Transportation bond funds: transit system safety.

Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, authorizes the issuance of $19.925 billion of general obligation bonds for specified purposes. Existing law requires the deposit of $1 billion of the bond proceeds in the Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account to be used, upon appropriation, for capital projects that provide increased protection against a security and safety threat, and for capital expenditures to increase the capacity of transit operators to develop disaster response transportation systems that can move people, goods, and emergency personnel and equipment in the aftermath of a disaster impairing that movement. Existing law designates the California Emergency Management Agency as the administrative agency for this account and requires the allocation of 60% of the funds in the account for capital expenditures to transit operators and other transportation agencies using the allocation formulas applicable to the State Transit Assistance Program, and 15% of the funds for capital expenditures to specified intercity passenger rail systems and commuter rail systems. Existing law requires allocation of the 60% share of funds based on 2 different formulas also used for the State Transit Assistance Program, with 50% of available funds allocated based on population and the remaining 50% based on operator revenue. Existing law provides that entities that receive bond funds from the 15% share for intercity passenger rail systems and commuter rail systems are not eligible for the 60% share of funds. This bill would provide that commuter rail operators eligible to receive State Transit Assistance funds are also eligible to receive funds from the 60% share of Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account funds. The bill would require funds that otherwise would be allocated based on operator revenue for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) to be allocated to the applicable county transportation commission. The bill would authorize the applicable commission to allocate those funds to eligible purposes, including eligible projects of the SCRRA, or to suballocate those funds to the SCRRA. This bill would delete the provision making intercity and commuter rail entities receiving bond funds from the 15% share of funds ineligible for the 60% share of funds. The bill would require an entity eligible to receive allocations of any of those funds to submit a document within a specified time to the California Emergency Management Agency that indicates the intent to use the funds, the project or projects for which the funds will be used, and a schedule of funds to be drawn down, and would, if the document is not submitted, authorize the California Emergency Management Agency to reallocate the funds pursuant to guidelines established by the agency. The bill would require the California Emergency Management Agency to notify a transportation planning agency if funds allocated to an entity within the region of the transportation planning agency are being reallocated and, if the transportation planning agency provides a document to the California Emergency Management Agency indicating its intent to distribute the funds to transit operators or rail operators, would require the funds to be allocated to the transportation planning agency. The bill would authorize the California Emergency Management Agency to allocate the funds on a competitive basis to an eligible entity in a different region of the state if the transportation planning agency does not provide the required documentation, as specified. The bill would require the California Emergency Management Agency, by May 1 of each year, to report to specified committees of the Legislature and to the Legislative Analyst's Office with specified information regarding projects selected for funding from the account, including a list of transit entities that have not used those allocated funds.