County of Orange: joint exercise of powers agreements: toll roads.

The Joint Exercise of Powers Act generally authorizes 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, to jointly exercise any common power. Existing law authorizes the County of Orange and the cities in that county, by ordinance, to require the payment of development fees, as specified, for purposes of defraying the costs of constructing bridges and major thoroughfares. Existing law authorizes those entities to form a joint powers agency for specified purposes, including constructing bridges and major thoroughfares, collecting tolls for the use of those facilities, and incurring indebtedness for the construction of those facilities. Pursuant to this authority, various toll roads in the County of Orange were constructed. This bill would limit the expenditure of those development fees to the maintenance, operation, or financing of a completed toll facility that is in service on January 1, 2020, and for which indebtedness was incurred. The bill would prohibit those entities, on and after January 1, 2020, from forming a new joint powers agency to construct bridge facilities or major thoroughfares under that specific authorization or the general authorization. The bill would prohibit a joint powers agency formed under that specific authorization before January 1, 2020, from designing, planning, developing, or constructing any of those facilities on or after January 1, 2020. The bill would prohibit a joint powers agency formed under that specific authorization from incurring new bonded indebtedness, except for specified purposes. The bill would make other related changes. Existing law authorizes a joint powers agency created for these purposes to make certain toll revenues and fees available as a loan to other specified joint powers agencies to pay for the cost of construction and toll collection of major thoroughfares other than those for which the toll or fee is charged if specified requirements are met and findings are made. This bill would delete that provision. Existing law authorizes an entity constructing bridge facilities or major thoroughfares pursuant to the above-described provisions to transfer all or a portion of those facilities to the state, subject to terms and conditions that are satisfactory to the Director of Transportation. This bill would require any facility constructed under these provisions and operated as a toll road to be transferred to the state after any indebtedness has been repaid subject to terms and conditions that are satisfactory to the Director of Transportation. After the facilities have been transferred to the state, the bill would prohibit the imposition of a toll for the use of these facilities.