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AB-1778 State transportation funding: freeway projects: poverty and pollution: Department of Transportation.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 06/20/2022 02:00 PM
AB1778:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 20, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 24, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1778

Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lee)

February 03, 2022

An act to add Section 165.5 to the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1778, as amended, Cristina Garcia. State transportation funding: freeway projects: poverty and pollution: Department of Transportation.
Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation and vests the department with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes. Existing law authorizes the department to do any act necessary, convenient, or proper for the construction, improvement, maintenance, or use of all highways that are under its jurisdiction, possession, or control. Existing law requires the department to prepare and submit to the Governor a proposed budget, as provided.
This bill would require the department to consult the California Healthy Places Index, as defined, as a condition of using state funds or personnel time to fund or permit freeway projects, as provided. The bill would require the department to analyze housing and environmental variables indicators through the index, as provided, and would prohibit any state funds or personnel time from being used to fund or permit freeway projects in certain areas that fall within the zero to 50th 40th percentile on the housing and environmental variables indicators analyzed through the index, as provided.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 165.5 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

165.5.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “California Healthy Places Index” means the online resource developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California to describe local factors that predict life expectancy and compare community conditions across the state.
(2) (A) “Projects” means any of the following:

(A)

(i) Freeway widening projects.

(B)

(ii) Interchange expansion projects that would facilitate increased flows of traffic to or from existing or future industrial or warehouse facilities.

(C)

(iii) Freeway extensions or lengthening.

(D)

(iv) Displacement, of any kind, of residents, residences, housing, or businesses occurring due to freeway projects, whether temporary or permanent.
(B) The following project types shall not count as “projects” as defined in this paragraph and shall be exempt from this section:
(i) Projects that expand or provide a means for the expansion of multimodal transit services on a freeway or within a freeway right-of-way, such as express bus service on express lanes or high-occupancy vehicle lanes, or light rail.
(ii) Auxiliary lanes no more than two miles in continuous length.
(iii) Deployment of intelligent transportation technologies.
(iv) Projects for the purpose of public safety or the repair of structurally deficient infrastructure.
(3) “United States Census Demographic Data Map Viewer” means the online resource developed by the United States Census Bureau to provide population density and demographic data from the latest census.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, before undertaking any projects, and as a condition of using state funds or personnel time to fund or permit projects, the department shall consult the California Healthy Places Index. The department shall use the “create custom score” functionality latest version of the California Healthy Places Index and use the following variables indicators to obtain data results: the index percentile:
(1) Housing: low-income homeowner severe housing cost burden.
(2) Housing: low-income renter severe housing cost burden.
(3) Clean environment: clean air PM 2.5.
(4) Clean environment: clean air diesel PM.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall not use state funds or personnel time for projects, nor shall the department permit projects, if any single or adjacent census tract within or adjacent to bordering upon the project area footprint has a percentile score that falls within the zero to 50th 40th percentile score on the California Healthy Places Index, as calculated using the four variables indicators described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(2) The prohibition in paragraph (1) only applies to a census tract with a population of 5,000 or more per square mile on the latest version of the United States Census Demographic Data Map Viewer.