March 9, 2017 Bills Subject Status Client - Position ( D) Transportation funding. AB 1 is Assemblyman Frazier’s renewed effort to address the funding shortfall facing our transportation infrastructure. This bill generate about $6.6 billion in revenue for the maintenance and rehabilitation of state highways and local streets and roads, as well as provide targeted investments in public transit and good movement corridors. ASSEMBLY TRANS CalACT - Support ( D) Transit Pass Program: free or reduced-fare transit passes. AB 17 would create the Student Transit Pass Program to be administered by the Caltrans. The bill would require the Controller to allocate moneys made available for the program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each transit operator pursuant to the STA formula. The funds must be used to support transit pass programs that provide free or reduced-fare transit passes to specified pupils and students. ASSEMBLY TRANS CalACT - Watch ( D) Department of Transportation: environmental review process: federal pilot program. AB 28 would re-enact provisions that sunset on December 31st 2016 that delegate the responsibility to Caltrans for complete NEPA review of transportation projects. As approved by the Senate Transportation & Housing Committee to bill was amended to add a sunset date of January 1, 2020. SENATE APPR CalACT - Watch ( D) Driver’s license: examination requirements: certificate of driving skill. AB 301 is currently a spot bill that contains nonsubstantive changes. However, the author intends to AB 301 to address the backlog in the availability of appointments for a commercial driver’s license skills test. The anticipated amendments would authorize licensed truck driving schools, independent testing centers, unions, cities, and other entities approved by the DMV to become third party testers. ASSEMBLY PRINT CalACT – Support & Seek Amendments ( D) Public transit operators: vehicle safety requirements. AB 673 is sponsored by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), and it would establish significantly higher vehicle standards aimed at increasing driver protections. First, AB 673 would require a transit operator, before placing a new vehicle into service, to take ASSEMBLY PRINT CalACT - Watch
into consideration recommendations and best practices related to protecting drivers that are developed by the drivers’ representation. Second, before a new transit bus is placed into service it must be equipped with the following: Transparent, accessible partition enclosures around the bus operator seating area capable of withstanding gunfire. A door or window, at least the same size as a passenger emergency window, to the left of the bus operator seating area that allows for safe and rapid emergency egress from the vehicle. A mechanism that allows for direct connection to local law enforcement, such as a panic button. Low-mounted, reasonably sized left-side mirrors that allow the bus operator, regardless of size, to adequately view pedestrians crossing in front of the bus. Reasonably sized “A” pillars that allow the bus operator, regardless of size, to adequately view pedestrians crossing in front of the bus. An overall bus operator seating area that eliminates blind spots to the greatest extent feasible. ( D) State Transit Assistance program. AB 1113 is sponsored by the California Transit Association (CTA). This bill is intended to implement corrections to the State Controller new interpretation of how State Transit Assistance (STA) funds are allocated. The bill makes several clarifying changes that clean-up the structure of these codes, and in particular specifies that only public transit operators are eligible to receive STA funds directly. It also specifies that when reporting to the Controller an operator’s reportable revenue cannot exceed its expenses for purposes of the STA calculation. ASSEMBLY PRINT Recommended Position: SUPPORT ( D) Transportation funding. SB 1 contains Senator Beall’s transportation funding proposal. This bill would generate about $6.6 billion in revenue for the maintenance and rehabilitation of state highways and local streets SENATE APPR CalACT - Support