Master Plan for Infrastructure Financing and Development Commission.

The California Constitution regulates the issuance of debt by the state and requires that debt in excess of $300,000 for which the state will be generally obligated be submitted to, and approved by, the voters. This bill would create the Master Plan for Infrastructure Financing and Development Commission, the mission of which would be to develop and recommend a plan to be presented to the Governor and Legislature that provides for financing, building, and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of Californians from the present to the year 2050, and to establish a process for periodically adjusting and adapting the plan in coming years to meet changing circumstances. The bill would require that the commission consist of 11 members: the Treasurer or his or her designee, and members appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Rules. The bill would authorize the Governor to appoint the chair of the commission who would work full time on commission business for an unspecified salary. The bill would authorize the chair, with the concurrence of the commission, to appoint an executive director, who would be exempt from civil service and be paid an unspecified salary. The bill would require that funding for the operating costs of the commission be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the chair of the commission to appoint the members of specified task force committees, to be composed of both members and nonmembers of the commission, and would require commission members to chair at least one task force committee in which they have expertise. The bill would provide that the subject matter responsibilities of these task force committees include, but not be limited to, planning and financing, transportation, housing, natural resources and conservation, and education. The commission would be required to establish a timeline for submission of periodic reports on its findings to the Governor and Legislature, provide opportunity for public comment and participation, and to incorporate existing state and local infrastructure reports, as specified, that reflect current or future infrastructure needs into its recommendations. The bill would require the commission to submit its final report to the Governor and Legislature no later than December 1, 2012, and to be dissolved 30 days after issuance of the final report.