2009 California Public Utilities Code - Section 130000-130010 :: Chapter 1. General Provisions, Findings, And Definitions ...

130000.  This division shall be known and may be cited as the County
Transportation Commissions Act.

130001.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
   (a) Public demand for an efficient public transportation system in
the southern California region resulting from population sprawl, the
concentration of many transit dependent citizens in the large urban
areas, and increasing mobility requirements indicates a need for
improved, as well as more innovative, policy and decisionmaking
institutions to resolve these problems.
   (b) A basic purpose of transportation policy within the region
should be to avoid undesirable duplication of transportation
services, achieve the operation of a coordinated and integrated
transportation system which will reduce automobile usage and
dependency, reduce the consumption of scarce and expensive energy
fuels, and reduce the levels of automobile-related air pollution.
   (c) Recognizing the scarcity of resources available for all
transportation development, the commissions shall give priority to
low-cost highway and transit improvements, and shall work toward
maximizing the effectiveness of existing resources available to the
commissions.
   (d) Recognizing the importance of the state highway system in the
Los Angeles metropolitan area to bus, automobile, and freight
transportation, it is necessary to maintain this highway system at
least at its present operating standards and to increase the
person-moving capability of this system by such methods as
carpooling, improved traffic operations, exclusive busways, and
fringe parking facilities.
   (e) The transportation system should offer adequate public
transportation to all citizens, including those immobilized by
poverty, age, physical handicaps, or other reasons.
   (f) The cities and local communities acting singly or jointly
should be given more responsibilities for designing and providing
local transit services to improve the responsiveness of public
transit to public needs.
   (g) The transportation decisionmaking process should be responsive
to public values, and provide for the continuing involvement of the
public in the preparation, revision, and discussion of transportation
plans and services.
   (h) Transportation planning should recognize that transportation
systems have significant effect on the physical and socioeconomic
characteristics of the areas served, and emphasis should be given to
the protection and enhancement of the environment and the restoration
of blighted neighborhoods near community centers. Los Angeles
County, in particular, is a multicentered area with diverse
socioeconomic levels and travel patterns, and a majority of the trips
in the county are four miles or less.

130002.  As used in this division, "commission" means a county
transportation commission created pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 130050).

130003.  As used in this division, "local transportation zones"
means cities or unincorporated areas which contain at least one
economic center or major trip generator in which there is a large
percentage of short- and medium-length transit trips. Local
transportation zones shall be coordinated with regional transit
operations as appropriate relative to consumer need and efficient
operations.

130004.  As used in this division, "multicounty designated
transportation planning agency" means the Southern California
Association of Governments.

130005.  The multicounty designated transportation planning agency
shall conduct its meetings in the manner prescribed by the Ralph M.
Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950), Part 1,
Division 2, Title 5 of the Government Code).
   A majority of the members of the executive committee of the agency
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. All
official acts of the executive committee shall require the
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the executive
committee present, with not less than a quorum present.

130010.  Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c) of Section
130109, all provisions of the Orange County Transit District Act of
1965 (Part 4 (commencing with Section 40000) of Division 10),
regarding employer-employee relations, employee benefits, and
conditions of employment for the Orange County Transit District are
equally applicable to the Orange County Transportation Authority as
if set forth in this division, and govern employer-employee
relations, employee benefits, and conditions of employment for the
Orange County Transportation Authority.