Department of Transportation: goals and performance measures.

Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation shall have full possession and control of the state highway system and specifies the duties and responsibilities of the department on various other transportation matters. Existing law requires the department to prepare the interregional transportation improvement program which, along with the regional transportation improvement programs adopted by regional transportation agencies, becomes part of the state transportation improvement program and identifies most transportation capital improvements to be undertaken over a multiyear period with state and federal funds. Existing law also requires the department to separately prepare the state highway operation and protection program, which identifies capital projects limited to maintenance, safety, and rehabilitation work necessary to preserve and protect the state highway system. Existing law requires the California Transportation Commission to, among other things, adopt the state transportation improvement program and approve the state highway operation and protection program, and further provides for the commission to allocate transportation capital funds to specific projects contained in the state transportation improvement program, but not the state highway operation and protection program, which is managed by the department. This bill would authorize the commission to prescribe study areas for analysis and evaluation by the department and to establish guidelines for updates to the California Transportation Plan, commencing with the plan required to be updated by December 31, 2020. The bill would require the department, on or before June 30, 2015, to submit to the commission for approval an interregional transportation strategic plan directed at achieving a high functioning and balanced interregional transportation system. The bill would revise the procedures for the development of the interregional transportation improvement program by requiring the department to submit a draft 5-year interregional transportation improvement program to the commission by October 15 of each odd-numbered year. The bill would require projects included in the draft interregional transportation improvement program to be consistent with the interregional transportation strategic plan. The bill would require the commission to hold public hearings by November 15 of each odd-numbered year regarding the draft program and to attempt to reconcile any objections. The department would be required to consider the input received at the hearings and develop and submit a final interregional transportation improvement program to the commission for approval not later than December 15 of each odd-numbered year. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the commission, to prepare a robust asset management plan to guide selection of projects for the state highway operation and protection, which plan would be subject to approval by the commission. The bill would require the department to specify, for each project in the program, a capital and support budget and projected delivery date for various components of the project. The bill would specifically authorize the commission to decline to adopt the program if it determines that the program is not sufficiently consistent with the asset management plan. This bill would require the department to report quarterly to the commission on the approved capital and support budgets compared to expenditures at contract construction acceptance for each major state highway operation and protection program project completed in the previous quarter. Existing law requires the department, by June 30, 1994, to apply for federal funding to be used for conversion of data pertaining to the state highway system from paper storage to intelligent computer information, and to commence implementation of the conversion process within 6 months of receiving federal funding approval. This bill would repeal these provisions. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations.