Department of Transportation: project studies 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 and approve 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 revise these provisions to authorize the department to prepare project study reports or equivalent planning documents for any projects on the state highway system, limited by the resources available to the department. The bill would require the department to pay for the costs of its review and approval of project study reports or equivalent planning documents that are prepared by other entities for projects that are in an adopted regional transportation plan, a voter-approved county sales tax measure expenditure plan, or other voter-approved transportation program. In other cases, the bill would require the cost of the department's review and approval to be paid by the entity preparing the project study report or equivalent planning document. The bill would delete the provisions relating to the guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission and would instead require open and continuous communications between the parties during the development of project study reports or equivalent planning documents. The bill would make other related changes.