Local transportation funds.

Existing law requires that revenues from 14% of the local sales and use tax rate be transferred to the local transportation fund of each county for allocation, as directed by the transportation planning agency, to various transportation purposes, under what is commonly known as the Transportation Development Act. Existing law specifies the allowable uses for local transportation funds, and generally requires, after certain deductions, that the funds attributed to the area of apportionment of each transit operator be used solely for transit purposes in counties with a population of 500,000 or more as of the 1970 census. However, in counties with a population under 500,000 as of the 1970 census and in certain other counties, these funds may also be used for local streets and roads, if the transportation planning agency finds that there are no unmet transit needs or no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet, and for other specified purposes. Existing law, effective July 1, 2014, generally requires a county with a population under 500,000 as of the 1970 census that has a population of 500,000 or more as of the 2000 census or a future census to use funds attributable to the urbanized area of the county solely for transit purposes, except that a city with a population of 100,000 or fewer in an urbanized area in that county would not be so restricted. Existing law provides that the July 1, 2014, requirements and exemptions do not apply to Ventura County, and instead generally requires all local transportation funds in that county to be used for transit purposes as of that date unless a specified report is submitted by the Ventura County Transportation Commission to the transportation committees of the Legislature by December 31, 2011, and a recommended legislative proposal in that report relative to reorganization of transit services and expenditure of these funds is enacted by the end of the 2011–12 legislative session. This bill would provide that local transportation funds in Ventura County shall be available solely for transit purposes beginning July 1, 2014, as specified. The bill would also provide that any of those funds that remain unencumbered for more than one year, or unexpended for more than 2 years, be returned to the Ventura County Transportation Commission for reapportionment to other transit operators or transit service in proportional amounts based on population, contingent upon specified criteria.