Transportation Tax Swap Approved by Assembly and Senate Budget Committees

The full Senate Budget and Finance Committee adopted, by unanimous vote, the comprehensive transportation tax swap fix as proposed in the Governor’s January 2011-12 budget during their hearing on Wednesday, including the validation of the replacement taxes and the transfer of truck weight fees. The full Assembly Budget Committee also adopted the proposal, with the Republican members voting “no”.

It is our understanding that these actions will send all proposals to the Budget Conference Committee which begins hearings next week.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

AB 605 (Dickinson) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

AB 605, by Assembly Member Roger Dickinson, would require the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research to prepare and adopt guidelines that would, among other things, establish the percentage reduction in the projected trip generation and vehicle miles traveled for a project as compared to the average for trip generation and vehicle miles traveled for that project type that would assist a region in meeting the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets established by the State Air Resources Board for the automobile and light truck sector for that region, and develop a list of mitigation measures that a project may incorporate to reduce the project’s projected trip generation and vehicle miles traveled. Further, the measure would provide that a project meeting or exceeding the percentage reduction in trip generation and vehicle miles traveled or a project that incorporates the listed mitigation measures sufficient to allow the project tomeet the percentage reduction would not need to consider the transportation-related impact of the project in environmental documents prepared pursuant to CEQA. 

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 605 is awaiting committee assignment. 

SB 241 (Cannella) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 9, 2011

SB 241, by Senator Anthony Cannella, would enact the CEQA Litigation Protection Pilot Program of 2011 and would require the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency to select projects that meet specified requirements from specified regions for each calendar year between 2012 and 2016. The bill would exempt from judicial review, pursuant to CEQA, a lead agency’s decision to certify the Environmental Impact Record of, or to adopt a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial study for, the selected projects, a lead agency’s and responsible agency’s approval of the selected project, and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency’s selection of the projects.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

SB 241 is awaiting committee assignment.

Housing

AB 542 (Allen) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

AB 542, by Assembly Member Michael Allen, would require, under housing element law, densities less than those specified in the housing element, to be deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households, if the site is owned by a city or county planning agency and set aside for affordable housing development, or if the planning agency has offered to provide subsidies per unit for affordable housing construction.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 542 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 579 (Monning) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

AB 579, by Assembly Member William Monning, would permit the award of attorney’s fees and, in some cases, other litigation expenses, to a local governmental entity in an action brought by the owner of a mobilehome park to challenge the validity or application of a local ordinance, rule, regulation, or initiative measure that regulates space rent or is intended to benefit or protect residents in a mobilehome park, if the local governmental entity is determined to be the prevailing party.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 579 is awaiting committee assignment. 

SB 444 (Evans) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

SB 444, by Senator Noreen Evans, would, under the Subdivision Map Act, clarify that a local agency is required to consider the results of a survey regarding a proposed conversion of a rental mobilehome park to resident ownership, in making its decision to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map. The measure would also clarify that the agency is authorized to disapprove the map if it finds that the results of the survey have not demonstrated adequate resident support. Finally, with respect to mitigation of economic displacement of all nonpurchasing residents, the scope of the hearing is limited to compliance with these provisions of the act.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

SB 444 is awaiting committee assignment.

Planning 

SB 244 (Wolk) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 10, 2011

SB 244, by Assembly Member Lois Wolk, would require, prior to January 1, 2014, and thereafter upon each revision of its housing element, a city or county to review and update one or more elements of its general plan, as necessary to address the presence of island, fringe, or legacy unincorporated communities, inside or near its boundaries, and would require the updated general plan to include an identification of unincorporated island, fringe, or legacy communities within or near the city or county, a quantification and analysis of specific infrastructure deficiencies, an analysis of current programs for addressing conditions and deficiencies within these communities, a statement of goals for addressing these issues, and finally a set of implementation measures designed to achieve these goals. The bill would also require the city or county planning agency, after the initial revision and update of the general plan, to review, and if necessary amend, the general plan to update the information, goals, and program of action relating to these communities.

This measure is very similar to SB 1174 as introduced in February 2010 by Senator Wolk. CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

SB 244 is awaiting committee assignment.

Public Works Administration

AB 356 (Hill) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 1, 2011

AB 356, by Assembly Member Jerry Hill, would exempt any public works project that is funded, in whole or in part, with state funds from a policy imposed by a local agency that mandates that any portion or percentage of project work hours be performed by local residents.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 356 is awaiting committee assignment. 

SB 438 (Cannella) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

SB 438, by Senator Anthony Cannella, would provide that workers working in a yard, shop, or plant off the site of construction shall only be deemed to be employed upon public works if that yard, shop, or plant is specifically established for that public work project.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

SB 438 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 587 (Gordon) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

AB 587, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon, would extend the repeal date, regarding work performed by a volunteer, a volunteer coordinator, or a member of the California Conservation Corps or a community conservation corps, to January 1, 2017.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 587 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 457 (Wagner) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 15, 2011

AB 457, by Assembly Member Donald Wagner, would entitle a bidder who successfully challenges the award of a contract determined to be invalid due to errors or omissions of the public entity to recover costs and attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing the challenge.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 457 is awaiting committee assignment.

Transportation

AB 441 (Monning) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 14, 2011

AB 441, by Assembly Member William Monning, would require that the California Transportation Commission (Commission) include health issues in the guidelines promulgated by the Commission for the preparation of regional transportation plans. This bill would also require that the Govenor’s Office of Planning and Research develop guidelines that contain advice on how local and regional agencies can incorporate health issues into local or regional general plans.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 441 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 485 (Ma) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 15, 2011

AB 485, by Assembly Member Fiona Ma, would eliminate the requirement of voter approval for the adoption of an infrastructure financing plan, the creation of an infrastructure financing district, and the issuance of bonds with respect to a transit village development district. The bill would require a city or county that uses infrastructure financing district bonds to finance its transit village development district to use at least 20 percent of the revenue from those bonds for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the supply of lower and moderate-income housing; to require that those housing units remain available and occupied by moderate-, low-very low, and extremely low income households for at least 55 years for rental units and 45 years for owner-occupied units; and to rehabilitate, develop, or construct for rental or sale to persons and families of low or moderate income an equal number of replacement dwellings to those removed or destroyed from the low- and moderate-income segment of the housing market as a result of the development of the district.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 485 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 516 (V. Manuel Perez) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 15, 2011

AB 516, by Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez, would delete, from the factors that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) currently has to consider when rating Safe Routes to School proposals, the factor related to consultation of and support for projects by school-based organizations, local traffic engineers, local elected officials, law enforcement agencies, school officials, and other relevant community stakeholders and replace it with a factor relating to the use of a specified public participation process, with involvement by the public, schools, parents, teachers, local agencies, the business community, key professionals, and others, which process identifies community priorities and ensures those priorities are reflected in the proposal, and secures support for the proposal by relevant community stakeholders. 

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 516 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 529 (Gatto) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 15, 2011

AB 529, by Assembly Member Mike Gatto, would require Caltrans to revise the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, as it read on January 1, 2012, with regard to the posting of the speed limit and would prohibit the department from revising certain provisions of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices that allow a local agency to reduce speed limits by an additional 5 miles per hour, under the circumstances specified in that manual. This bill would allow, as a pilot project, the City of Glendale to enact an ordinance to set a speed limit on any major roadway, as defined, located in that city if the city council determines there is a demonstrable public safety concern due to escalating traffic collision and fatality rates.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 529 is awaiting committee assignment. 

AB 650 (Blumenfield) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 16, 2011

AB 650, by Assembly Member Bob Blumenfield, would establish the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Public Transportation for the 21st Century, comprised of 12 specified members, and would require the task force to prepare a written report that contains findings and recommendations relating to, among other things, the current state of California’s transit system, the estimated cost of creating the needed system over various terms, and potential sources of funding to sustain the transit system’s needs, and to submit the report by March 31, 2013. The bill would require the task force, in preparing its written report, to consult with appropriate state agencies and departments and would require the Institute of Transportation Studies of the University of California, subject to their agreement, to provide staffing to the task force. The bill would appropriate $750,000 from the Public Transportation Account to the Department of Transportation, as specified, to accomplish the purposes of these provisions.

CSAC is requesting counties review this measure and provide feedback as soon as is practical. 

AB 650 is awaiting committee assignment.