Transportation.

(1) The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1B at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of $19.925 billion of general obligation bonds for specified purposes, including $2 billion to be transferred to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund (TCIF) , created by the bond act. The bond act makes the moneys in the TCIF available, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act by the Legislature and subject to such conditions and criteria as the Legislature may provide by statute, for allocation by the California Transportation Commission for infrastructure improvements along federally designated Trade Corridors of National Significance or along other corridors that have a high volume of freight movement, as determined by the commission. Existing law designates the commission as the administrative agency responsible for programming funds in the TCIF and authorizes the commission to adopt guidelines for the TCIF program. This bill would require the commission to establish a competitive funding program to provide funds to the Department of Transportation or regional transportation planning agencies, or both, for short-line railroad projects such as railroad reconstruction, maintenance, upgrade, or replacement. The bill would require the commission to adopt guidelines, in consultation with representatives from specified government and industry entities, by July 1, 2020, to be used by the commission to select projects for programming and allocation. The bill would appropriate $7,200,000, or a lesser amount, as specified, from the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund to the Department of Transportation for purposes of the program. (2) Existing law creates the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations within the Department of Transportation, headed by a director known as the Inspector General, to ensure, among other things, that the department, and external entities that receive state and federal transportation funds from the department, are spending those funds efficiently, effectively, economically, and in compliance with applicable state and federal requirements. Existing law vests the Inspector General with the full authority for maintaining a full scope, independent, and objective audit and investigation program, as prescribed. Existing law requires the Inspector General to review policies, practices, and procedures and conduct audits and investigations of activities involving state transportation funds administered by the department in consultation with all affected units and programs of the department and external entities. This bill would provide the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations with access and authority to examine all records, files, documents, accounts, reports, correspondence, or other property of the department and external entities that receive state and federal transportation funds from the department. The bill would provide that all books, papers, records, and correspondence of the office are public records subject to the California Public Records Act but would prohibit the Inspector General from releasing certain types of records to the public, except under certain circumstances. The bill would also make it a crime to engage in specified activity with regard to an audit, evaluation, investigation, or review conducted pursuant to these provisions, including manipulating, correcting, altering, or changing records, documents, accounts, reports, or correspondence before or during any audit, and distributing, reproducing, releasing, or failing to safeguard confidential draft documents exchanged between the Inspector General and the entity subject to the audit, before the release of the Inspector General's final report, as specified. Because the bill would create a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law identifies the total amount of specified loans from the General Fund to the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund, and requires those loan amounts to be repaid from the General Fund pursuant to Section 20 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. This bill would require a specified portion of those loan amounts to be repaid from the General Fund, but not pursuant to that provision of the California Constitution. (4) Existing law authorizes the California Transportation Commission to allocate federal and state transportation funds to the Department of Transportation to operate and manage the Transportation Finance Bank, pursuant to which loans are made for transportation projects that have a dedicated revenue source and are eligible under a federal program. Existing law creates the Local Transportation Loan Account in the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund for the management of funds for loans to local entities under these provisions. Existing law requires specified funds, interest, and penalties to be deposited in the account and continuously appropriates moneys in the account to the department for purposes of making loans to eligible local entities. This bill would require all assets and liabilities of the Local Transportation Loan Account to become assets and liabilities of the State Highway Account before January 1, 2020. The bill would repeal all of the provisions relating to the account and the Transportation Finance Bank on January 1, 2020. (5) Article XIX B of the California Constitution, as amended by Proposition 1A, approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, requires full payment by June 30, 2016, of the amount that would have been transferred to the Transportation Investment Fund in the absence of a suspension of transfer of revenues that occurred in the 2003–04 and 2004–05 fiscal years, and until that has occurred, requires the amount of transfer payments in each fiscal year to be at least 1 /10 of the outstanding amount. Existing statutory law requires the minimum amount required by the California Constitution, plus interest, to be transferred by the Controller in each fiscal year until June 30, 2016, to the Transportation Deferred Investment Fund for allocation to transportation purposes that would have been funded in the absence of a suspension. Under existing law, the Transportation Deferred Investment Fund is considered part of the Transportation Investment Fund, except as specified. This bill would require all assets and liabilities of the Transportation Deferred Investment Fund to become assets and liabilities of the State Highway Account before January 1, 2020. (6) Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol, to design and make available for issuance the California memorial license plate. Existing law requires 85% of the revenue from specified fees imposed in connection with the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of California memorial license plates to be deposited in the Antiterrorism Fund within the General Fund, and requires the money in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated solely for antiterrorism activities, as provided. Existing law requires 15% of the revenue from those fees to be deposited in the California Memorial Scholarship Fund within the General Fund, and requires the money in that fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available for scholarships for surviving dependents of California residents killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This bill would instead require that all of the revenue from those fees be deposited in the Antiterrorism Fund. (7) Existing law imposes weight fees on the registration of commercial motor vehicles. Existing law requires revenues from weight fees, after administrative expenses, to be deposited into the State Highway Account. Existing law transfers weight fee revenues from the State Highway Account to the Transportation Debt Service Fund for the purpose of servicing specified transportation bond debt. Existing law requires weight fee revenue in excess of the amount necessary to offset current fiscal year transportation bond debt service to be loaned to the General Fund. Existing law authorizes the Director of Finance to repay any portion of the balance of the loan in any year in which the director determines that the funds are needed to reimburse the General Fund for current year transportation bond debt service, as specified. This bill would authorize the director to also repay any portion of the balance of the loan in any year in which the director determines that the funds are needed to reimburse the General Fund for future year transportation bond debt service. (8) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (9) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (10) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.