Transportation.

(1) Existing federal law requires the United States Secretary of Transportation to carry out a surface transportation project delivery pilot program, under which the secretary may enter into an agreement with a state for the state to assume the responsibilities of the secretary with respect to federal environmental review and clearance under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) with respect to one or more transportation projects, as specified. If a state assumes this responsibility, existing federal law authorizes a state to assume the responsibilities of the secretary for environmental review required under any federal environmental law pertaining to the review or approval of a specific project, and the state to assume the responsibilities of the secretary with respect to one or more transportation projects within the state under NEPA, as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2020, provides that the State of California consents to the jurisdiction of the federal courts with regard to the compliance, discharge, or enforcement of the responsibilities it assumed as a participant in the pilot program for highway projects. This bill would authorize the Secretary of Transportation to assume the responsibilities of the United States Secretary of Transportation under NEPA and other federal environmental laws for any railroad, public transportation, or multimodal project undertaken by state agencies, as specified. The bill would provide that the State of California consents to the jurisdiction of the federal courts with regard to the compliance, discharge, or enforcement of these responsibilities. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2021. (2) Existing law generally provides for programming and allocation of funds for transportation capital improvement projects through the state transportation improvement program process administered by the California Transportation Commission. Existing law requires 25% of available funds to be programmed and expended on interregional improvement projects nominated by the Department of Transportation, and 75% of available funds to be programmed and expended on regional improvement projects nominated by regional transportation planning agencies or county transportation commissions, as applicable, through adoption of a regional transportation improvement program. Existing law authorizes each transportation planning agency or county transportation commission to request and receive up to 5% of those funds for the purposes of project planning, programming, and monitoring. This bill would authorize the department to make an advance payment to transportation planning agencies and county transportation commissions from those funds for programming, planning, and monitoring if the total allocation is equal to or less than $300,000. The bill would require funds advanced in this manner to be programmed in the state transportation improvement program and allocated by the California Transportation Commission prior to payment. (3) Under existing law, the California Transportation Commission allocates various state and federal transportation funds through specified state programs to local and regional transportation agencies to implement projects consistent with the requirements of those programs. These programs include the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program, the Trade Corridor Enhancement Account, and a program established as part of the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to fund transportation improvements in counties that have sought and received voter approval of taxes or that have imposed fees, which taxes or fees are dedicated solely to transportation improvements. Existing law requires the commission to adopt guidelines for these programs. This bill would authorize these guidelines to include streamlining of project delivery by authorizing an implementing agency to seek commission approval of a letter of no prejudice that would allow the agency to expend its own funds in advance of allocation of funds by the commission, and to be reimbursed at a later time for eligible expenditures, as specified (4) Existing law creates the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. Existing law provides for the deposit of various funds, including revenues from certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees, for the program in the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. Existing law requires funds available for the program to be allocated for various purposes and requires the remaining funds available for the program to be allocated 50% for maintenance of the state highway system or to the state highway operation and protection program and 50% for apportionment to cities and counties by the Controller pursuant to a specified formula. Prior to receiving an apportionment of funds under the program from the Controller in a fiscal year, existing law requires an eligible city or county to submit to the California Transportation Commission a list of projects proposed to be funded with these funds. Existing law requires the commission to report to the Controller the cities and counties that have submitted a list of projects and requires the Controller, upon receipt of the report, to apportion funds to eligible cities and counties. This bill would authorize an eligible city or county, prior to receiving an apportionment under the program, to expend other funds on eligible projects and to reimburse the source of those other funds when it receives its apportionment from the Controller. The bill would require the Controller, if a city or county is not included in the commission's initial report to the Controller, to retain the monthly share of funds that would otherwise be apportioned and distributed to that city or county and to apportion those funds to that city or county when the Controller receives a subsequent report from the commission that the city or county has become eligible, as specified. The bill would require the Controller to reapportion to all eligible cities and counties any funds that were retained in this manner but that were not apportioned and distributed under these provisions, as specified. The bill would make other related changes. (5) This bill would appropriate $274,473,990 from the Federal Trust Fund to the Department of Transportation for the 2017–18 fiscal year for specified transportation-related purposes. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.