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Agenda Item # 10

BOARD MEMORANDUM

RECOMMENDATION:

Review and comment on the proposed 2006 State Legislative Program for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).  The VTA Board of Directors is scheduled to formally adopt this program at its meeting on February 2, 2006.

BACKGROUND:

VTA annually adopts a State Legislative Program to provide direction for its legislative and policy activities in Sacramento for the year.

The purpose of the State Legislative Program is to establish statutory, regulatory and administrative policies and principles to guide VTA’s advocacy efforts at the state level.   The program is meant to be flexible in order to give VTA the ability to pursue unanticipated legislative and administrative opportunities that may present themselves during the course of the year, and to respond expeditiously to the dynamic political and programmatic processes in Sacramento.

The 2006 State Legislative Program is divided into the following 11 sections:

1. Existing Transportation Funding Sources.
2. Future Transportation Investments.
3. Local Transportation Sales Taxes.
4. Project Delivery.
5. California Public Utilities Commission.
6. State Transportation Improvement Program.
7. Public Transit Security.
8. Multi-Modalism.
9. Transit-Oriented Development.
10. Transportation and Social Equity.
11. Transportation and the Environment.

DISCUSSION:

The highlights of VTA’s 2006 State Legislative Program are summarized as follows:

Existing Transportation Funding Sources

·        During the deliberations on the FY 2007 state budget, protect the transfer of gasoline sales tax revenues from the General Fund to the Transportation Investment Fund (TIF), oppose any suspension of Proposition 42, and oppose loaning transportation dollars to the General Fund.

·        Oppose attempts to divert Transportation Development Act (TDA), Public Transportation Account (including “spillover” revenues) or other transportation funding to non-transportation purposes.

·        Ensure that any previous loans from the various state transportation accounts to help with prior-year General Fund deficits are not forgiven or deferred, but rather are repaid in full and with interest, as required under existing law.

·        Explore ways to create budgetary “firewalls” for the various state transportation accounts, similar to what exists for the federal Highway Trust Fund, in order to ensure that transportation dollars actually get spent for transportation purposes.

·        Support a constitutional amendment to eliminate the suspension provisions in Proposition 42.   Support additional constitutional protections for all state transportation accounts that would do the following:   (a) prohibit the loaning of transportation dollars to the General Fund; and  (b) guarantee the repayment of all transportation dollars that previously have been loaned to the General Fund.

Future Transportation Investments

·        Support legislation that would require the state gas and diesel fuel tax rates to be adjusted annually for inflation based on changes in the California Consumer Price Index.

·        Explore ways to generate additional funding for transportation through the use of general obligation bonds issued by the state, provided that repaying prior-year transportation loans to the General Fund and fixing the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) are the top priorities for such revenues.  In the event that there arises an opportunity to include specific transportation capital improvement projects in any proposed infrastructure bond measure, seek earmarks for high priority projects identified in Valley Transportation Plan 2030 (VTP 2030) and the expenditure plan for the 2000 Measure A Program.

·        Support maintaining the solvency of the Public Transportation Account, appropriating the highest possible level of funding for the State Transit Assistance Program (STA), and protecting the use of funds in the account for programming new transit capital improvement projects.

·        Support legislation that would provide local transportation entities, such as VTA, with the statutory authority to impose and collect a vehicle registration surcharge to fund traffic congestion management programs and other identified local transportation needs.

Local Transportation Sales Taxes

·        Support efforts to address the negative impacts of the California Supreme Court’s Guardino decision and to lower the two-thirds voting requirement for local transportation sales tax measures.

Project Delivery

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that would provide greater flexibility in terms of the types of contracting methods that are allowed under state law.   Specifically, support:   (a) preserving and, if possible, expanding the ability of project sponsors to utilize the design-build method of contracting for transportation capital improvement projects; and  (b) preserving and, if possible, expanding the ability of project sponsors to contract out for project development work for transportation capital improvement projects.

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that would allow local transportation entities to engage in public-private partnerships to deliver transportation capital improvement projects.

·        Support legislation that would provide general authorization in state law for local transportation entities to develop and implement high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.

·        Monitor legislative proposals regarding eminent domain to ensure that the authority for local transportation entities to use eminent domain for transportation capital improvement projects is not jeopardized.

·        Support legislation to expedite the process for reimbursing local entities for expenses that they incur in implementing STIP and Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) projects.

California Public Utilities Commission

·        Work with the California Transit Association and other rail transit operators in the state to support legislation that would streamline the public rail transit safety oversight programs of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in particular its process for approving rail-crossing applications.

State Transportation Improvement Program

·        Oppose legislative proposals and policies that would take away any amount of STIP programming responsibility from the regions, or that are inconsistent with the principles and intent of SB 45.

·        Work with the California Association of Councils of Government (CalCOG), as well as with the Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs) and other county Congestion Management Agencies (CMAs), to seek legislation to provide for predictable and consistent distribution of planning, programming and monitoring funds.

Public Transit Security

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that enhance the safety and security of public transit systems in California.

·        Explore ways to generate state funding to address the safety and security needs of California’s public transit operators.

Multi-Modalism

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that encourage the development of a multi-modal transportation system that offers transportation consumers choices.

Transit-Oriented Development

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that encourage transit-oriented development and other smart growth initiatives that enhance the effectiveness of public transit and other alternative modes of transportation.

Transportation and Social Equity

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that make investments to serve transit-dependent communities, and provide enhanced opportunities for these communities to access goods, services and jobs.

·        Support efforts on the part of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) regarding legislation to establish a pilot program to test the benefits of allowing public transit costs related to transportation for non-emergency medical services to be an allowable expense under the Medi-Cal Program.

Transportation and the Environment

·        Support legislative proposals and policies that seek to preserve the environment through better transportation planning.

·        Monitor the California Air Resources Board’s Urban Transit Bus Fleet Rule and its Rule for Transit Agency Fleet Vehicles to ensure that these rules are consistent with VTA’s clean-fuels bus strategy, and do not impose any unnecessary financial and administrative burdens on public transit operators.

ALTERNATIVES:

It is necessary for VTA to have a State Legislative Program in place to be prepared to address the policy and legislative issues that may arise in Sacramento during the coming year.

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no fiscal impact directly related to this recommendation.

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