Federal transportation funds: state exchange programs.

Existing federal law apportions transportation funds to the states under various programs, including the Surface Transportation Program and the Highway Safety Improvement Program, subject to certain conditions on the use of those funds. Existing law provides for the allocation of certain of those funds to local entities. Existing law provides for the exchange of federal and state transportation funds between local entities and the state under certain circumstances. Existing law requires that all moneys in the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund derived from federal sources or from appropriations to other state agencies, or deposited in the account by local agencies or by others, to be continuously appropriated to, and available for expenditure by, the Department of Transportation for the purposes for which the money was made available, including, among other purposes, transportation improvements. This bill would authorize the Department of Transportation to allow the above-described federal transportation funds that are allocated as local assistance to be exchanged for nonfederal State Highway Account funds appropriated to the department on a dollar-for-dollar basis for federal local assistance funds received by a city, county, or city and county, as specified. The bill would require, among other things, the total amount of federal funds exchanged to not exceed $100,000,000 during each federal fiscal year. The bill would also require the department to consult with the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties on implementation.