BILL ANALYSIS
AB 744
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 744 (Torrico) - As Amended: April 21, 2009
SUBJECT : Bay Area Toll Authority: Express Lane Network
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) to
develop a Bay Area Express Lane Network (network).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares the intent of the Legislature to authorize BATA to
develop the network to provide the following objectives:
a) Higher vehicle and passenger throughput and reduce
travel delays;
b) An efficient, effective, consistent, and seamless system
for network customers;
c) Benefits to travelers within each corridor commensurate
with the revenues collected in that corridor;
d) Expedited delivery of the network using a rapid delivery
approach that, to the greatest extent possible relies on
the existing highway right of way and minimizes
environmental impacts; and,
e) Use of network revenue to finance construction of the
network and other corridor improvements, operation and
maintenance of the network, and to provide transit services
in the network corridors.
2)Further declares the intent of the Legislature that:
a) Network policies be developed by BATA in collaboration
with the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans), Department of the California Highway Patrol
(CHP), and Bay Area congestion management agencies;
b) The network use a corridor-based structure to recognize
commute sheds and geographic communities of interest as the
most effective and user-responsive models for
implementation of the network;
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c) Network corridor revenues be reinvested in the corridor,
based on corridor investment plans, to provide, for
example, additional capital improvements on the freeway and
parallel arterials, transit capital and service
improvements, and enhanced operations and management of the
corridor; and,
d) The network provides customers with an efficient,
easy-to-use system, including for example, consistent
geometric design and signage.
3)Authorizes BATA to use toll bridge revenues for the network,
under specified conditions and so long as BATA anticipates
that funding the network will not necessitate an increase in
the amount of tolls collected.
4)Authorizes BATA to pledge bridge toll revenues and other
income to acquire, construct, administer, and operate the
network if it determines that funding for the network is not
available on acceptable terms without the pledge and provided
it projects the additional obligations will not necessitate an
increase in bridge tolls.
5)Authorizes, nonetheless, BATA to increase tolls if it is
necessary to do so to meet its obligations.
6)Requires BATA to establish a Bay Area Express Lane Network
Project Oversight Committee (committee) and prescribes its
membership to include representatives of BATA, Caltrans, and
CHP. The committee will also include a representative of each
of the congestion management agencies within the geographic
jurisdiction of BATA's sister agency, the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission (MTC), that has:
a) Committed substantial funding to the development of an
express lane corridor;
b) Adopted a policy in support of developing an express
lane; or,
c) Whose residents comprise a significant share of the
potential users of the network.
7)Requires the committee to recommend a development plan, with
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prescribed elements, and policies for the network, and
prescribes the approval process to be followed by BATA.
8)Sets forth procedures and requirements for the establishment
of corridor working groups to develop corridor investment
plans that provide consistency with the overall network yet
reflect the needs of individual corridors; prescribe elements
to be included in the corridor investment plans, including an
examination of equity considerations and the impact of the
proposed network segment on low-income travelers, transit
riders, and carpoolers; provides procedures to govern the
approval process of corridor investment plans by BATA.
9)Grants BATA broad authority to acquire, construct, administer,
and operate an express lane network on state highways within
the geographic jurisdiction of MTC, to be funded from network
revenues, revenue bonds, and contributions and loans from
federal, state, or local agencies.
10)Authorizes BATA to impose a fee for use of the network, based
on a fee structure developed by BATA.
11)Sets forth requirements BATA must adhere to in setting and
changing toll schedules, including providing public hearings.
12)Requires BATA to carry out the network in cooperation with
Caltrans and CHP and to ensure minimum specific levels of
service are maintained.
13)Continuously appropriates to Caltrans, for expenditures
related to the network, all amounts paid to it by BATA;
provides similar continuous appropriation authority for the
CHP.
14)Requires agreements between BATA, Caltrans, and the CHP and
requires the agreements to assign specific obligations,
responsibilities, and liabilities.
15)Directs all revenue generated by the network to be deposited
in BATA's Express Lane Network Account (account), created by
this bill, and prescribes eligible expenditures from the
account.
16) Prescribes allowable uses of "net corridor revenue," as
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defined; allows BATA to reserve up to 5% of the net corridor
revenue as a reserve and directs all remaining net corridor
revenue to be distributed to corridors for expenditure
according to each corridor investment plan; also authorizes
BATA to disburse net corridor revenue to approved recipients,
including congestion management agencies.
17)Vests BATA with the responsibility to control and maintain
the account.
18)Requires BATA to, within one year from the effective date of
this bill, assume all rights and obligations of the following
agencies with respect to their individual authorities to
construct and operate value-pricing, high-occupancy toll (HOT)
lanes:
a) Sunol Smart Carpool Lane Joint Powers Authority;
b) Alameda County Congestion Management (ACCM) Agency; and,
c) Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).
19)Grants BATA authority to issue bonds secured by network
revenues, with the stipulation that the state will not
authorize fee-based publicly or privately owned express lanes
or high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes within the geographic
jurisdiction of the MTC, other than express lanes authorized
in the network.
EXISTING LAW:
20)Created MTC as the transportation planning, coordinating, and
financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area
and prescribed its membership and responsibilities.
21)Created BATA, within MTC, to administer all tolls on the San
Francisco Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges and to
provide joint oversight of the toll bridge construction
program with Caltrans and the CTC . Caltrans owns and operates
the state-owned bridges.
22)Authorizes a joint powers authority (consisting of the ACCM
Agency, Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority,
and VTA to conduct, administer, and operate a value-pricing
HOT lane program on the Sunol Grade on State Route 680 in
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Alameda and Santa Clara Counties.
23)Authorizes the ACCM Agency to conduct, administer, and
operate a value-pricing HOT lane program on a corridor within
in Alameda County and VTA to operate a value-pricing HOT lane
program on any two corridors in its HOV lane system.
24)Authorizes the San Diego Association of Governments to
conduct, administer, and operate a value-pricing and transit
development program on no more than two corridors within San
Diego County. Allows the HOV lanes to be used as HOT lanes.
25)Authorizes regional transportation agencies or Caltrans to
enter into an unlimited number of comprehensive development
lease agreement with public or private entities for
transportation projects, under the following key conditions:
a) Projects must be primarily designed achieve improved
mobility, improved operations or safety, and quantifiable
air quality benefits;
b) At least 60 days prior to executing a final lease
agreement, the project sponsor (i.e., Caltrans or a
regional transportation agency) must submit the agreement
to the Legislature and to the Public Infrastructure
Advisory Committee for review;
c) Prior to submitting a proposal, the project sponsor
would have to conduct a least one public hearing;
d) Existing non-toll or non-user-fee lanes cannot be
converted to toll lanes except that HOV lanes can be
converted to HOT for vehicles not otherwise meeting the
occupancy level requirements for those lanes; and,
e) No lease agreements can be entered into after January 1,
2017.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : AB 744 authorizes BATA to finance, construct, and
operate an 800-mile express lane network, involving conversion
of 500 miles of existing or fully funded HOV lanes to
congestion-priced express lanes. The network is expected to
provide free-flowing traffic for carpools, buses, and toll
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payers, using congestion pricing. Tolls for non-carpools using
the express lanes will be collected electronically.
MTC estimates that the network will:
26)Generate $6.1 billion in revenue over 25 years.
27)Cost $7.6 billion to build, finance, and operate over the
next 25 years.
28)Complete funding and construction of the 800-mile network of
congestion-free lanes for carpools, buses, and toll payers.
29)Boost worker productivity by $100 billion by reducing freeway
delay.
30)Reduce CO2 by 10 million metric tons.
This bill is intended to create a framework for collaboration
and partnership in development of the network. It establishes
BATA as the lead agency to plan, finance, and manage the HOT
network. Expenditure plans will be developed from a "bottoms
up" process in each individual travel corridor, led by
congestion management agencies.
Although AB 744 represents a region-wide congestion pricing plan
that is bolder than most that have come before the Legislature,
it is not the first. Congestion pricing HOT lanes have already
been approved by the Legislature in specific corridors in both
northern and southern California. Furthermore, just last year
the Legislature passed congestion-pricing authorizations for
Riverside County and Los Angeles County, not to mention broad
authority for public-private partnerships passed already this
session.
According to the California Automobile Association (AAA) of
Northern California, writing in support of this bill, "Research
from the first HOT lane projects built in the late 1990s in
Southern California and the Houston area shows that the toll
lanes are used by motorists of all income levels on an as-needed
basis?HOT lanes in California and Texas also gained support
among motorists who didn't use them regularly because they were
seen as diverting more vehicles from the regular lanes. To that
end, AAA of Northern California believes that a HOT lane network
is supportable so long as there are parallel free existing lanes
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for commuters and that toll revenue is used to improve the
corridor(s) in which it is collected."
Related legislation : SBX2 4 (Cogdill), Chapter 2, Statutes of
2009, grants broad authority for pubic-private partnerships for
transportation.
AB 798 (Nava) of 2009 would create the California Transportation
Financing Authority (CTFA) to provide for increased construction
of new capacity or improvements for transportation systems
through the issuance of revenue bonds. That bill is in Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
AB 2032 (Dutra), Chapter 418, Statutes of 2004, authorized HOT
lane programs in Alameda, San Diego, and Santa Clara Counties.
AB 574 (Torrico), Chapter 498, Statutes of 2007, struck the
sunset date on the authority to administer HOT lanes in these
three counties.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (sponsor)
AAA of Northern California
Opposition
Paul Thiebaut, III (an individual)
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093