California Senate Bill SB783 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 783AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Ashburn FEBRUARY 27, 2009 An act to amend Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to high-speed rail  , and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately  . LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 783, as amended, Ashburn. High-speed rail. Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority with specified powers and duties relating to the development and implementation of an intercity high-speed rail system. Existing law requires the authority to prepare and to submit to the Legislature a revised business plan containing specified elements by September 1, 2008. This bill would require the authority to prepare  an expanded   , publish, adopt, and submit to the Legislature a  business plan addressing specified elements  prior to seeking bond funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, which was approved as Proposition 1A by the voters at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election   no later than March 1, 2010, and every 2 years thereafter, with a draft of the business plan to be available at least 60 days in advance for public review and comment, followed by a public hearing  .  The bill would require the authority to submit a draft of the expanded business plan to the Legislature by September 1, 2009, and to adopt the plan at its January 2010 regularly scheduled meeting, following at least one public hearing.   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.  Vote:  2/3   majority  . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 185033. (a) The authority shall prepare, publish,  adopt,  and submit to the Legislature, not later than  September 1, 2008, a revised   March 1, 2010, and every two years thereafter, a business plan. At least 60 days prior to the publication of the plan, the authority shall publish a draft business plan for public review and comment. The draft plan shall also be submitted to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing and the Assembly Comm   ittee on Transportation. The  business plan  that identifies   shall identify  all of the following: the type of service  it   the authority  anticipates it will develop, such as local, express, commuter, regional, or interregional; a description of the primary benefits the system will provide; a forecast of the anticipated patronage, operating costs, and capital costs for the system; an estimate and description of the total anticipated federal, state, local, and other funds the authority intends to access to fund the construction and operation of the system; and the proposed chronology for the construction of the eligible corridors of the statewide high-speed train system. The  revised  business plan shall also include a discussion of all reasonably foreseeable risks the project may encounter, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the project's finances, patronage, construction, equipment, and technology, and other risks associated with the project's development. The plan shall describe the authority' s strategies, processes, or other actions it intends to utilize to manage those risks.  (b) (1) Prior to seeking an allocation of bond funding pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 2704) of Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code) for the 2009-10 fiscal year, the authority shall prepare an expanded business plan that includes, but is not   (b)     (1)    In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), the business plan shall include, but need not be  limited to, all of the following elements: (A) Using the most recent patronage forecast for the system, develop a forecast of the expected patronage and service levels for the Phase 1 corridor as identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2704.04 of the Streets and Highways Code and by each segment  or combination of segments  for which a project level environmental analysis is being prepared for Phase 1. The forecast shall assume a high, medium, and low level of patronage and a realistic operating planning scenario for each level of service. Alternative fare structures shall be considered when determining the level of patronage. (B) Based on the patronage forecast in subparagraph (A), develop alternative financial pro formas for the different levels of service, and identify the operating break-even points for each alternative. Each pro forma shall assume the terms of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 2704.08 of the Streets and Highways Code. (C) Identify the expected schedule for completing environmental review, and initiating and completing construction for each segment of Phase 1. (D) Identify the source of federal, state, and local funds available for the project that will augment funds from the bond act and the level of confidence for obtaining each type of funding. (E) Identify written agreements with public or private entities to fund components of the high-speed rail system, including stations and terminals, any impediments to the completion of the system, such as the inability to gain access to existing railroad rights-of-way. (F) Identify alternative public-private development strategies for the implementation of Phase 1.  (2) A draft of the expanded business plan shall be submitted to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing and the Assembly Committee on Transportation on or before September 1, 2009.   (3)   (2)  The authority shall hold at least one public hearing on the  expanded  business plan and shall adopt the  expanded  plan at  its   a regularly scheduled meeting  in January 2010  . When adopting the plan, the authority shall take into consideration comments from the public hearing and written comments that it receives in that regard, and any hearings that the Legislature may hold prior to adoption of the  expanded  plan.  SEC. 2.   This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to provide for the expeditious development of an expanded business plan to govern the implementation of a high-speed rail system for the state, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.