RECEIVE update on state legislative activities and ADOPT positions on legislation.

Staff and Agency Legislative Analyst Gus Khouri will present a legislative update and a bill list for consideration. The Executive Committee discussed state legislative issues and recommended positions on relevant legislation at their April 3 meeting.

Some of the bills on the draft list would have funding impacts on the agency if enacted.

Attachment 1 is a write-up of state legislative activities by Agency Legislative Analyst Gus Khouri. One development since the March TAMC meeting includes submitting a budget ask to Assembly Member Rivas for $10 million for State Route 156/ Castroville Boulevard Interchange Project pre-construction activities. Attachment 2 is the fact sheet for that ask. Support letters sent on behalf of that request are included in this agenda packet under correspondence. Support letters for SB 628 (Caballero), TAMC's Prunedale Bypass funding bill, are also included under correspondence. That bill was approved on consent by the Senate Transportation Committee at their April 9 hearing.

Attachment 3 is an updated bill list. Changes to the list compared to the TAMC Board meeting of March 27 are indicated in cross-out and underline. Bills that no longer relate to transportation have been removed. New support/oppose recommendations are as follows:

• Assembly Bill (AB) 1486 (Ting): Local Agencies: surplus land: This bill would require special districts and other public agencies to offer a right of first refusal to affordable housing developers, schools, and park agencies before leasing, selling, or otherwise “conveying” any of the agency’s land. This bill could impact TAMC’s ability to transfer property at the Salinas train station to the City of Salinas. Recommend oppose.
• AB 1568 (McCarty): Affordable Housing Production: withholding transportation funds: this proposal would threaten voter-approved SB 1 funding for unrelated activities, housing production. Recommend oppose.
• Senate Bill (SB) 5 (Beall): Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment: This bill would fund construction of workforce and affordable housing, transit-oriented development, and “projects promoting strong neighborhoods.” Recommend support.
• SB 152 (Beall): Active Transportation Funding: This bill would change the allocation of formula funding in a manner that would make it unlikely for Monterey County projects to succeed in applications. Recommend oppose.

The Executive Committee received a presentation on April 3 and recommended the Board adopt the new positions as indicated above. After that date, the bills continued to be amended. Highlighted bills on the list are new since the discussion at the Executive Committee. Bills not discussed at the Executive Committee that staff recommends a Board position on are as follows:

• AB 490 (Salas): California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): development projects: streamlining: This bill would streamline environmental review for projects in an infill site within 1/2 mile of a major transit stop, existing or planned. Recommend support.
• AB 1112 (Friedman): Motorized scooters: local regulation: This bill reflects the best practices that TAMC staff found when investigating local scooter rules. Recommend support.
• AB 1402 (Petrie-Norris): Active Transportation Program: This bill is the same as SB 152 (Beall). Recommend oppose.
• SB 25 (Caballero and Glazer): CEQA: projects funded by qualified opportunity zone funds or other public funds: This bill would streamline CEQA review of certain projects in opportunity zones. Recommend support.
• SB 742 (Allen): Intercity passenger rail services: motor carrier transportation of passengers: This bill solves a long-standing problem that Amtrak Thruway bus passengers must have a rail ticket to ride the bus. Recommend support.

Letters sent expressing the positions adopted by the Board at its March 27 meeting are included in this agenda packet under correspondence.