California Assembly Bill AB427 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 427INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member John A. Prez FEBRUARY 14, 2011 An act to amend Section 8879.59 of the Government Code, relating to transportation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 427, as introduced, John A. Prez. Transportation bond funds: transit system safety. Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, authorizes the issuance of $19.925 billion of general obligation bonds for specified purposes. Existing law requires the deposit of $1 billion of the bond proceeds in the Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account to be used, upon appropriation, for capital projects that provide increased protection against a security and safety threat, and for capital expenditures to increase the capacity of transit operators to develop disaster response transportation systems that can move people, goods, and emergency personnel and equipment in the aftermath of a disaster impairing that movement. Existing law requires the allocation of 25% of these funds for capital expenditures to regional public waterborne transit agencies authorized to operate a regional public water transit system, as specified, and requires the California Emergency Management Agency to administer a grant application and award program. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. 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 8879.59 of the Government Code is amended to read: 8879.59. (a) For funds appropriated from the Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account for allocation to transit agencies eligible to receive funds pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8879.57, the California Emergency Management Agency  (Cal EMA)  shall administer a grant application and award program for those transit agencies. (b) Funds awarded to transit agencies pursuant to this section shall be for eligible capital expenditures as described in subdivision (b) of Section 8879.57. (c) Prior to allocating funds to projects pursuant to this section,  Cal EMA   the agency  shall adopt guidelines to establish the criteria and process for the distribution of funds described in this section. Prior to adopting the guidelines,  Cal EMA   the agency  shall hold a public hearing on the proposed guidelines. (d) For each fiscal year in which funds are appropriated for the purposes of this section,  Cal EMA   the agency  shall issue a notice of funding availability no later than October 1. (e) No later than December 1 of each fiscal year in which the notice in subdivision (d) is issued, eligible transit agencies may submit project nominations for funding to  Cal EMA   the agency  for its review and consideration. Project nominations shall include all of the following: (1) A description of the project, which shall illustrate the physical components of the project and the security or emergency response benefit to be achieved by the completion of the project. (2) Identification of all nonbond sources of funding committed to the project. (3) An estimate of the project's full cost and the proposed schedule for the project's completion. (f) No later than February 1,  Cal EMA   the agency  shall select eligible projects to receive grants under this section and shall provide the Controller with a list of the projects and the sponsoring agencies eligible to receive an allocation from the account. Upon receipt of this information, the Controller's office shall commence any necessary actions to allocate funds to those agencies, including, but not limited to, seeking the issuance of bonds for that purpose. Grants awarded to eligible transit agencies pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8879.57 shall be for eligible capital expenditures, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of that section.