State highway operation and protection program.

Existing law generally provides for the programming and allocation of state and federal transportation capital improvement funds pursuant to the state transportation improvement program process administered by the California Transportation Commission. Existing law additionally requires the Department of Transportation to prepare a state highway operation and protection program for the expenditure of funds for major capital improvements that are necessary to preserve and protect the state highway system but that do not add a new traffic lane to the system. The state highway operation and protection program is based on a 10-year rehabilitation plan and a 5-year maintenance plan prepared by the department. Existing law provides for the program to be submitted to the commission for approval in every even-numbered year. Existing law authorizes the commission to review the program relative to its overall adequacy, level of annual funding needed to implement the program, and impact of those expenditures on the state transportation improvement program, but does not provide for the commission to allocate funds to specific projects in the state highway operation and protection program. This bill would require the commission to allocate funding for all capital and support costs for a project in the state highway operation and protection program. For a project that experiences increases in capital or support costs above the amount originally allocated, the bill would require the department to submit a supplemental project allocation request for approval by the commission. The bill would authorize the commission to establish guidelines to provide exceptions to the requirements relating to these supplemental project allocation requests that it determines may be necessary to ensure projects are not unnecessarily delayed.