California Assembly Bill AB1403 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1403AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng FEBRUARY 27, 2009  An act relating to vehicles.   An act to amend Section 99233.2 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1403, as amended, Eng.  Vehicles: traffic violator school.   Local transportation funds: planning and programming.   Existing law, pursuant to the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act, also known as the Transportation Development Act, provides for allocation by the transportation planning agency of 1/4% of the sales tax in each county deposited in the local transportation fund to various transportation purposes, including transportation planning and programming, public transit, and, in some cases, local streets and roads. Up to 3% of annual revenues may be allocated to the transportation planning agency, if it is statutorily created, for transportation planning and programming purposes. In the multicounty region that is within the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which is also known as the multicounty designated transportation planning agency, specified percentages of annual revenues may be allocated to the statutorily created county transportation commissions in 5 individual counties, and up to 3/4 of 1% of annual revenues, but not more than $1,000,000, may be allocated by the commissions in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, proportionately, to SCAG for its transportation planning and programming functions.   This bill would delete the $1,000,000 limitation on allocations of these funds by the 4 county transportation commissions to SCAG.   Existing law authorizes a court, in lieu of adjudicating a traffic offense committed by a person who holds one of specified types of driver's licenses, with the defendant's consent, to order the person to attend a licensed traffic violator school, licensed driving school, or other court-approved program of driving instruction.   This bill would state the Legislature's intent to enact legislation to revise the process for dismissal of charges for a traffic offense in exchange for a person's attendance at a traffic violator school, in order to prevent high-risk drivers from completing traffic safety instruction multiple times to avoid convictions.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 99233.2 of the   Public Utilities Code   is amended to read:  99233.2. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), there shall be allocated to the transportation planning agency, if it is statutorily created, such sums as it may approve, up to 3 percent of annual revenues, for the conduct of the transportation planning and programming process, unless a greater amount is approved by the director. (b) (1) In those areas that have a county transportation commission created pursuant to Section 130050, up to 1 percent of annual revenues shall be allocated to the commission in Los Angeles County, and up to 3 percent of the annual revenues shall be allocated to the commissions in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties for the transportation planning and programming process. Of the funds allocated to the commission in Riverside County, one-half shall be allocated for planning studies within the Western Riverside County and the Coachella Valley areas, as determined by the commission. (2) In the area of the multicounty designated transportation planning agency, as defined in Section 130004, up to three-fourths of 1 percent of annual revenues  , but not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per year,  shall be allocated by the appropriate entities, proportionately, on or before each July 1, to the multicounty designated transportation planning agency for the transportation planning and programming process. No operator shall grant any funds it receives under this chapter to the designated multicounty transportation planning agency for purposes of the agency carrying out its responsibilities under Division 12 (commencing with Section 130000). (c) In Ventura County, up to 2 percent of the annual revenues shall be allocated to the Ventura County Transportation Commission for the transportation planning and programming process.  SECTION 1.   The Legislature intends to enact legislation to revise the process for dismissal of charges for a traffic offense in exchange for a person's attendance at a traffic violator school, in order to prevent high-risk drivers from completing traffic safety instruction multiple times to avoid convictions.