Regional transportation plans: sustainable communities strategies.

Existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt a regional transportation plan directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. Certain of these agencies are designated under federal law as metropolitan planning organizations. Existing law requires that each regional transportation plan include a sustainable communities strategy developed to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and 2035 established by the State Air Resources Board. This bill would require that the sustainable communities strategy be developed to additionally achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector for 2045 and 2050 and vehicle miles traveled reduction targets for 2035, 2045, and 2050 established by the board. The bill would make various conforming changes to integrate those additional targets into regional transportation plans. Existing law requires each metropolitan planning organization to adopt a public participation plan for development of the sustainable communities strategy, and to submit to the state board a description of the technical methodology it intends to use to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions from its sustainable communities strategy. Existing law encourages the metropolitan planning organization to work with the state board until the state board concludes that the technical methodology operates accurately. This bill would require, rather than encourage, the metropolitan planning organization to work with the state board for that purpose. The bill would require the metropolitan planning organization to, at least 90 days before adopting a sustainable communities strategy, submit to the state board for review a draft sustainable communities strategy, and to respond to any comments on the draft it receives from the state board. Existing law requires the metropolitan planning organization to submit its adopted sustainable communities strategy to the state board for review. This bill would require that the sustainable communities strategy be submitted within 60 days of adoption. The bill would require the state board to reject the metropolitan planning organization's determination that the strategy submitted would achieve the greenhouse gas emission vehicle miles traveled reduction targets if it determines that certain criteria are met. This bill would require each city, county, or city and county to biennially report to its metropolitan planning organization the number of housing and jobs, and transit supportive infrastructure, existing and planned, that demonstrates implementation of strategies included in the applicable sustainable communities strategy, as specified. By imposing new requirements on local agencies, 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.