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AB-1982 California Transportation Commission: membership.(2015-2016)

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AB1982:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 12, 2016

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2015–2016 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1982

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Eduardo Garcia and Holden)

February 16, 2016

An act to amend Section 2581 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to greenhouse gases. An act to amend Section 14502 of the Government Code, relating to transportation.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1982, as amended, Bloom. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: traffic signal synchronization. California Transportation Commission: membership.
Existing law creates the California Transportation Commission, with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocation of funds to those projects pursuant to the state transportation improvement program and various other transportation funding programs. Existing law provides that the commission consists of 13 members, including 11 voting members, of which 9 are appointed by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation and 2 are appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly. In addition, 2 members of the Legislature are appointed as nonvoting ex officio members.
This bill would expand the membership of the commission to 15 members by providing for the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly to each appoint an additional member, who shall be a person who works directly with communities that are most significantly burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution, including, but not limited to, communities with diverse racial and ethic populations and communities with low-income populations.

Existing law authorizes the allocation of moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through specified investments, including sustainable infrastructure projects. Existing law authorizes the allocation of moneys in the fund for investment in a traffic signal synchronization project as a sustainable infrastructure project if the project is designed and implemented to achieve cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and includes specific reduction targets and metrics to evaluate the project’s effect.

This bill would additionally require that an eligible traffic signal synchronization project be timed to move vehicles at an average speed of 12 to 15 miles per hour.

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

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) According to the Office of Environmental Health Assessment, approximately 8,000,000 Californians (21 percent) live in ZIP Code areas that are considered “highly impacted” by environmental, public health, and socioeconomic stressors.
(b) Nearly half of Californians live within six miles of a facility that is a significant greenhouse gas emitter (46 percent) and those persons are disproportionately people of color (62 percent).
(c) Transportation investment, historically, has been a factor in segregating communities and exacerbating health disparities.
(d) Between 1948 and 1973, urban renewal projects displaced 1,000,000 people in 2,500 communities in 993 American cities.

SEC. 2.

 Section 14502 of the Government Code is amended to read:

14502.
 The commission consists of 13 15 members appointed as follows:
(a) Nine members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member Two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one member two members shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, with neither none of these members subject to confirmation by the Senate. One member each appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall be a person who works directly with communities in this state that are most significantly burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution, including, but not limited to, communities with diverse racial and ethnic populations and communities with low-income populations. A member appointed pursuant to this subdivision shall not simultaneously hold an elected public office, or serve on any local or regional public board or commission with business before the commission.
(b) One Member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and one Member of the Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall be ex officio members without vote and shall participate in the activities of the commission to the extent that such participation is not incompatible with their positions as Members of the Legislature.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a voting member of the commission may serve on the High-Speed Rail Authority as established in Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) of the Public Utilities Code.

SECTION 1.Section 2581 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:
2581.

(a)Investments in traffic signal synchronization, timed to move vehicles at an average speed of 12 to 15 miles per hour, may be eligible for an allocation of moneys pursuant to Section 39712 of the Health and Safety Code as a component of an eligible sustainable infrastructure project if both of the following conditions are met:

(1)The sponsoring agency’s legislative or governing body makes a finding that the traffic signal synchronization component is designed and implemented to achieve cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

(2)The traffic signal synchronization component includes specific emissions-reduction targets and metrics to evaluate the traffic signal synchronization component’s effect.

(b)A traffic signal synchronization component of a sustainable infrastructure project receiving an allocation of moneys pursuant to subdivision (a) shall meet the requirements of Section 16428.9 of the Government Code and Section 39712 of the Health and Safety Code.