California Senate Bill SB1225 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1225AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 6, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 29, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 1, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla (Coauthor: Senator Correa) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Davis, Galgiani, and Williams) FEBRUARY 23, 2012 An act to add Sections 14031.9, 14070.3, 14070.5, and 14070.7 to, and to repeal and add Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14072) of Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, the Government Code, relating to transportation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1225, as amended, Padilla. Intercity rail agreements. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to contract with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail services and provides funding for these services from the Public Transportation Account. Existing law, until December 31, 1996, authorized the department, subject to approval of the Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor. Existing law, with respect to a transferred corridor, requires the board to demonstrate the ability to meet performance standards established by the secretary. This bill would authorize the department, with the approval of the secretary, to enter into an additional interagency transfer agreement with respect to the LOSSAN Corridor, defined to mean the intercity passenger rail corridor between San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo, if the LOSSAN Agency, an existing joint powers agency, is reconstituted through an amended joint powers agreement approved by the governing boards of its members to enable that agency to enter into an interagency transfer agreement with the secretary relative to the LOSSAN Corridor. This bill  would require an interagency transfer agreement for the LOSSAN Corridor to cover the initial 3-year period after the transfer. The bill  would require a transfer agreement, as provided above, to be entered into  by   no later than  June 30,  2014   2015  , subject to negotiation and approval by the state and the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency.  The bill would require the agreement to cover the initial 3-year period after the transfer. If an agreement is not entered into by that date, the bill would require the secretary to report to the Governor and the Legislature by June 30, 2016, as specified.  Existing law requires the level of service to be funded by the state pursuant to a transfer agreement to not be less than the current number of intercity round trips operated in a corridor and serving the same endpoints. This bill would require the service funded by the state in the LOSSAN Corridor to  be at an appropriate level as determined in the interagency transfer agreement, and would require the level of funding provided by the state for intercity passenger rail service in the corridor to be maintained at a level at least equal to the current level of service provided in the corridor as of January 1, 2014, for not less than a 3-year period   remain the same during the first 3 years following the effective date of the transfer agreement, and would require the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency to provide that level of service. The bill would prohibit termination of feeder bus services except for specified reasons  . Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer agreement based on the annual business plan for the intercity rail corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law states that the interagency transfer agreement may provide that any additional funds required to operate the passenger rail service during a fiscal year shall be provided by the joint powers board from jurisdictions that receive service. This bill, with respect to the LOSSAN Corridor, would  instead provide that those funds may be provided by the board. The bill, with regard to that corridor, would provide that local resources shall not be available to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state resources for operating intercity rail services. In addition, with regard to that corridor, the bill would require the passenger rail equipment used for intercity passenger rail services to be the same type of equipment used on other state-funded intercity passenger rail services. The bill would prohibit termination of feeder bus services connecting the LOSSAN and San Joaquin Corridors except for specified reasons.   ,   if local resources are made available for operating the intercity rail services, require a vote of the local agency providing the resources, and would require the concurrence of the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency in that regard.  This bill would authorize the secretary to adopt new performance standards  by December 31, 2014,  for intercity rail services  in the LOSSAN Corridor  . This bill would repeal now-obsolete provisions authorizing the Southern California Regional Rail Authority to be a party to an interagency transfer agreement for intercity rail services in specified counties. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Intercity Passenger Rail Act of 2012. SEC. 2. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) An intercity passenger rail system, linking major urban centers and complemented by feeder bus services that provide access to outlying areas and destinations, is an important element of the state's transportation system, and shall remain a state-funded program. (2) The state has a continuing interest in the provision of cost-effective intercity passenger rail services and has a responsibility to coordinate intercity passenger rail services statewide.  Some state function needs to be sustained even if the responsibility for the current operations on intercity passenger rail routes is transferred.  (3) Since 1976, the state has invested over one billion eight hundred million dollars ($1,800,000,000) in capital improvements and operating support for intercity passenger rail service and must ensure the protection of that investment.  (4) Intercity rail service and ridership increases will result in more jobs, improve air quality, and help promote sustainable development.  (b) The Legislature, through the enactment of this act, intends all of the following: (1) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing  to   shall  be responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and budgeting of the intercity passenger rail service  consistent with this act  . (2) If the secretary determines that transferring responsibility for intercity passenger rail service in a particular corridor or corridors to a statutorily created joint powers agency would result in administrative or operating cost reductions, the secretary may authorize the Department of Transportation to enter into an interagency transfer agreement to effect a transfer of those administrative functions, consistent with this act. (3) Any intercity passenger rail corridor for which administrative responsibility has been transferred to a joint powers board through an interagency transfer agreement  to   shall  remain a component of the statewide system of intercity passenger rail corridors. (4) The public interest requires expansion of the state intercity passenger rail program in order to keep pace with the needs of an expanding population. (5) For not less than a three-year period  following the effective date of the interagency transfer agreement  , the level of state funding for intercity rail service in each corridor  should   shall  be maintained at a level equal to at least the  current  level of service  funded by the state  in the corridor  as of the effective date of the interagency transfer agreement  , thus providing fiscal stability that will allow appropriate planning and operation of these services.  (6) It is in the public interest to ensure fiscal accountability that the intercity passenger rail service operating in the LOSSAN Corridor maintain a ratio of fare revenue to operating cost of no less than 58 percent.   (7) It is in the public interest that the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency retain an individual to manage the contract with the state who has previous experience operating or managing intercity or commuter passenger rail services.  SEC. 3. Section 14031.9 is added to the Government Code, to read: 14031.9. (a) (1) This section shall apply only to the San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Corridor, and only if that corridor is the subject of an interagency transfer agreement.  Section 14031.8 shall not apply to that corridor except as specifically provided.  (2) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing shall establish, through an annual budget process, the level of state funding available for the operation of intercity passenger rail service  , including associated feeder   bus service,  in the LOSSAN Corridor. (b) Where applicable, operating funds shall be allocated by the secretary to the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency in accordance with the interagency transfer agreement that includes mutually agreed-upon rail services. Funds for the administration and marketing of services, as appropriate, shall also be transferred by the secretary to the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency, subject to the terms of the interagency transfer agreement. (c) The LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency or  local or  regional agencies may, but shall not be required to, augment state-provided resources to expand intercity passenger rail services using local resources, or to address funding shortfalls in achieving agreed-upon performance standards.  The LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency or local or regional agencies may identify and secure new supplemental sources of funding for the purpose of expanding or maintaining intercity rail passenger rail service levels, which may include state and federal intercity rail resources. Local resources may be available to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state resources for operating intercity rail services identified in subdivision (b) only if the resources are dedicated by a vote of the local agency providing the funds, with the concurrence of the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency.  (d) The department may provide any support services as may be mutually agreed upon by the  board   LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency  and the department. (e) Operating costs shall be controlled by dealing with, at a minimum, the Amtrak cost allocation formula and the ability to contract out to Amtrak or other rail operators as a part of federal legislation dealing with Amtrak reauthorization. (f)  The performance standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 14031.8 shall apply to the LOSSAN Corridor to the extent it is among the corridors subject to an interagency transfer agreement. To   (1)     Not later than June 30, 2014, the secretary shall establish a set of   uniform performance standards for all corridors and operators to control cost and improve efficiency.   (2)     To  the extent necessary, as determined by the secretary, performance standards may be modified not later than December 31, 2014, relative to the LOSSAN Corridor to the extent it is among the corridors subject to an   July 30, 2015, or the effective date of the  interagency transfer agreement  , whichever comes first  .  (3) Feeder bus services that provide connections for intercity rail passenger service shall not be terminated unless the bus services fail to meet the cost-effectiveness standard described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14035.2.   (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, local resources described in subdivision (c) shall not be available for expenditure to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state resources for operating intercity passenger rail services as identified in subdivision (b).  SEC. 4. Section 14070.3 is added to the Government Code, to read: 14070.3. (a) If authorized by the secretary, the department may, through an interagency transfer agreement, transfer to the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency, and that agency may assume, all responsibility for administering state-funded intercity passenger rail service  , including associated feeder bus service,  in the San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Corridor. Upon the date specified in the agreement, the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency shall succeed to the department's powers and duties relative to that service, except that the department shall retain responsibility for developing budget requests for the service  ,   consistent with the annual business plan as approved by the secretary for the service,  through the state budget process, which shall be developed in consultation with that agency, and for coordinating service in the corridor with other intercity passenger rail services in the state. (b) With respect to the LOSSAN Corridor, an interagency transfer agreement  pursuant to subdivision (a) shall   may  be entered into on or before June 30, 2014,  but not later than June 30, 2015,  subject to negotiation and approval by the state and the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency. The interagency transfer agreement between the department and the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency shall cover the initial three-year period after the transfer, but may be extended thereafter by mutual agreement. If an interagency agreement is not entered into on or before June 30, 2015, the secretary shall provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2016, explaining why an acceptable agreement has not been developed, with specific recommendations for developing an acceptable interagency agreement.  (c) The secretary shall require the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency to demonstrate the ability to meet the performance standards established by the secretary pursuant to  subdivision (f) of Section 14031.8 or  subdivision (f) of Section 14031.9  , whichever is applicable  . (d) Section 14070.2 shall not apply to the LOSSAN Corridor. SEC. 5. Section 14070.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 14070.5. (a) An interagency transfer agreement between the department and the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency, when approved by the secretary, shall do all of the following: (1) Specify the date and conditions for the transfer of responsibilities and identify the annual level of funding  for the initial three years following the transfer  and ensure that the level of funding is consistent with and sufficient for the planned service improvements within the LOSSAN Corridor.  The interagency transfer agreement shall cover the initial three-year period after the transfer, but may be extended thereafter by mutual agreement.  (2) Identify, for the initial year and subsequent years, the funds to be transferred to the agency including state operating subsidies made available for intercity rail services in the corridor, and funds currently used by the department for administration and marketing of the corridor, with the amounts adjusted annually for inflation and in accordance with the business plan. (3) Specify the level of service to be provided, the respective responsibilities of the agency and the department, the methods that the department will use to ensure the coordination of services with other rail passenger  and feeder bus  services in the state, and the methods that the department will use for the annual review of the business plan and annual proposals on funding and appropriations. (4) Describe the terms  for transferring to   of use by  the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency  of  car and locomotive train sets, and other equipment and property owned by the department and required for intercity passenger rail service in the LOSSAN Corridor, including, but not limited to, the number of units to be provided, liability coverage, maintenance and warranty responsibilities, and indemnification issues. (5) Describe auditing responsibilities and process requirements, reimbursement and billing procedures, the responsibility for funding shortfalls, if any, during the course of each fiscal year, an operating contract oversight review process, performance standards and reporting procedures, the level of rail infrastructure maintenance, and other relevant monitoring procedures.  The description shall contain an evaluation of the impact of any transfer of equipment on other intercity corridors. The agreement shall endeavor to minimize the impact and maximize the efficient use of the equipment, including continued joint use of equipment that is currently shared by one or more corridors.  (b) Use of the annual state funding allocation, as set forth in the interagency transfer agreement, shall be described in an annual business plan submitted by the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency to the secretary for review and recommendation by April 1 of each year. The business plan, when approved by the secretary, shall be deemed accepted by the state. The budget proposal developed by the department for the subsequent year shall be based upon the business plan approved by the secretary. The business plan shall be consistent with the interagency transfer agreement, and shall include a report on the recent as well as historical performance of the corridor service, an overall operating plan including proposed service enhancements to increase ridership and provide for increased traveler demands in the corridor for the upcoming year, short-term and long-term capital improvement programs, funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, and an action plan with specific performance goals and objectives. The business plan shall document service improvements to provide the planned level of service, inclusion of operating plans to serve peak period work trips, and consideration of other service expansions and enhancements. The initial business plan shall be consistent with the immediately previous State Rail Plan developed by the department pursuant to Section 14036  and the January 2014 business plan developed by the High-Speed Rail Authority pursuant to Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code. Subsequent business plans shall be consistent with the immediately previous plans developed by the department and the authority  . The business plan shall clearly delineate how funding and accounting for state-sponsored intercity passenger rail services shall be separate from locally sponsored services in the corridor. Proposals to expand or modify intercity passenger rail services shall be accompanied by the identification of all associated costs and ridership projections. The business plan shall establish, among other things: fares, operating strategies, capital improvements needed, and marketing and operational strategies designed to meet performance standards established in the interagency transfer agreement. (c) Based on the annual business plan and the subsequent appropriation by the Legislature the secretary shall allocate state funds on an annual basis to the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency. As provided in the interagency transfer agreement, any additional funds that are needed to operate the passenger rail service during a fiscal year  may   shall  be provided by the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency from jurisdictions that receive service. In addition, the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency may use any cost savings or farebox revenues to provide service improvements related to intercity service. In any event, the agency shall report the fiscal results of the previous year's operations as part of the annual business plan.  (d) (1) The level of service funded by the state in the LOSSAN Corridor shall be at an appropriate level as determined in the interagency transfer agreement.   (2) For not less than a three-year period, the level of state funding for intercity passenger rail service in the LOSSAN Corridor shall be maintained at a level equal to at least the current level of service provided in the corridor as of January 1, 2014.   (3) Subject to Section 14035.2, the level of funding provided by the state in the LOSSAN Corridor shall also include funding at the same level provided as of January 1, 2013, for feeder bus service that is operated in conjunction with the trains. However, the interagency transfer agreement shall not prohibit the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency from reducing the number of feeder bus route miles if it determines that a feeder bus route is not cost effective as provided in Section 14035.2.   (e)   Feeder bus services that provide connections for intercity rail passengers from the LOSSAN Corridor to the state-supported San Joaquin passenger rail service shall not be terminated unless the bus services fail to meet the cost-effectiveness standard described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14035.2.   (d) The level of service funded by the state during the first three years following the effective date of the transfer agreement shall in no case be less than the number of intercity round trips operated in a corridor and serving the end points currently served by the intercity rail corridor as of the effective date of the interagency transfer agreement. Subject to Section 14035.2, the level of service funded by the state shall also include feeder bus service with substantially the same number of route miles as the current feeder system, to be operated in conjunction with the trains. For that same three-year period, the LOSSAN Corridor Joint Powers Agency shall continue to provide at least the same level of intercity rail and feeder bus services as were in operation on the effective date of the interagency transfer agreement, except that the interagency transfer agreement shall not prohibit the agency from reducing the number of feeder bus route miles if the agency determines that a feeder bus route is not cost effective as provided in Section 14035.2.   (f)   (e)  Nothing in this article shall be construed to preclude expansion of state-approved intercity passenger rail service.  (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, local resources described in subdivision (c) shall not be available for expenditure to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state resources for operating intercity passenger rail services.   (h) The passenger rail equipment regularly used for intercity passenger rail service on the LOSSAN Corridor shall be the same type of equipment regularly used on other intercity corridors funded by the state. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that there is a statewide pool of common intercity passenger rail equipment for purposes of interoperability among the state-funded corridors and for vehicle fleet management.   (f) Local resources may be available to offset any redirection, elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state resources for operating intercity rail services identified in subdivision (b) only if the local resources are dedicated by a vote of the local agency providing the funds, with the concurrence of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency.   (i)   (g)  Section 14070.4 shall not apply to the LOSSAN Corridor. SEC. 6. Section 14070.7 is added to the Government Code, to read: 14070.7. The department and the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, to the extent the agency assumes administrative responsibility for intercity passenger rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor through an interagency transfer agreement, may, through a competitive solicitation process, contract with Amtrak or with organizations authorized by state or federal law to provide intercity passenger rail services, and may contract with rail corporations and other rail operators for the use of the tracks and other facilities and for the provision of intercity passenger rail services on terms and conditions as the parties may agree. The department is deemed to be a third-party beneficiary of the contract, and the contract shall not contain any provision or condition that would negatively impact on or conflict with any other contracts the department has regarding intercity passenger rail services. The LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, if it succeeds the department as sponsor of state-supported intercity passenger rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor through an interagency transfer agreement, is deemed to be an agency of the state for all purposes related to intercity passenger rail services, including Section 5311 of Title 49 of the United States Code.  If the intercity passenger rail service is operated by a contractor, the contractor shall, as a condition of entering into an operating agreement with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, agree that its labor relations shall be governed by the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 and following).  Section 14070.6 shall not apply to the LOSSAN Corridor. SEC. 7. Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14072) of Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 8. Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 14072) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read: Article 5.2. LOSSAN Corridor 14072. (a) The LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, also known as the LOSSAN Agency, is an existing joint powers authority established to provide an organization capable of implementing the recommendations contained in the State Rail Corridor Study Group's June 1987 report entitled "Los Angeles-San Diego State Rail Corridor Study" and undertaking related efforts to improve intercity services and facilities in the corridor and to coordinate subcorridor commuter rail services with intercity services. The LOSSAN Agency is composed of voting members, as specified in the joint powers agreement. (b) "LOSSAN Corridor" or "LOSSAN Rail Corridor" means the San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo intercity passenger rail corridor. 14072.2. This article shall be applicable only if the members of the LOSSAN Agency enter into an amended joint powers agreement to expand the authority of the agency to permit the administration of state-funded intercity passenger rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor, and the LOSSAN Agency thereafter elects to become a party to an interagency transfer agreement pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 14070). The amended joint powers agreement shall establish the terms and conditions for the joint powers agency and is subject to the approval of the governing board of each member agency of the LOSSAN Agency. Only the LOSSAN Agency operating under the amended joint powers agreement, and not the LOSSAN Agency existing on January 1, 2013, may exercise jurisdiction over intercity rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor under an interagency transfer agreement.