Transportation projects.

(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared by contract, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. The act exempts from its provisions, among other things, certain types of ministerial projects proposed to be carried out or approved by public agencies, and emergency repairs to public service facilities necessary to maintain service. This bill would, until January 1, 2011, exempt from CEQA specified transportation projects if certain conditions are met. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of, and to give notice of, that exemption, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation and regional transportation agencies, as defined, until January 1, 2012, to enter into comprehensive development lease agreements with public and private entities, or consortia of those entities, for certain transportation projects that may charge certain users of those projects tolls and user fees, subject to various terms and requirements. Existing law limits the number of projects authorized pursuant to these provisions to 2 in northern California and 2 in southern California. This bill would extend the authorization for these agreements to January 1, 2014, and would increase the number of projects authorized to 5 projects in northern California and 5 projects in southern California. The bill would require the projects to be primarily designed to achieve improved mobility, improved operations or safety, and quantifiable air quality benefits. Existing law requires that the negotiated lease agreements be submitted to the Legislature for approval or rejection. Under existing law, the Legislature has 60 legislative days to act after submittal of the agreement and the agreement is deemed approved unless both houses of the Legislature concur in the passage of a resolution rejecting the agreement. Existing law prohibits the Legislature from amending these lease agreements. The bill would eliminate that prohibition and the provision requiring approval or rejection by the Legislature. The bill would require that all lease agreements be submitted to the Legislature and the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission, as defined, for review, as specified. The bill would also require the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission to perform specified acts and would authorize that commission to charge the department and regional transportation agencies a fee for specified services. Existing law authorizes the department and regional transportation agencies to utilize various procurement approaches, including, among other things, acceptance of unsolicited proposals, as specified. This bill would prohibit the department or a regional transportation agency from awarding a contract to an unsolicited bidder without receiving at least one other responsible bid. Under existing law, for these projects, tolls and user fees may not be charged to noncommercial vehicles with 3 or fewer axles. This bill would eliminate that prohibition. Existing law imposes various contract requirements for these projects, including permitting compensation for a leaseholder for losses in toll or fee revenues in certain instances if caused by the construction of supplemental transportation projects, but prohibits the compensation to exceed the reduction in revenues. This bill would prohibit that compensation from exceeding the lesser of the reduction in revenues or the amount necessary to cover the costs of debt service, as specified. The bill would additionally require the agreements to include an indemnity agreement, as specified, and to authorize the contracting entity to utilize the design-build method of procurement for transportation projects, subject to specified conditions. The bill would also require contracting entities or lessees to have specified qualifications. The bill would authorize the department or the regional transportation agency, when evaluating a proposal submitted by a contracting entity or lessee, to award a contract on the basis of the lowest bid or best value, as defined. The bill would enact other related provisions. (3) This bill would specify that these provisions shall not become operative unless AB 2 of the 2009–10 First Extraordinary Session is enacted and becomes operative. (4) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 1, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 1, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.