Bay Area Regional Commission.

Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Toll Authority, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, with various powers and duties relative to all or a portion of the 9-county San Francisco Bay Area region with respect to transportation, air quality, and environmental planning, as specified. Another regional entity, the Association of Bay Area Governments, is created as a joint powers agency comprised of cities and counties under existing law with regional planning responsibilities. Existing law provides for a joint policy committee of certain regional agencies to collaborate on regional coordination. Existing law requires regional transportation planning agencies, as part of the regional transportation plan in urban areas, to develop a sustainable communities strategy coordinating transportation, land use, and air quality planning, with specified objectives. This bill would create the Bay Area Regional Commission with specified powers and duties, including the powers and duties previously exercised by the joint policy committee. The bill would require the regional entities that are funding the joint policy committee to continue to provide the same amount of funding as provided in the 2012–13 fiscal year, as adjusted for inflation, but to provide those funds to the commission rather than to the committee. The bill would provide for the Bay Area Toll Authority to make contributions to the commission, as specified, in furtherance of the exercise of the authority's toll bridge powers. The bill would require federal and state funds made available to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for purposes of transportation planning to be budgeted to the Bay Area Regional Commission. The bill would specify the powers and duties of the commission relative to the other regional entities referenced above, including the power to approve the budgets of those regional entities and to develop an integrated budget for the commission and the regional entities. The bill would provide for the commission's executive director to develop a regional reorganization plan, with consolidation of certain administrative functions of the regional entities under the commission, with a final plan to be adopted by the commission by June 30, 2016. The bill would require organization of the regional entities as divisions of the commission, and would require the executive director to recommend candidates for vacant executive director positions at the regional entities as these positions become vacant. The bill would require the commission to adopt public and community outreach policies by October 31, 2015. The bill would require the commission to review and comment on policies and plans relative to the transportation planning sustainable communities strategy of the regional entities under Senate Bill 375 of the 2007–08 Regular Session, and beginning on January 1, 2017, the bill would provide for the commission to adopt or seek modifications to the functional regional plan adopted by each regional entity in that regard and would provide that the commission is responsible for ensuring that the regional sustainable communities strategy for the region is consistent with Senate Bill 375 of the 2007–08 Regular Session. The bill would require the commission to prepare a 20-year regional economic development strategy for the region, to be adopted by December 31, 2015, and updated every 4 years thereafter. The bill would require any changes proposed by the commission with respect to bridge toll revenues managed by the Bay Area Toll Authority to be consistent with bond covenants, and would prohibit investment in real property of toll revenues in any reserve fund. This bill would enact other related provisions. Because the bill would impose various requirements on local entities, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.