BILL NUMBER: AB 1600 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torres
(Coauthors: Senators Hernandez and Huff)
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
An act to amend Sections 132400, 132410, and 132450 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension
Construction Authority.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1600, as introduced, Torres. Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension
Construction Authority.
Existing law creates the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension
Construction Authority for purposes relating to the development of a
light rail project extending from the City of Los Angeles to the
Cities of Pasadena and Claremont, and authorizes the authority to
accept grants, fees, and allocations from the state, local agencies,
and private entities.
This bill would provide for the extension of the project to the
City of Montclair, instead of the City of Claremont. The bill would
authorize the authority to also accept grants, fees, and allocations
from federal agencies, and to accept transfers of funds from federal,
state, and local agencies.
Existing law creates the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (LACMTA) and specifies that the LACMTA shall
assume responsibility for operating the project upon dissolution of
the authority.
This bill would require the LACMTA to assume responsibility for
operating all completed phases of the project, and would grant it
authority to operate the portion of the project located in San
Bernardino County.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 132400 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
132400. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) The "authority" is the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension
Construction Authority created under this chapter, formerly known as
the Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority.
(b) The "board" is the governing board of the authority.
(c) The "commission" is the California Transportation Commission.
(d) The "LACMTA" is the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
(e) The "project" is the Los Angeles-Pasadena Foothill Extension
Gold Line light rail project, formerly known as the Los
Angeles-Pasadena Metro Blue Line, extending from Union Station in the
City of Los Angeles to Sierra Madre Villa Boulevard in the City of
Pasadena and any mass transit guideway that may be planned east of
Sierra Madre Villa Boulevard along the rail right-of-way extending to
the City of Claremont Montclair .
(f) The "extension cities" are the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia,
Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona,
and Claremont Claremont, and Montclair
.
SEC. 2. Section 132410 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
132410. (a) The authority has all of the powers necessary for
planning, acquiring, leasing, developing, jointly developing, owning,
controlling, using, jointly using, disposing of, designing,
procuring, and building the project, including, but not limited to,
all of the following:
(1) Acceptance of grants, fees, and allocations
allocations, and transfers of funds from the
federal, state, and local agencies,
and as well as private entities.
(2) Acquiring, through purchase or through eminent domain
proceedings, any property necessary for, incidental to, or convenient
for, the exercise of the powers of the authority.
(3) Incurring indebtedness, secured by pledges of revenue
available for project completion.
(4) Contracting with public and private entities for the planning,
design, and construction of the project. These contracts may be
assigned separately or may be combined to include any or all tasks
necessary for completion of the project.
(5) Entering into cooperative or joint development agreements with
local governments or private entities. These agreements may be
entered into for the purpose of sharing costs, selling or leasing
land, air, or development rights, providing for the transferring of
passengers, making pooling arrangements, or for any other purpose
that is necessary for, incidental to, or convenient for the full
exercise of the powers granted the authority. For purposes of this
paragraph, "joint development" includes, but is not limited to, an
agreement with any person, firm, corporation, association, or
organization for the operation of facilities or development of
projects adjacent to, or physically or functionally related to, the
project.
(6) Relocation of utilities, as necessary for completion of the
project.
(b) The duties of the authority include, but are not limited to,
all of the following:
(1) Conducting the financial studies and the planning and
engineering necessary for completion of the project.
(2) (A) Adoption of an administrative code, not later than 60 days
after establishment of the authority, for administration of the
authority in accordance with any applicable laws, including, but not
limited to, the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government
Code), contracting and procurement laws, laws relating to contracting
goals for minority and women business participation, and the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000)
of the Government Code).
(B) (i) The administrative code adopted under subparagraph (A)
shall include a code of conduct for employees and board members that
is consistent with Sections 84308 and 87103 of the Government Code
and prohibits board members and staff from accepting gifts valued at
ten dollars ($10) or more from contractors, potential contractors, or
their subcontractors.
(ii) The code shall require the disclosure, on the record, of the
proceedings by the officer of the agency who receives a contribution
within the preceding 24 months in an amount of more than two hundred
fifty dollars ($250) from a party or participant to a proceeding, and
the disclosure by the party or participant.
(iii) The code shall provide that no officer of the agency shall
make, participate in making, or in any way attempt to use his or her
official position to influence the decision in a proceeding, as
described in Section 84308 of the Government Code, if the officer has
willfully or knowingly received a contribution in the amount of more
than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) within the preceding 24 months
from a party or his or her agent, or from any participant or his or
her agent if the participant has a financial interest in the
decision.
(iv) Any officer deemed ineligible to participate in a proceeding
due to the provisions of this code of conduct may be replaced for the
purposes of that proceeding by an appointee chosen by the
appropriate appointing authority.
(v) Under the code of conduct, board members shall be deemed to
have a financial interest in a decision within the meaning of Section
87100 of the Government Code if the decision involves the donor of,
or intermediary or agent for a donor of, a gift or gifts aggregating
ten dollars ($10) or more in value within the 12 months prior to the
time the decision was made.
(vi) Board members and alternate members shall not be considered
financially interested, under or for the purposes of Section 1090 of
the Government Code, solely by virtue of their holding office with
the authority and, concurrently, holding office with an entity set
forth in subdivision (a) of Section 132415, an extension city, or
both such an entity and such a city, and they may participate in
decisions and agreements regarding the authority, any of the entities
set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 132415, and any of the
extension cities. The participation described in this clause shall
not constitute a conflict of interest under or for the purposes of
Section 1090 of the Government Code, or an incompatible employment,
activity, or enterprise under or for the purposes of Section 1126 of
the Government Code.
(c) The authority shall make reasonable progress, as determined by
the commission, in the design and construction of the project within
the timetable imposed under the 1998 State Transportation
Improvement Program.
SEC. 3. Section 132450 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
132450. The authority shall be dissolved upon completion of
construction of the light rail project. The
132450. (a) (1)
The LACMTA shall assume responsibility
for operating all completed phases of the project
upon dissolution of the authority .
(2) The LACMTA shall have the authority to operate the portion of
the project located in San Bernardino County.
(b) The authority shall be dissolved when project construction has
been completed.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district are the result of a program for which legislative authority
was requested by that local agency or school district, within the
meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code and Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution.