2007 California Government Code Article 2. Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, And Port Security Fund Of 2006 And Program

CA Codes (gov:8879.23)

8879.23.  The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and
Port Security Fund of 2006 is hereby created in the State Treasury.
The Legislature intends that the proceeds of bonds deposited in the
fund shall be used to fund the mobility, safety, and air quality
improvements described in this article over the course of the next
decade. The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this
chapter for the purposes specified in this chapter shall be allocated
in the following manner:
   (a) (1) Four billion five hundred million dollars (,500,000,000)
shall be deposited in the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account,
which is hereby created in the fund. Funds in the account shall be
available to the California Transportation Commission, upon
appropriation in the annual Budget Bill by the Legislature, for
allocation for performance improvements on highly congested travel
corridors in California. Funds in the account shall be used for
performance improvements on the state highway system, or major access
routes to the state highway system on the local road system that
relieve congestion by expanding capacity, enhancing operations, or
otherwise improving travel times within these high-congestion travel
corridors, as identified by the department and regional or local
transportation agencies, pursuant to the process in paragraph (3) or
(4), as applicable.
   (2) The commission shall develop and adopt guidelines, by December
1, 2006, including regional programming targets, for the program
funded by this subdivision, and shall allocate funds from the account
to projects after reviewing project nominations submitted by the
Department of Transportation and by regional transportation planning
agencies or county transportation commissions or authorities pursuant
to paragraph (4).
   (3) Subject to the guidelines adopted pursuant to paragraph (2),
the department shall nominate, by no later than January 15, 2007,
projects for the allocation of funds from the account on a statewide
basis. The department's nominations shall be geographically balanced
and shall reflect the department's assessment of a program that best
meets the policy objectives described in paragraph (1).
   (4) Subject to the guidelines adopted pursuant to paragraph (2), a
regional transportation planning agency or county transportation
commission or authority responsible for preparing a regional
transportation improvement plan under Section 14527 may nominate
projects identified pursuant to paragraph (1) that best meet the
policy objectives described in that paragraph for funding from the
account. Projects nominated pursuant to this paragraph shall be
submitted to the commission for consideration for funding by no later
than January 15, 2007.
   (5) All nominations to the California Transportation Commission
shall be accompanied by documentation regarding the quantitative and
qualitative measures validating each project's consistency with the
policy objectives described in paragraph (1). All projects nominated
to the commission for funds from this account shall be included in a
regional transportation plan.
   (6) After review of the project nominations, and supporting
documentation, the commission, by no later than March 1, 2007, shall
adopt an initial program of projects to be funded from the account.
This program may be updated every two years in conjunction with the
biennial process for adoption of the state transportation improvement
program pursuant to guidelines adopted by the commission. The
inclusion of a project in the program shall be based on a
demonstration that the project meets all of the following criteria:
   (A) Is a high-priority project in the corridor as demonstrated by
either of the following: (i) its inclusion in the list of nominated
projects by both the department pursuant to paragraph (3) and the
regional transportation planning agency or county transportation
commission or authority, pursuant to paragraph (4); or (ii) if needed
to fully fund the project, the identification and commitment of
supplemental funding to the project from other state, local, or
federal funds.
   (B) Can commence construction or implementation no later than
December 31, 2012.
   (C) Improves mobility in a high-congestion corridor by improving
travel times or reducing the number of daily vehicle hours of delay,
improves the connectivity of the state highway system between rural,
suburban, and urban areas, or improves the operation or safety of a
highway or road segment.
   (D) Improves access to jobs, housing, markets, and commerce.
   (7) Where competing projects offer similar mobility improvements
to a specific corridor, the commission shall consider additional
benefits when determining which project shall be included in the
program for funding. These benefits shall include, but are not
limited to, the following:
   (A) A finding that the project provides quantifiable air quality
benefits.
   (B) A finding that the project substantially increases the safety
for travelers in the corridor.
   (8) In adopting a program for funding pursuant to this
subdivision, the commission shall make a finding that the program is
(i) geographically balanced, consistent with the geographic split for
funding described in Section 188 of the Streets and Highways Code;
(ii) provides mobility improvements in highly traveled or highly
congested corridors in all regions of California; and (iii) targets
bond proceeds in a manner that provides the increment of funding
necessary, when combined with other state, local or federal funds, to
provide the mobility benefit in the earliest possible timeframe.
   (9) The commission shall include in its annual report to the
Legislature, required by Section 14535, a summary of its activities
related to the administration of this program. The summary should, at
a minimum, include a description and the location of the projects
contained in the program, the amount of funds allocated to each
project, the status of each project, and a description of the
mobility improvements the program is achieving.
   (b) One billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be made available,
upon appropriation in the annual Budget Bill by the Legislature, to
the department for improvements to State Route 99. Funds may be used
for safety, operational enhancements, rehabilitation, or capacity
improvements necessary to improve the State Route 99 corridor
traversing approximately 400 miles of the central valley of this
state.
   (c) Three billion one hundred million dollars (,100,000,000)
shall be deposited in the California Ports Infrastructure, Security,
and Air Quality Improvement Account, which is hereby created in the
fund. The money in the account shall be available, upon appropriation
by the Legislature and subject to such conditions and criteria as
the Legislature may provide by statute, as follows:
   (1) (A) Two billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be transferred
to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, which is hereby created. The
money in this fund shall be available, upon appropriation in the
annual Budget Bill by the Legislature and subject to such conditions
and criteria as the Legislature may provide by statute, for
allocation by the California Transportation Commission for
infrastructure improvements along federally designated "Trade
Corridors of National Significance" in this state or along other
corridors within this state that have a high volume of freight
movement, as determined by the commission. In determining projects
eligible for funding, the commission shall consult the trade
infrastructure and goods movement plan submitted to the commission by
the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing and the
Secretary for Environmental Protection. No moneys shall be allocated
from this fund until the report is submitted to the commission for
its consideration, provided the report is submitted no later than
January 1, 2007. The commission shall also consult trade
infrastructure and goods movement plans adopted by regional
transportation planning agencies, adopted regional transportation
plans required by state and federal law, and the statewide port
master plan prepared by the California Marine and Intermodal
Transportation System Advisory Council (Cal-MITSAC) pursuant to
Section 1760 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, when determining
eligible projects for funding. Eligible projects for these funds
include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
   (i) Highway capacity improvements and operational improvements to
more efficiently accommodate the movement of freight, particularly
for ingress and egress to and from the state's seaports, including
navigable inland waterways used to transport freight between
seaports, land ports of entry, and airports, and to relieve traffic
congestion along major trade or goods movement corridors.
   (ii) Freight rail system improvements to enhance the ability to
move goods from seaports, land ports of entry, and airports to
warehousing and distribution centers throughout California, including
projects that separate rail lines from highway or local road
traffic, improve freight rail mobility through mountainous regions,
relocate rail switching yards, and other projects that improve the
efficiency and capacity of the rail freight system.
   (iii) Projects to enhance the capacity and efficiency of ports.
   (iv) Truck corridor improvements, including dedicated truck
facilities or truck toll facilities.
   (v) Border access improvements that enhance goods movement between
California and Mexico and that maximize the state's ability to
access coordinated border infrastructure funds made available to the
state by federal law.
   (vi) Surface transportation improvements to facilitate the
movement of goods to and from the state's airports.
   (B) The commission shall allocate funds for trade infrastructure
improvements from the account in a manner that (i) addresses the
state's most urgent needs, (ii) balances the demands of various ports
(between large and small ports, as well as between seaports,
airports, and land ports of entry), (iii) provides reasonable
geographic balance between the state's regions, and (iv) places
emphasis on projects that improve trade corridor mobility while
reducing emissions of diesel particulate and other pollutant
emissions. In addition, the commission shall also consider the
following factors when allocating these funds:
   (i) "Velocity," which means the speed by which large cargo would
travel from the port through the distribution system.
   (ii) "Throughput," which means the volume of cargo that would move
from the port through the distribution system.
   (iii) "Reliability," which means a reasonably consistent and
predictable amount of time for cargo to travel from one point to
another on any given day or at any given time in California.
   (iv) "Congestion reduction," which means the reduction in
recurrent daily hours of delay to be achieved.
   (C) The commission shall allocate funds made available by this
paragraph to projects that have identified and committed supplemental
funding from appropriate local, federal or private sources. The
commission shall determine the appropriate amount of supplemental
funding each project should have to be eligible for moneys from this
fund based on a project-by-project review and an assessment of the
project's benefit to the state and the program. Except for border
access improvements described in clause (v) of subparagraph (A),
improvements funded with moneys from this fund shall have
supplemental funding that is at least equal to the amount of the
contribution from the fund. The commission may give priority for
funding to projects with higher levels of committed supplemental
funding.
   (D) The commission shall include in its annual report to the
Legislature, required by Section 14535, a summary of its activities
related to the administration of this program. The summary should, at
a minimum, include a description and the location of the projects
contained in the program, the amount of funds allocated to each
project, the status of each project, and a description of the
mobility and air quality improvements the program is achieving.
   (2) One billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be made available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature and subject to such conditions
and criteria contained in a statute enacted by the Legislature, to
the State Air Resources Board for emission reductions, not otherwise
required by law or regulation, from activities related to the
movement of freight along California's trade corridors. Funds made
available by this paragraph are intended to supplement existing funds
used to finance strategies and public benefit projects that reduce
emissions and improve air quality in trade corridors commencing at
the state's airports, seaports, and land ports of entry.
   (3) One hundred million dollars (0,000,000) shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Office of Emergency
Services to be allocated, as grants, for port, harbor, and ferry
terminal security improvements.  Eligible applicants shall be
publicly owned ports, harbors, and ferryboat and ferry terminal
operators, which may submit applications for projects that include,
but are not limited to, the following:
   (A) Video surveillance equipment.
   (B) Explosives detection technology, including, but not limited
to, X-ray devices.
   (C) Cargo scanners.
   (D) Radiation monitors.
   (E) Thermal protective equipment.
   (F) Site identification instruments capable of providing a
fingerprint for a broad inventory of chemical agents.
   (G) Other devices capable of detecting weapons of mass destruction
using chemical, biological, or other similar substances.
   (H) Other security equipment to assist in any of the following:
   (i) Screening of incoming vessels, trucks, and incoming or
outbound cargo.
   (ii) Monitoring the physical perimeters of harbors, ports, and
ferry terminals.
   (iii) Providing or augmenting onsite emergency response
capability.
   (I) Overweight cargo detection equipment, including, but not
limited to, intermodal crane scales and truck weight scales.
   (J) Developing disaster preparedness or emergency response plans.

   The Office of Emergency Services shall report to the Legislature
on March 1 of each year on the manner in which the funds available
pursuant to this paragraph were expended for that fiscal year.
   (d) Two hundred million dollars (0,000,000) shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for schoolbus retrofit and
replacement to reduce air pollution and to reduce children's exposure
to diesel exhaust.
   (e) Two billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be available for
projects in the state transportation improvement program, to augment
funds otherwise available for this purpose from other sources. The
funds provided by this subdivision shall be deposited in the
Transportation Facilities Account which is hereby created in the
fund, and shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
to the Department of Transportation, as allocated by the California
Transportation Commission in the same manner as funds allocated for
those projects under existing law.
   (f) (1) Four billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be deposited
in the Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement, and Service
Enhancement Account, which is hereby created in the fund. Funds in
the account shall be made available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to the Department of Transportation for intercity rail
projects and to commuter or urban rail operators, bus operators,
waterborne transit operators, and other transit operators in
California for rehabilitation, safety or modernization improvements,
capital service enhancements or expansions, new capital projects, bus
rapid transit improvements, or for rolling stock procurement,
rehabilitation, or replacement.
   (2) Of the funds made available in paragraph (1), four hundred
million dollars (0,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to the department for intercity rail
improvements, of which one hundred twenty-five million dollars
(5,000,000) shall be used for the procurement of additional
intercity railcars and locomotives.
   (3) Of the funds remaining after the allocations in paragraph (2),
50 percent shall be distributed to the Controller, for allocation to
eligible agencies using the formula in Section 99314 of the Public
Utilities Code, and 50 percent shall be distributed to the
Controller, for allocation to eligible agencies using the formula in
Section 99313 of the Public Utilities Code, subject to the provisions
governing funds allocated under those sections.
   (g) One billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be deposited in the
State-Local Partnership Program Account, which is hereby created in
the fund. The funds shall be available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature and subject to such conditions and criteria as the
Legislature may provide by statute, for allocation by the California
Transportation Commission over a five-year period to eligible
transportation projects nominated by an applicant transportation
agency.  A dollar for dollar match of local funds shall be required
for an applicant transportation agency to receive state funds under
this program.
   (h) One billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be deposited in the
Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account,
which is hereby created in the fund. Funds in the account shall be
made available, upon appropriation by the Legislature and subject to
such conditions and criteria as the Legislature may provide by
statute, for capital projects that provide increased protection
against a security and safety threat, and for capital expenditures to
increase the capacity of transit operators, including waterborne
transit operators, to develop disaster response transportation
systems that can move people, goods, and emergency personnel and
equipment in the aftermath of a disaster impairing the mobility of
goods, people, and equipment.
   (i) One hundred twenty-five million dollars (5,000,000) shall
be deposited in the Local Bridge Seismic Retrofit Account, which is
hereby created in the fund. The funds in the account shall be used,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide the 11.5 percent
required match for federal Highway Bridge Replacement and Repair
funds available to the state for seismic work on local bridges,
ramps, and overpasses, as identified by the Department of
Transportation.
   (j) (1) Two hundred fifty million dollars (0,000,000) shall be
deposited in the Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety Account, which is
hereby created in the fund. Funds in the account shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of
Transportation for the completion of high-priority grade separation
and railroad crossing safety improvements. Funds in the account shall
be made available for allocation pursuant to the process established
in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2450) of Division 3 of the
Streets and Highways Code, except that a dollar for dollar match of
nonstate funds shall be provided for each project, and the limitation
on maximum project cost in subdivision (g) of Section 2454 of the
Streets and Highways Code shall not be applicable to projects funded
with these funds.
   (2) Notwithstanding the funding allocation process described in
paragraph (1), in consultation with the department and the Public
Utilities Commission, the California Transportation Commission shall
allocate one hundred million dollars (0,000,000) of the funds in
the account to high-priority railroad crossing improvements,
including grade separation projects, that are not part of the process
established in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2450) of Division
3 of the Streets and Highways Code. The allocation of funds under
this paragraph shall be made in consultation and coordination with
the High-Speed Rail Authority created pursuant to Division 19.5
(commencing with Section 185000) of the Public Utilities Code.
   (k) (1) Seven hundred fifty million dollars (0,000,000) shall
be deposited in the Highway Safety, Rehabilitation, and Preservation
Account, which is hereby created in the fund. Funds in the account
shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
Department of Transportation, as allocated by the California
Transportation Commission, for the purposes of the state highway
operation and protection program as described in Section 14526.5.
   (2) The department shall develop a program for distribution of two
hundred and fifty million dollars (0,000,000) from the funds
identified in paragraph (1) to fund traffic light synchronization
projects or other technology-based improvements to improve safety,
operations and the effective capacity of local streets and roads.
   (l) (1) Two billion dollars (,000,000,000) shall be deposited in
the Local Streets and Road Improvement, Congestion Relief, and
Traffic Safety Account of 2006, which is hereby created in the fund.
The proceeds of bonds deposited into that account shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes specified in
this subdivision to the Controller for administration and allocation
in the fiscal year in which the bonds are issued and sold, including
any interest or other return earned on the investment of those
moneys, in the following manner:
   (A) Fifty percent to the counties, including a city and county, in
accordance with the following formulas:
   (i) Seventy-five percent of the funds payable under this
subparagraph shall be apportioned among the counties in the
proportion that the number of fee-paid and exempt vehicles that are
registered in the county bears to the number of fee-paid and exempt
vehicles registered in the state
   (ii) Twenty-five percent of the funds payable under this
subparagraph shall be apportioned among the counties in the
proportion that the number of miles of maintained county roads in
each county bears to the total number of miles of maintained county
roads in the state. For the purposes of apportioning funds under this
clause, any roads within the boundaries of a city and county that
are not state highways shall be deemed to be county roads.
   (B) Fifty percent to the cities, including a city and county,
apportioned among the cities in the proportion that the total
population of the city bears to the total population of all the
cities in the state, provided, however, that the Controller shall
allocate a minimum of four hundred thousand dollars (0,000) to
each city, pursuant to this subparagraph.
   (2) Funds received under this subdivision shall be deposited as
follows in order to avoid the commingling of those funds with other
local funds:
   (A) In the case of a city, into the city account that is
designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for local streets
and roads.
   (B) In the case of an eligible county, into the county road fund.

   (C) In the case of a city and county, into a local account that is
designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for local
streets and roads.
   (3) For the purpose of allocating funds under this subdivision to
cities and a city and county, the Controller shall use the most
recent population estimates prepared by the Demographic Research Unit
of the Department of Finance.  For a city that incorporated after
January 1, 1998, that does not appear on the most recent population
estimates prepared by the Demographic Research Unit, the Controller
shall use the population determined for that city under Section
11005.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
   (4) Funds apportioned to a city, county, or city and county under
this subdivision shall be used for improvements to transportation
facilities that will assist in reducing local traffic congestion and
further deterioration, improving traffic flows, or increasing traffic
safety that may include, but not be limited to, street and highway
pavement maintenance, rehabilitation, installation, construction and
reconstruction of necessary associated facilities such as drainage
and traffic control devices, or the maintenance, rehabilitation,
installation, construction and reconstruction of facilities that
expand ridership on transit systems, safety projects to reduce
fatalities, or as a local match to obtain state or federal
transportation funds for similar purposes.
   (5) At the conclusion of each fiscal year during which a city or
county expends the funds it has received under this subdivision, the
Controller may verify the city's or county's compliance with
paragraph (4). Any city or county that has not complied with
paragraph (4) shall reimburse the state for the funds it received
during that fiscal year.  Any funds withheld or returned as a result
of a failure to comply with paragraph (4) shall be reallocated to the
other counties and cities whose expenditures are in compliance.