BILL NUMBER: AB 2847 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Patterson
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 185033 of, and to add Section
185033.6 to to, the Public Utilities
Code, relating to high-speed rail.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2847, as amended, Patterson. High-Speed Rail Authority:
reports.
Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail
system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law
requires the authority, on a biennial basis, to prepare a business
plan containing specified elements and also requires the preparation
of various other reports.
This bill, in each of these reports, would require the
authority, by segment, to provide an explanation of adjusted costs
and schedules in each situation in which the authority has approved a
change in the scope or sequencing of the high-speed rail project
since the issuance of the previous report, as specified. The bill
would also require the authority to identify all estimated financing
and administrative costs associated with construction of the
high-speed rail system in the biennial business plan.
bill would require the business plan to identify projected financing
costs for each segment or combination of segments of the high-speed
rail system, if financing is proposed by the authority. The bill, in
the business plan and in another report, would require the authority
to identify any significant changes in scope for segments of the
high-speed rail system identified in the previous version of each
report and to provide an explanation of adjustments in cost and
schedule attributable to the changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 185033 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
185033. (a) The authority shall prepare, publish, adopt, and
submit to the Legislature, not later than May 1, 2014, and every two
years thereafter, a business plan. At least 60 days prior to the
publication of the plan, the authority shall publish a draft business
plan for public review and comment. The draft plan shall also be
submitted to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing, the
Assembly Committee on Transportation, the Senate Committee on Budget
and Fiscal Review, and the Assembly Committee on Budget.
(b) (1) The business plan shall include, but need not be limited
to, all of the following elements:
(A) A description of the type of service the authority is
developing and the proposed chronology for the construction of the
statewide high-speed rail system, and the estimated capital costs for
each segment or combination of segments.
(B) Projected financing costs, if financing is proposed for a
segment or combination of segments.
(B)
(C) A forecast of the expected patronage, service
levels, and operating and maintenance costs for the Phase 1 corridor
as identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2704.04
of the Streets and Highways Code and by each segment or combination
of segments for which a project level environmental analysis is being
prepared for Phase 1. The forecast shall assume a high, medium, and
low level of patronage and a realistic operating planning scenario
for each level of service.
(C)
(D) Alternative financial scenarios for different
levels of service, based on the patronage forecast in subparagraph
(B) (C) , and the operating break-even
points for each alternative. Each scenario shall assume the terms of
subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section
2704.08 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(D)
(E) The expected schedule for completing environmental
review, and initiating and completing construction for each segment
or combination of segments of Phase 1.
(E)
(F) An estimate and description of the total
anticipated federal, state, local, and other funds the authority
intends to access to fund the construction and operation of the
system, and the level of confidence for obtaining each type of
funding.
(F)
(G) Any written agreements with public or private
entities to fund components of the high-speed rail system, including
stations and terminals, and any impediments to the completion of the
system.
(G)
(H) Alternative public-private development strategies
for the implementation of Phase 1.
(H)
(I) A discussion of all reasonably foreseeable risks
the project may encounter, including, but not limited to, risks
associated with the project's finances, patronage, right-of-way
acquisition, environmental clearances, construction, equipment, and
technology, and other risks associated with the project's
development. The plan shall describe the authority's strategies,
processes, or other actions it intends to utilize to manage those
risks.
(2) To the extent feasible, the business plan should draw upon
information and material developed according to other requirements,
including, but not limited to, the preappropriation review process
and the preexpenditure review process in the Safe, Reliable
High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century pursuant to
Section 2704.08 of the Streets and Highways Code. The authority shall
hold at least one public hearing on the business plan and shall
adopt the plan at a regularly scheduled meeting. When adopting the
plan, the authority shall take into consideration comments from the
public hearing and written comments that it receives in that regard,
and any hearings that the Legislature may hold prior to adoption of
the plan.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 185033.6
is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:
185033.6. (a) The
authority, in each report prepared pursuant to Sections 185033 and
185033.5, and in each other report required by the
Legislature pursuant to the annual Budget Act or in association with
appropriations provided to the authority, shall
provide an explanation of adjusted costs and schedules in each
situation in which the authority has approved a change in the scope
or sequencing of the high-speed rail project since the issuance of
the previous report prepared in response to the applicable reporting
requirement. With respect to any segment of the high-speed rail
project that the authority is proposing to deliver as the current
highest priority, the explanation shall clearly detail the estimated
costs for each segment in a manner that allows the current estimated
costs for the segment to be directly compared to the cost estimates
previously provided by the authority in the immediately-prior report
for the same segment shall identify any significant
changes in scope for segments identified in the previous version of
each report and shall provide an explanation of adjustments in cost
and schedule at tributable to these changes .
(b) The authority, in the business plan prepared pursuant to
Section 185033, shall identify all estimated financing and
administrative costs associated with construction of the planned
high-speed rail system as contemplated by the authority at the time
that the business plan is prepared.