subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 39719 of the Health
and Safety Code that are sufficient to make the reimbursement
payment.
   (c) The recipient transit agency and the Department of
Transportation shall enter into an agreement governing reimbursement
as described in this section. The timing and final amount of
reimbursement shall be dependent on the terms of the agreement and
the availability of moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for
the program.
   (d) The Department of Transportation, in consultation with
recipient public transit agencies, may develop guidelines to
implement this section.