State Route 37 Toll Bridge Act.

The California Toll Bridge Authority Act makes the California Transportation Commission, together with the Department of Transportation, responsible for building and acquiring toll facilities and related transportation facilities. This bill would require an unspecified authority, on behalf of the state, to operate and maintain tolling infrastructure, including by installing toll facilities, and charge and collect tolls for the use of the Sonoma Creek Bridge, and to be responsible for the design and construction of improvements on the bridge and a segment of State Route 37 between its intersections with Route 121 in the County of Sonoma and Walnut Avenue in the County of Solano in accordance with programming and scheduling requirements adopted by the authority. The bill would authorize the authority to issue bonds payable from the revenues derived from those tolls. The bill would authorize those toll and bond revenues to be used for specified purposes, including near-term and long-term improvements to the segment of State Route 37 and the bridge to improve the roadway's mobility, safety, and long-term resiliency to sea level rise and flooding. The bill would require the authority to update and approve an expenditure plan for those toll and bond revenues on an annual basis beginning on July 1 following implementation of a toll. The bill would require the authority to develop and implement an equity program for the toll bridge to reduce the impact of the toll on low-income drivers. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for State Route 37 and the Sonoma Creek Bridge. 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.