Existing law designates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as the regional transportation planning agency for the San Francisco Bay area, with various powers and duties with respect to transportation planning and programming, as specified, in the 9-county San Francisco Bay area region. Existing law creates the Bay Area Toll Authority, governed by the same board as the commission, but created as a separate entity, with specified powers and duties relative to the administration of certain toll revenues from state-owned toll bridges within the geographic jurisdiction of the commission. Under existing law, the commission is comprised of 21 appointed members, as specified. This bill, effective January 1, 2017, would redesignate the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as the Bay Area Transportation Commission. The bill would require commissioners to be elected by districts comprised of approximately 750,000 residents. The bill would require each district to elect one commissioner, except that a district with a toll bridge, as defined, within the boundaries of the district would elect 2 commissioners. The bill would require commissioner elections to occur in 2016, with new commissioners to take office on January 1, 2017. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature for district boundaries to be drawn by a citizens' redistricting commission and campaigns for commissioners to be publicly financed. This bill, effective January 1, 2017, would delete the Bay Area Toll Authority's status as a separate entity from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and merge the authority into the Bay Area Transportation Commission. 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 these statutory provisions.
Sponsored bills
This measure would declare June 1, 2015, as Disneyland Day in recognition of the 60th anniversary of Disneyland.
This measure would urge the United States Department of Labor and the Congress of the United States to investigate alleged misuse of the H1-B Visa program.
This measure would proclaim the month of October 2015 as "Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention Month."
This measure would provide that the Legislature stands in moral and legal objection to the ballot measure proposing to enact the Sodomite Suppression Act, and to any other ballot measure that seeks to inflict harm on innocent persons or diminish current civil rights protections. This measure also would provide that the Legislature calls upon the residents of the State of California to reject bigotry and hate speech.
This measure would encourage all California municipalities to reexamine regulations surrounding mandatory fire suppression ordinances.
This measure would proclaim August 4, 2015, as National Night Out in California and would urge the people of California to observe and participate in National Night Out.
This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to enact Senate Bill 664, known as the Foster Care Tax Credit Act, which would provide tax relief to short-term foster parents by helping to cover the actual costs of caring for a foster child.
This measure would declare the week of September 13, 2015, through September 19, 2015, and the third week of September every year thereafter, as provided, as Sierra Nevada Watershed Protection Week. The measure would applaud public schools that include watershed protection in the Sierra Nevada Region as part of their outdoor education curriculum whenever possible during the month of September. The measure would also commend state, federal, and local agencies, along with nongovernmental organizations for working cooperatively to achieve the goal of increasing the pace and scale of watershed and forest restoration in the region with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy playing a key role in the development of a plan and program to address these issues.
This measure would declare the month of August 2015 as Dropout Recovery Month, and would state that the Legislature intends to encourage the support of dropout recovery high schools with creative teaching strategies, alternative accountability metrics, and adequate resources.