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SB-749 California Transportation Commission: guidelines.(2011-2012)



Current Version: 01/04/12 - Amended Senate

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SB749:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  January 04, 2012

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2011–2012 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 749

Introduced  by  Senator Steinberg

February 18, 2011

An act to amend Section 185020 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to high-speed rail. add Section 14521.5 to the Government Code, relating to transportation.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 749, as amended, Steinberg. High-speed rail. California Transportation Commission: guidelines.
Existing law generally provides for programming and allocation of state and federal funds available for transportation capital improvement projects by the California Transportation Commission, pursuant to various requirements. Existing law authorizes the commission, in certain cases, to adopt guidelines relative to its programming and allocation policies and procedures.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, generally governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law, in certain instances, exempts state agencies from these requirements.
This bill would establish specified procedures that the commission would be required to utilize when it adopts guidelines, except as specified, and would exempt the adoption of those guidelines from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority with specified powers and duties relative to development and implementation of a high-speed train system. The authority is composed of 9 members, including 5 members appointed by the Governor.

This bill would provide that the members of the authority appointed by the Governor are subject to appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   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) From time to time, the Legislature has authorized the California Transportation Commission to adopt guidelines for the development and administration of statutorily created transportation programs.
(b) Examples of the legislative authorization described in subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, the authority for guidelines for the administration of transportation programs funded by the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code), including the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account (CMIA) and the Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety Account.
(c) In 2009, the commission also adopted program guidelines for the implementation of the public-private partnership authority the Legislature granted to the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and to regional transportation planning agencies pursuant to Section 143 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(d) The Legislature has exempted program guidelines adopted by the commission from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) so that the commission may adopt guidelines quickly and may amend adopted guidelines in response to quickly changing circumstances.
(e) On some occasions, the commission’s process for adopting program guidelines has lacked transparency and has not provided the public with ample opportunity to fully review and comment on proposed guidelines.
(f) To ensure the commission’s process for the adoption of program guidelines is understandable, predictable, and transparent, and to ensure the commission’s process provides ample opportunity for public review and comment on proposed guidelines, it is necessary to place into statute a process for the adoption of program guidelines by the commission.

SEC. 2.

 Section 14521.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:

14521.5.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the adoption of guidelines by the commission shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1). Except for the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) guidelines adopted pursuant to Sections 14526, 14527, and 14529, on or after January 1, 2013, the commission shall adopt guidelines using the procedures established pursuant to this section.
(b) The commission’s legal counsel shall review the proposed guidelines for matters such as necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, reference, and nonduplication, and recommend any proposed action to the commissioners. For purposes of this section, “necessity,” “authority,” “clarity,” “consistency,” “reference,” and “nonduplication” shall each have the same meaning as defined in Section 11349. The commission’s legal counsel’s recommendations and communications to the commission concerning the results of the review shall be subject to the attorney-client privilege, unless otherwise waived. The commission’s executive director shall cause the recommendations and communications to be distributed to all commissioners.
(c) Program or policy guidelines shall first be presented at a commission meeting for purposes of receiving public comment. At least 45 days prior to the meeting, the proposed or draft guideline shall be sent to any person who has requested notices of the meetings of the commission and shall be available to the public in electronic format. The proposed or draft guideline shall include notice of the right of the public to comment orally on the proposed or draft guideline during the public meeting or to comment in writing at any time prior to the meeting or within seven business days following the meeting, at which time the written comment period shall be closed.
(d) Following the close of the written comment period, the commission staff shall review all written and oral comments and shall prepare a summary of the objections and recommendations made in those comments and an explanation of how the proposed guideline is proposed to be changed to accommodate the objections or recommendations, or the reason or reasons for proposing no change.
(e) The staff recommendations and summary described in subdivision (d) shall be made publicly available at least 15 days prior to a subsequent regular meeting of the commission. At that subsequent public meeting, the commission shall consider the staff recommendations and any additional public comment made at the meeting prior to voting on the adoption of the proposed guideline. A program or policy guideline adopted by the commission shall be adopted by an affirmative vote of a majority of the commission membership.
(f) The commission shall maintain a guideline adoption file containing the public notice, public comments, and minutes of the public meeting, including the action taken by the commission, and a letter from the commission’s legal counsel confirming that he or she reviewed the proposed guidelines for compliance with the standards set forth in subdivision (b).
(g) The guideline adoption file shall contain a summary of each objection or recommendation made and an explanation of how the proposed guideline was changed to accommodate each objection or recommendation, or the reason or reasons for making no change.
(h) The commission shall include in its annual report to the Legislature, required pursuant to Section 14535, a summary of its activities related to the adoption of program or policy guidelines during the previous calendar year, including, but not limited to, a summary of the proposed guidelines considered by the commission, a description of the actions taken by the commission, and the votes of the commission on matters it considered.

SECTION 1.Section 185020 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
185020.

(a)There is in state government a High-Speed Rail Authority.

(b)(1)The authority is composed of nine members as follows:

(A)Five members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(B)Two members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.

(C)Two members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.

(2)For the purposes of making appointments to the authority, the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly shall take into consideration geographical diversity to ensure that all regions of the state are adequately represented.

(c)Except as provided in subdivision (d), and until their successors are appointed, members of the authority shall hold office for terms of four years. A vacancy shall be filled by the appointing power making the original appointment, by appointing a member to serve the remainder of the term.

(d)(1)On and after January 1, 2001, the terms of all persons who are then members of the authority shall expire, but those members may continue to serve until they are reappointed or until their successors are appointed. In order to provide for evenly staggered terms, persons appointed or reappointed to the authority after January 1, 2001, shall be appointed to initial terms to expire as follows:

(A)Of the five persons appointed by the Governor, one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2002, one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2003, one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2004, and two shall be appointed to terms which expire on December 31, 2005.

(B)Of the two persons appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2002, and one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2004.

(C)Of the two persons appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2003, and one shall be appointed to a term which expires on December 31, 2005.

(2)Following expiration of each of the initial terms provided for in this subdivision, the term shall expire every four years thereafter on December 31.

(e)Members of the authority are subject to the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000)).

(f)From among its members, the authority shall elect a chairperson, who shall preside at all meetings of the authority, and a vice chairperson to preside in the absence of the chairperson. The chairperson shall serve a term of one year.

(g)Five members of the authority constitute a quorum for taking any action by the authority.