Department of Transportation: project study reports.

Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in consultation with transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, counties, and cities, to carry out long-term state highway planning. Existing law authorizes the department, to the extent that it does not jeopardize the delivery of projects in the adopted state transportation improvement program, to prepare a project studies report for capacity-increasing state highway projects. Existing law requires the department to review project studies reports performed by an entity other than the department. Existing law authorizes a local entity to request the department to prepare a project studies report for a capacity-increasing state highway project that is being proposed for inclusion in a future state transportation improvement program. If the department determines that it cannot complete the report in a timely fashion, existing law authorizes the requesting entity to prepare the report. Existing law makes specified guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission applicable to project studies reports commenced after October 1, 1991. This bill would instead authorize the department to prepare project study reports for any project on the state highway system. The bill would require project study reports to include specified project-related factors, including, among other things, cost estimates, schedule, and other information deemed necessary to form a sound basis for commitment of future state funding and project delivery. The bill would require an entity performing a project study report to reimburse the department for the cost of reviewing and approving a report for projects that are not in an adopted regional transportation plan, a voter-approved county sales tax measure expenditure plan, or another voter-approved transportation program. The bill would authorize a local entity to request the department to prepare a project study report for a state highway project that is being proposed for inclusion in a future state transportation improvement program or for funding from a regional or local funding source and would authorize the local entity to prepare the report at its own expense if the department determines that it cannot complete the report. The bill would require open and continuous communication between the department, a local entity requesting a project study report, and the regional transportation planning agency or county transportation commission. The bill would require the department, in consultation with representatives of cities, counties, regional transportation planning agencies, and county congestion management agencies, to prepare draft revised guidelines for the preparation of project study reports, as specified, and would require the department to submit the draft revised guidelines to the California Transportation Commission by July 1, 2012. The bill would require the California Transportation Commission to adopt final guidelines by October 1, 2012, and would make the guidelines applicable to project study reports upon adoption of the guidelines.