Federal transportation funds.

Existing law generally provides for programming and allocation of state and federal transportation capital improvement program funds pursuant to the state transportation improvement program process administered by the California Transportation Commission. Existing law provides for allocation of certain other transportation capital improvement funds outside the state transportation improvement program process, including federal regional surface transportation improvement program funds, state bond funds, funds set aside for state highway rehabilitation under the state highway operation and protection program, and funds from various other sources. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation, with the approval of the Director of Finance, to make loans from the State Highway Account of certain federal transportation economic stimulus funds to advance bond-funded projects pursuant to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, as specified. This bill would enact similar provisions authorizing the department, until September 30, 2015, to make loans from the State Highway Account of other specified federal transportation funds to fund bond-funded projects pursuant to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, if the department has determined the loans will not impact the funding of other programs or projects, as specified, and only under circumstances in which federal funds might otherwise be lost, as specified. The bill would appropriate those federal transportation funds in the State Highway Account for these purposes and would require those funds to be obligated to fund the bond-funded projects, as specified. The bill would require the loans to be repaid to the State Highway Account within 3 years from the proceeds of bonds sold pursuant to the bond act and would provide for the appropriation of those repaid funds to the department for use on projects in the state highway operation and protection program or the local assistance program, as specified. The bill would require the department to report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee each year that federal transportation funds are loaned pursuant to these provisions.