SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) In approving the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century at the November 4, 2008, general election, California voters approved $950 million in general obligation bonds to be available for capital improvements to the state’s intercity and commuter rail lines and urban rail systems. The funds, available upon appropriation by the Legislature, are for improvements that provide direct connectivity to the high-speed train system and its facilities, are part of the construction of the high-speed train system, or are improvements that provide capacity enhancements and safety improvements on the existing intercity, commuter, or urban rail lines.
(b) Of the $950 million authorized for expenditure by the voters for the purposes described in subdivision (a), 20 percent, or $190 million, is to be allocated among the three state-supported intercity rail lines known as the Capitol Corridor line, the San Joaquin line, and the Pacific Surfliner line (Intercity Rail Program). Eighty percent, or $760 million, is to be allocated to other commuter and urban rail line operators based on a formula outlined in the bond act (Commuter and Urban Rail Program).
(c) The approved bond act requires commuter and urban rail line operators that are eligible recipients of these state bond funds to provide matching funds in an amount not less than the amount of bond funds allocated to the recipient. This match requirement means for every dollar of state bond funds invested in an eligible local project, at least one dollar of nonbond funds will also be invested in the project.
(d) The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century requires the California Transportation Commission to develop guidelines for the implementation of both the Intercity Rail Program and the Commuter and Urban Rail Program. The commission is also responsible for allocating the available funds to eligible recipients in each program.
(e) On February 24, 2010, the commission adopted the program guidelines for the $950 million High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Program, consisting of the $190 million Intercity Rail Program and the $760 million Commuter and Urban Rail Program.
(f) On May 20, 2010, the commission adopted the initial program of projects to be funded by the High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Program, a program that proposed to fund $262.4 million in projects in the 2011–12 fiscal year alone.
(g) While the Budget Act of 2011, passed by the Legislature on June 28, 2011, included an appropriation totaling more than $262 million to begin funding eligible projects in the commission-adopted High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Program, all but $28 million of the appropriation was vetoed.
(h) Notwithstanding the veto of a significant portion of the bond funds appropriated for the High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Program, it remains imperative for the Legislature to appropriate bond funds to eligible recipients so that project contracts can be signed, mobility and safety improvements can commence, and immediate job opportunities for Californians can be made available.
(i) According to commuter and urban rail service providers throughout the state, the bond funds from the $760 million Commuter and Urban Rail Program alone are estimated to fund no less than 15 capital improvement and safety projects in California, leveraging more than $4.9 billion in nonstate transportation funds, and creating nearly 200,000 jobs.
(j) The mobility and safety improvements funded by these bond funds will benefit Californians in all regions of the state.
(k) The appropriation of bond funds for the High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Program, as adopted and updated by the commission, is a necessary precursor for rail mobility and safety improvements and for job creation in California. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to appropriate these funds for allocation by the commission to eligible rail operators requesting an allocation.