Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: board of directors.

Existing law creates the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) with various powers and duties relative to transportation projects and services and the operation of public transit in the County of Santa Clara. Existing law vests the government of the VTA in a 12-member board of directors, which consists of 2 representatives of the County of Santa Clara who are members of, and appointed by, the county's board of supervisors, 5 representatives of the City of San Jose who are city council members or the mayor and appointed by the city council, and 5 representatives of the other cities in the county who are city council members or mayors of those cities as provided by agreements among those cities, whose terms of office are 2 years, as specified. This bill, on and after July 1, 2023, would revise the membership of the board of directors to instead consist of 2 representatives of the county who are community members and appointed by the president of the board of supervisors with board of supervisors approval, 5 representatives of the City of San Jose, including at least 2 city council members or the mayor and 2 community members, appointed by the mayor with city council approval, and 5 representatives of the other cities in the county, including at least 2 community members and 2 city council members or mayors of those cities, elected through a ranked choice voting process by the city councils of those cities, as specified. The bill would impose city or county residency requirements on the community members serving on the board of directors, as provided. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2023, authorize the board of directors to include ex officio nonvoting members from regional transportation or governmental bodies and would increase the directors' terms of office to 4 years. To the extent this bill would mandate that a local government provide a new program or higher level of service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.