Low Carbon Transit Operations Program: free or reduced fare transit program.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law continuously appropriates specified portions of the annual proceeds in the fund to various programs, including 5% for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, which is administered by the Department of Transportation and provides operating and capital assistance for transit agencies to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and improve mobility. Existing law requires each of those transit agencies to demonstrate that each expenditure of program moneys allocated to the transit agency reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases and does not supplant another source of funds, to use those moneys to provide transit operating or capital assistance, to use at least 50% of those moneys to benefit disadvantaged communities, and to submit specified information to the department before seeking a disbursement of those program moneys, as specified. Existing law authorizes a transit agency that has used program moneys for certain authorized operational assistance purposes in a previous fiscal year to use those moneys to continue the same service or program in any subsequent fiscal year if the transit agency can demonstrate that reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases can be realized. This bill would exempt a transit agency using program moneys for the continuation of a free or reduced fare transit program from the above-described requirement to demonstrate that reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases can be realized through the continuation of its transit program, and authorize the transit agency to continue to use those moneys for that purpose without any restriction to length of time. The bill would require the transit agency to submit an initial allocation request to the department and, for the next three fiscal years, to provide documentation necessary to meet an annual reporting requirement and comply with the program's requirements. Because this bill would expand the number of transit agencies eligible to receive an allocation of the funds continuously appropriated pursuant to the program, the bill would make an appropriation.