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SB-956 Highways: maintenance: funding.(2001-2002)

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SB956:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 16, 2001
Amended  IN  Senate  April 23, 2001

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2001–2002 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 956


Introduced  by  Senator Ackerman, Poochigian
(Coauthor(s): Senator Haynes, Knight, Margett, McPherson, Monteith, Oller)

February 23, 2001


An act to amend Section 14556.5 of the Government Code, and to add Sections 2182.2 and 2182.3 to the Streets and Highways Code, relating to highways, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 956, as amended, Ackerman. Highways: maintenance: funding.
Existing law establishes the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund in the State Treasury and continuously appropriates the money in the fund to the Department of Transportation for allocation by: (a) to the Department of Transportation for allocation, as directed by the California Transportation Commission, to the department and certain regional and local transportation entities for certain listed transportation projects; (b) to the Controller for allocation during the 2000–01 fiscal year to cities, counties, and cities and counties for street and road maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction; and (c) to the commission for the purposes of a specified funding exchange program.
This bill, additionally, would appropriate the sum of $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the Traffic Congestion Fund, the fund to the Controller for allocation by the controller during the 2001–02 fiscal year to cities, counties, and cities and counties for street and road maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, according to a formula as provided under the bill.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) City streets and roads are among the most critically underfunded segment of California’s transportation infrastructure.
(2) Over 95 percent of Californians use local streets and roads every day.
(3) According to the California Transportation Commission, the deferred maintenance backlog for local streets and roads is estimated at eleven billion dollars ($11,000,000,000), and the annual ongoing cost for maintenance is estimated at four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000).
(b) Therefore, it is appropriate to augment the Transportation Investment Fund in the State Treasury with an appropriation from the General Fund of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) to finance improvements to local streets and roads and to begin financing the estimated ten billion two hundred million dollars ($10,200,000,000) in deferred maintenance backlog.

SEC. 2.

 Section 14556.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:

14556.5.
 The Traffic Congestion Relief Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. The fund shall include deposits of funds provided in the annual Budget Act, provided from the Transportation Investment Fund established under Section 7104 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or provided under any other statute. Notwithstanding Section 13340, the money in the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the department, without regard to fiscal years, as follows:
(a) For allocation by the department, as directed by the commission pursuant to Section 14556.20, to the department and other regional and local transportation entities for the projects listed in Article 5 (commencing with Section 14556.40).
(b) For allocation by the Controller, the sum of four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000), for allocation during the 2000–01 fiscal year to cities, counties, and cities and counties pursuant to Section 2182 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(c) For allocation by the commission to the funding exchange program authorized by Section 182.8 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(d) For allocation by the Controller, the sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), for allocation during the 2001–02 fiscal year to cities, counties, and cities and counties pursuant to Section 2182.2 of the Streets and Highways Code.

SEC. 3.

 Section 2182.2 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

2182.2.
 (a) The funds appropriated from the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 14556.5 of the Government Code shall be allocated by the Controller to cities and counties for street and road maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) shall be allocated to the counties, including a city and county, and cities, including a city and county, as follows:
(1) Fifty percent to the counties, including a city and county, in accordance with the following formulas:
(A) Seventy-five percent of the funds payable under this paragraph shall be apportioned among the counties in the proportion that the number of fee-paid and exempt vehicles that are registered in the county bears to the number of fee-paid and exempt vehicles registered in the state.
(B) Twenty-five percent of the funds payable under this paragraph shall be apportioned among the counties in the proportion that the number of miles of maintained county roads in each county bears to the total number of miles of maintained county roads in the state. For the purposes of apportioning funds under this subparagraph, any roads within the boundaries of a city and county that are not state highways shall be deemed to be county roads.
(2) Fifty percent to cities, including a city and county, apportioned among the cities in the proportion that the total population of the city bears to the total population of all the cities in the state.
(b) Funds received under this section shall be deposited as follows in order to avoid the commingling of those funds with other local funds:
(1) In the case of a city, into the city account that is designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for transportation purposes.
(2) In the case of a county, into the county road fund.
(3) In the case of a city and county, into a local account that is designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for transportation purposes.
(c) Funds apportioned to a city or county under this section shall be used only for street and highway pavement maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of necessary associated facilities such as drainage and traffic control devices. Rehabilitation or reconstruction may include widening necessary to bring the roadway width to the desirable minimum pavement width consistent with accepted design standards for local streets and roads, but does not include widening or increasing the traffic capacity of a street or road.
(d) For the purpose of allocating funds under this section to cities, counties, and a city and county, the Controller shall use the most recent population estimates prepared by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance. For a city that incorporated after January 1, 1998, that does not appear on the most recent population estimates prepared by the Demographic Research Unit, the Controller shall use the population determined for that city under Section 11005.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

SEC. 4.

 Section 2182.3 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

2182.3.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it intends cities and counties to use the funds made available under subdivision (d) of Section 14556.5 of the Government Code to supplement existing local revenues being used for maintenance and rehabilitation of local streets and roads.
(b) In order to receive any allocation pursuant to Section 2182.2, the city or county shall annually expend from its general fund for street, road, and highway purposes an amount not less than the annual average of its expenditures from its general fund during the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 fiscal years, as reported to the Controller pursuant to Section 2151. For purposes of this subdivision, in calculating a city’s or county’s annual general fund expenditures and its average general fund expenditures for the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 fiscal years, any unrestricted funds that the city or county may expend at its discretion, including vehicle in-lieu tax revenues and revenues from fines and forfeitures, expended for street and highway purposes shall be considered expenditures from the general fund. One-time allocations that have been expended for street and highway purposes, but which may not be available on an ongoing basis, including revenue provided under the Teeter Plan Bond Law of 1994 (Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 54773) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, may not be considered when calculating a city’s or county’s annual general fund expenditures.
(c) For any city incorporated after July 1, 1996, the Controller shall calculate an annual average of expenditure for the period between July 1, 1996, and December 31, 2000, that the city was incorporated.
(d) For purposes of subdivision (b), the Controller may request fiscal data from cities and counties in addition to data provided pursuant to Section 2151, for the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 fiscal years. Each city and county shall furnish the data to the Controller not later than 120 days after receiving the request. The Controller may withhold payment to cities and counties that do not comply with the request for information or that provide incomplete data.
(e) The Controller may perform audits to ensure compliance with subdivision (b) when deemed necessary. Any city or county that has not complied with subdivision (b) shall reimburse the state for the funds it received during that fiscal year. Any funds withheld or returned as a result of a failure to comply with subdivision (b) shall be reallocated to the other counties and cities whose expenditures are in compliance.
(f) If a city or county fails to comply with the requirements of subdivision (b) in a particular fiscal year, the city or county may expend during that fiscal year and the following fiscal year a total amount that is not less than the total amount required to be expended for those fiscal years for purposes of complying with subdivision (b).
(g) The allocation made under Section 2182.2 shall be expended not later than the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the allocation was made, and any funds not expended within that period shall be returned to the Controller and shall be reallocated to the other cities and counties pursuant to the allocation formulas set forth in Section 2182.2.

SEC. 5.

 The sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund for the purpose of subdivision (d) of Section 14556.5 of the Government Code.