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AB-405 Transportation funding: Amtrak: bus feeder service: exemptions.(2001-2002)

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Assembly Bill No. 405
CHAPTER 245

An act to add and repeal Section 14035.58 of the Government Code, relating to transportation.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 05, 2001. Approved by Governor  September 05, 2001. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 405, Salinas. Transportation funding: Amtrak: bus feeder service: exemptions.
Existing law prohibits the Department of Transportation from providing funding to Amtrak for the purpose of entering into a contract with a motor carrier of passengers for the intercity transportation of passengers by motor carrier over regular routes unless prescribed conditions are met, including a requirement that service be provided only for passengers on trips where the passengers have had prior movement by rail or will have subsequent movement by rail, evidenced by a combination rail and bus one-way or roundtrip ticket. Existing law exempts from the requirement, until a specified date, service provided for disabled passengers who rely substantially on the use of wheelchairs and travel by motor carrier over any regular route that operates on a particular portion of State Highway Route 17.
This bill would expand the exemption to apply to service provided for disabled passengers who rely substantially on the use of wheelchairs and travel by motor carrier over any regular route that operates on the portion of the Capitol Corridor route between San Jose and Monterey County, including specific rail service between San Jose and Salinas and specific rail service between San Jose and California State University, Monterey Bay.
The bill would require the department to encourage certain transportation entities to develop and execute a memorandum of understanding that addresses long-term solutions to the transportation needs of passengers traveling by bus on the specified route.
The bill would provide that its provisions shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2004, or until all motor carriers of passengers that operate regular service on the specified route operate only vehicles that are fully accessible to disabled passengers who rely substantially on the use of wheelchairs on that route, whichever occurs first.

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 14035.58 is added to the Government Code, to read:

14035.58.
 (a) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 14035.55 does not apply to service provided for disabled passengers who rely substantially on the use of wheelchairs and travel by motor carrier over any regular route that operates on the portion of the Capitol Corridor routes between San Jose and Monterey County including specific rail service between San Jose to Salinas and specific rail service between San Jose to California State University Monterey Bay.
(b) The Department of Transportation shall encourage the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Amtrak, Monterey-Salinas Transit, and any private motor carrier of passengers that operates regular service on the route described in subdivision (a), to develop and execute a memorandum of understanding that addresses long-term solutions to the transportation needs of passengers traveling by bus between the Monterey County, South Monterey County, City of Salinas, City of Soledad, King City, and the City of San Jose on service operated on Capitol Corridor routes. The memorandum shall address the necessary funding and capital needs to provide this public transit service, and other operational requirements for additional public transit service on this route. The memorandum shall also address ways that Amtrak, local public transit operators, and local private sector motor carriers of passengers may combine or package their respective services and facilities to the public as a means of improving services to the public.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until one of the following dates, whichever comes first, and as of that date is repealed:
(1) January 1, 2004.
(2) The date that all motor carriers of passengers that operate regular service on the route described in subdivision (a) operate only vehicles on that route that are fully accessible to disabled passengers who rely substantially on the use of wheelchairs. The department shall notify the Secretary of State of the date that the occurrence of the event described in this paragraph occurs.

SEC. 2.

 (a) Because of an immediate and specific set of operating factors unique to the state-supported passenger rail feeder bus service operated between Monterey County and the City of San Jose, and because these unique factors have created a temporary hardship for some of the passengers utilizing this service, the Legislature finds and declares that it is necessary to enact legislation to address this hardship.
(b) Due to the unique nature of the problem described in subdivision (a), the Legislature further finds and declares that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution. Therefore, the special legislation contained in this act is necessarily applicable only to the bus service described in this section.