BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING Senator Jim Beall, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 620 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Roger Hernández | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |1/27/2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Manny Leon | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: High-occupancy toll lanes: exemptions from tolls DIGEST: This bill directs the Los Angeles County METROpolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) to make additional outreach efforts for the low-income assistance program related to its high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane program known as the ExpressLanes. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Authorizes METRO to conduct, administer, and operate the ExpressLanes Program on Interstate 10 (I-10) and Interstate 110 (I-110) in Los Angeles County. 2)Requires METRO, when implementing the program, to work with affected communities in the two highway corridors and provide mitigation measures for low-income commuters, including reduced toll charges and toll credits for transit users. 3)Requires that participants in the low-income assistance program meet eligibility requirements for any one of several specific public assistance programs. This bill: AB 620 (Roger Hernández) Page 2 of ? 1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the potential for greater participation in METRO's low-income assistance program. 2)Directs METRO to take additional steps to increase enrollment in its low-income assistance program, including consideration of greater incentives to encourage participation in the program. 3)Directs METRO and the California Department of Transportation to report to the Legislature on efforts to improve METRO's ExpressLanes program, including greater participation in the low-income assistance program and the overall performance of the high-occupancy toll lanes. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. The author introduced this bill because he is concerned about the impact that the ExpressLanes program is having on constituents in his district, particularly low-income constituents. He has voiced concerns that the ExpressLanes Program was supposed to improve commutes for all users in the corridor, not just the toll-paying ones. He asserts that these improvements have not, however, materialized, and that lanes adjacent to the tolled lanes experience longer periods of congestion now than they did prior to the start of the ExpressLanes Program. Consequently, commuters that can afford to pay the tolls enjoy shorter commutes at the expense of non-paying commuters (including his low-income constituents) for whom travel times have worsened. 2)METRO's ExpressLanes Program. SB 1422 (Ridley-Thomas, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2008) authorized METRO, until January 15, 2013, to develop and operate a value-pricing and transit development demonstration program involving high-occupancy toll lanes, referred to as ExpressLanes. The program was primarily funded with a $210 million congestion reduction demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Tolling began in November 2012 on the I-110 and in February 2013 on the I-10. AB 1224 (Eng, Chapter 441, Statutes of 2010) extended the sunset and reporting dates for the ExpressLanes Program from January 2013 to January 2015, and SB 1298 (Hernández, Chapter 531, Statutes of 2013) recast the program and extended it indefinitely. AB 620 (Roger Hernández) Page 3 of ? 3)METRO's Low-Income Assistance Program. METRO's low-income assistance program is the first in the nation to address equity concerns on toll-lane projects and has been, by many accounts, generally successful. METRO reports that the ExpressLanes Program has invested over $150 million in transit-related improvements along the I-110 and I-10 corridors, including a new transit center in El Monte, 59 new buses for transit providers, and safety improvements to the Harbor Transitway. To participate in METRO's low-income assistance program, an individual must be a Los Angeles County resident with an annual household income at or below two times the federal poverty level (e.g., $40,180 for a 3-person household). Applications for the program can be submitted by mail or at one of two walk-in centers. Qualifying residents receive a $25 credit when they set up an account, which can be applied to either the transponder deposit or pre-paid toll deposit. The monthly account maintenance fee is waived. As of May 2016, 10,344 households are enrolled in the low-income assistance program out of over 488,802 Express Lane accounts. This bill simply provides METRO with clarification and direction to continue its efforts in administering its low-income assistance programs and further provides additional legislative oversight by requiring METRO to issue a report on its efforts to improve mobility options for low-income travelers along these corridors. Related Legislation: SB 1298 (Hernández, Chapter 531, Statutes of 2013) - recast the ExpressLanes program and extended it indefinitely. AB 1224 (Eng, Chapter 441, Statutes of 2010) - extended the sunset and reporting dates for the ExpressLanes Program from January 2013 to January 2015. AB 620 (Roger Hernández) Page 4 of ? SB 1422 (Ridley-Thomas, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2008) - authorized, until January 15, 2013, METRO to operate the ExpressLanes Program. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No Assembly Votes: Floor: 51-26 Trans: 9-3 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 22, 2016.) SUPPORT: None received OPPOSITION: None received -- END --