Bill Text: CA SB824 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 824 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 479, Statutes of 2016. [SB824 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB824-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 824	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Beall

                        JANUARY 7, 2016

   An act to amend Section 75230 of, and to add Section 75231 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to transportation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 824, as introduced, Beall. Low Carbon Transit Operations
Program.
   Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties,
collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale
of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative
to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be deposited in the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
   Existing law continuously appropriates specified portions of the
annual proceeds in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to various
programs, including 5% for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program,
for expenditures to provide transit operating or capital assistance
consistent with specified criteria. Existing law provides for
distribution of available funds under the program to recipient
transit agencies by the Controller, upon approval of the recipient
transit agency's proposed expenditures by the Department of
Transportation.
   This bill would authorize a recipient transit agency that does not
submit a project for funding under the program in a particular
fiscal year to retain its funding share for expenditure in a
subsequent fiscal year. The bill would, in that regard, require the
department to annually calculate a funding share for each eligible
recipient transit agency. The bill would allow a recipient transit
agency to loan or transfer its funding share in a particular fiscal
year to another recipient transit agency, to pool its funding share
with those of other recipient transit agencies, or to apply to the
department to reassign, to other eligible expenditures under the
program, any savings of surplus moneys from an approved and completed
expenditure under the program or from an approved expenditure that
is no longer a priority, as specified. The bill would also allow a
recipient transit agency to apply to the department for a letter of
no prejudice for a capital project or component of a capital project
for which the department has authorized a disbursement of funds, and
if granted, would allow the recipient transit agency to expend its
own moneys and to be eligible for future reimbursement from the
program, under specified conditions. The bill would also require a
recipient transit agency to provide additional information to the
department to the extent funding is sought for capital projects.
   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 75230 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
   75230.  (a) The Low Carbon Transit Operations Program is hereby
created to provide operating and capital assistance for transit
agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve mobility,
with a priority on serving disadvantaged communities.
   (b) Funding for the program is continuously appropriated pursuant
to Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code from the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund established pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the
Government Code.  The Department of Transportation, based on the
amount of funding available for the program each fiscal year, shall
annually compute the funding share for each eligible recipient
transit agency. 
   (c) Funding shall be allocated by the Controller consistent with
the requirements of this part and with Section 39719 of the Health
and Safety Code, upon a determination by the Department of
Transportation that the expenditures proposed by a  recipient
 transit agency meet the requirements of this part and
guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (f), and  that 
the amount of funding requested  that  is currently
available.
   (d) Moneys for the program shall be expended to provide transit
operating or capital assistance that meets all of the following
criteria:
   (1) Expenditures supporting new or expanded bus or rail services,
new or expanded water-borne transit, or expanded intermodal transit
facilities, and may include equipment acquisition, fueling, and
maintenance, and other costs to operate those services or facilities.

   (2) The recipient transit agency demonstrates that each
expenditure directly enhances or expands transit service to increase
mode share.
   (3) The recipient transit agency demonstrates that each
expenditure reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
   (e) For  recipient  transit agencies whose service areas
include disadvantaged communities as identified pursuant to Section
39711 of the Health and Safety Code, at least 50 percent of the total
moneys received pursuant to this chapter shall be expended on
projects or services that meet requirements of subdivision (d) and
benefit the disadvantaged communities, consistent with the guidance
developed by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 39715
of the Health and Safety Code.
   (f) The Department of Transportation, in coordination with the
State Air Resources Board, shall develop guidelines that describe the
methodologies that recipient transit agencies shall use to
demonstrate that proposed expenditures will meet the criteria in
subdivisions (d) and (e) and establish the reporting requirements for
documenting ongoing compliance with those criteria.
   (g) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the
development of guidelines for the program pursuant to this section.
   (h) A  recipient  transit agency shall submit the
following information to the Department of Transportation before
seeking a disbursement of funds pursuant to this part:
   (1) A list of proposed expense types for anticipated funding
levels.
   (2) The documentation required by the guidelines developed
pursuant to subdivision (f) to demonstrate compliance with
subdivisions (d) and (e). 
   (i) For capital projects, the recipient transit agency shall also
do all of the following:  
   (1) Specify the phases of work for which the agency is seeking an
allocation of moneys from the program.  
   (2) Identify the sources and timing of all moneys required to
undertake and complete any phase of a project for which the recipient
agency is seeking an allocation of moneys from the program. 

   (3) Describe intended sources and timing of funding to complete
any subsequent phases of the project, through construction or
procurement.  
   (i) 
    (j)  Before authorizing the disbursement of funds, the
 department,   Department of Transportation,
 in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, shall
determine the eligibility, in whole or in part, of the proposed list
of expense types, based on the documentation provided by the
recipient transit agency to ensure ongoing compliance with the
guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (f). 
   (j) 
    (k)  The  department   Department
of Transportation  shall notify the Controller of approved
expenditures for each  recipient  transit agency, and the
amount of the allocation for each  transit  agency
determined to be available at that time of approval. 
   (l) A recipient transit agency that does not submit a project for
funding in a particular fiscal year shall retain its funding share,
and may accumulate and utilize that funding share in a subsequent
fiscal year for a larger expenditure.  
   (m) A recipient transit agency may, in a particular fiscal year,
loan or transfer its funding share to another recipient transit
agency with an identified eligible expenditure under the program,
under terms and conditions approved by the Department of
Transportation in the guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision
(f).  
   (n) A group of recipient transit agencies may, in a particular
fiscal year, enter into an agreement to pool the respective funding
shares of each member of the group for an identified eligible
expenditure under the program, under terms and conditions approved by
the Department of Transportation in the guidelines developed
pursuant to subdivision (f).  
   (o) A recipient transit agency may apply to the Department of
Transportation to reassign any savings of surplus moneys allocated
under this section to the agency for an expenditure that has been
completed to another eligible expenditure under the program. A
recipient transit agency may also apply to the Department of
Transportation to reassign to another eligible expenditure any moneys
from the program previously allocated to the agency for an
expenditure that the agency has determined is no longer a priority
for the use of those moneys.  
   (k) 
    (p)  The recipient transit agency shall provide annual
reports to the Department of Transportation, in the format and manner
prescribed by the department, consistent with the internal
administrative procedures for use of fund proceeds developed by the
State Air Resources Board. 
   (  l  )
    (q)  The Department of Transportation and recipient
transit agencies shall comply with the guidelines developed by the
State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 39715 of the Health and
Safety Code to ensure that the requirements of Section 39713 of the
Health and Safety Code are met to maximize the benefits to
disadvantaged communities as described in Section 39711 of the Health
and Safety Code. 
   (r) The audit of public transportation operator finances already
required under the Transportation Development Act pursuant to Section
99245 of the Public Utilities Code shall be expanded to include
verification of receipt and appropriate expenditure of moneys from
the program. Each recipient transit agency receiving moneys from the
program in a fiscal year for which an audit is conducted shall
transmit a copy of the audit to the Department of Transportation, and
the department shall make the audits available to the Legislature
and the Controller for review on request. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 75231 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   75231.  (a) A recipient transit agency under the program created
pursuant to Section 75230 may apply to the Department of
Transportation for a letter of no prejudice for a capital project or
for any component of a capital project for which the department has
authorized a disbursement of funds. If approved by the department,
the letter of no prejudice shall allow the recipient transit agency
to expend its own moneys for the project or any component of the
project and to be eligible for future reimbursement from moneys
available for the program.
   (b) The amount expended under subdivision (a) shall be reimbursed
by the state from moneys available for the program if all of the
following conditions are met:
   (1) The project or project component for which the letter of no
prejudice was requested has commenced, and the regional or local
expenditures have been incurred.
   (2) The expenditures made by the recipient transit agency are
eligible expenditures under the program. If expenditures made by the
recipient transit agency are determined to be ineligible, the state
has no obligation to reimburse those expenditures.
   (3) The recipient transit agency complies with all legal
requirements for the project, including the requirements of the
California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000)).
   (4) There are moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
designated for the program that are sufficient to make the
reimbursement payment.
   (c) The recipient transit agency and the Department of
Transportation shall enter into an agreement governing reimbursement
as described in this section. The timing and final amount of
reimbursement shall be dependent on the terms of the agreement and
the availability of moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for
the program.
   (d) The Department of Transportation, in consultation with
recipient public transit agencies, may develop guidelines to
implement this section.