Bay Area toll bridges.

Existing law designates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as the regional transportation planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay Area. Existing law creates the Bay Area Toll Authority with specified powers and duties relative to administration of certain toll revenues from state-owned toll bridges within the geographic jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Existing law establishes procedures for a public agency to bring an action in superior court for the judicial validation of specified matters. This bill would provide that, unless the State Auditor finds that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority, acting through the Bay Area Headquarters Authority, a joint powers agency, clearly had the authority to purchase an office building at 390 Main Street, San Francisco, and clearly had the authority to use toll revenues for that purchase, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority, acting through the Bay Area Headquarters Authority, are required to bring an action to determine the validity of those matters, subject to specified procedures. The bill would prohibit toll moneys from being used for the validation action and would prohibit additional contracts from being entered into with respect to the office building until the validation action is complete. The bill would thereby 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.