California Assembly Bill AB1778 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1778AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams FEBRUARY 21, 2012 An act to amend Section 99232.3 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1778, as amended, Williams. Local transportation funds. Existing law requires that revenues from 1/4% of the local sales and use tax rate be transferred to the local transportation fund of each county for allocation, as directed by the transportation planning agency, to various transportation purposes, under what is commonly known as the Transportation Development Act. Existing law specifies the allowable uses for local transportation funds, and generally requires, after certain deductions, that the funds attributed to the area of apportionment of each transit operator be used solely for transit purposes in counties with a population of 500,000 or more as of the 1970 census. However, in counties with a population under 500,000 as of the 1970 census and in certain other counties, these funds may also be used for local streets and roads, if the transportation planning agency finds that there are no unmet transit needs or no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet, and for other specified purposes. Existing law, effective July 1, 2014, generally requires a county with a population under 500,000 as of the 1970 census that has a population of 500,000 or more as of the 2000 census or a future census to use funds attributable to the urbanized area of the county solely for transit purposes, except that a city with a population of 100,000 or fewer in an urbanized area in that county would not be so restricted. Existing law provides that the July 1, 2014, requirements and exemptions do not apply to Ventura County, and instead generally requires all local transportation funds in that county to be used for transit purposes as of that date unless a specified report is submitted by the Ventura County Transportation Commission to the transportation committees of the Legislature by December 31, 2011, and a recommended legislative proposal in that report relative to reorganization of transit services and expenditure of these funds is enacted by the end of the 2011-12 legislative session. This bill would provide that local transportation funds in Ventura County shall be available solely for transit purposes beginning July 1, 2014, as specified. The bill would also provide that any of those funds that remain unencumbered for more than one year, or unexpended for more than 2 years, be returned to the Ventura County Transportation Commission for reapportionment to other transit operators or transit service in proportional amounts based on population, contingent upon specified criteria. 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 99232.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 99232.3. Sections 99232.1 and 99232.2 shall not apply to Ventura County. (a) Revenues deposited in the local transportation fund in Ventura County shall be available for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2014, and each fiscal year thereafter, solely for claims for Article 4 (commencing with Section 99260) and Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 99275) purposes. (b) Funds apportioned pursuant to this section that remain unencumbered for more than one year or unexpended for more than two years shall be returned to the Ventura County Transportation Commission for reapportionment to transit operators or consolidated transportation service in proportional amounts based on population, if both of the following conditions are met: (1) The transit operator or consolidated transportation service is eligible to receive funding  in proportional amounts based on population   under Article 4 (commencing with Section 99260) and Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 99275)  . (2) The transit operator or consolidated transportation service did not have any funds returned to the commission under this subdivision in the previous year.