San Francisco Bay area: public transit: Regional Network Management Council.

Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates various transit districts located in the San Francisco Bay area, with specified powers and duties relating to providing public transit services. Existing law requires the commission to adopt rules and regulations to promote the coordination of fares and schedules for all public transit systems within its jurisdiction, as specified. This bill would create the Regional Network Management Council as an 11-member council to represent the interests of its stakeholders, to provide leadership and critical input on regional transit policies, and to provide executive guidance on regional transit policies and actionable implementation plans in pursuit of transformative improvements in the customer experience San Francisco Bay area transit. The bill would require the commission to facilitate the creation of the council. By requiring the commission to facilitate the creation of the council, and requiring certain employees of specified local agencies to serve on the council, 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.