Transportation Permitting Task Force.

Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation and the California Transportation Commission and provides that the department has full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes and authorizes and directs the department to lay out and construct all state highways between the termini designated by law and on the locations as determined by the commission. This bill would require, by April 1, 2018, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, to establish a Transportation Permitting Task Force consisting of representatives from specified entities to develop a process for early engagement for all parties in the development of transportation projects, establish reasonable deadlines for permit approvals, and provide for greater certainty of permit approval requirements. The bill would require the Secretary of Transportation, by December 1, 2019, to prepare and submit to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report of findings based on the efforts of the task force.