Bay Area Toll Authority and oversight committee: conflict of interest.

Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) as a regional agency in the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) as a separate entity governed by the same governing board as the MTC and makes the BATA responsible for the programming, administration, and allocation of toll revenues from the state-owned toll bridges in the San Francisco Bay area. Existing law provides for a proposed toll increase on the state-owned toll bridges to be submitted to voters of the 9 bay area counties, to be known as Regional Measure 3. Existing law requires the BATA to, among other things, establish an independent oversight committee within 6 months of the effective date of the Regional Measure 3 toll increase with a specified membership, to ensure the toll revenues generated by the toll increase are expended consistent with a specified expenditure plan and requires the BATA to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the status of the projects and programs funded by the toll increase. This bill would prohibit a representative appointed to the oversight committee from being a member, former member, staff, or former staff of the commission or the authority, a current employee of any organization or person that has received or is receiving funding from the commission or the authority, or a former employee or person who has contracted with any organization or person that has received or is receiving funding from the commission or the authority within one year of having worked for or contracted with that organization or person.