On April 7, 2021, the Executive Committee received an update on state and federal legislative activities and recommended the below positions on draft legislation.
State Legislative Update
Attachment 1 is the state legislative report. On March 12, 2021, the Central Coast Coalition held the first virtual legislative day, meeting with legislators that represent the five counties in the Central Coast. Online as web attachments 1 and 2 are the itinerary and talking points for those meetings.
The updated state bill list (Attachment 2) includes several new bills that align with the Agency's adopted legislative program (Web Attachment 3). Changes to the list since the Board adoption on March 24 are indicated via strike-out and underline.
The following bills are now recommended for a new support position:
- Assembly Bill (AB) 14 (Aguiar-Curry): Communications: broadband services: California Advanced Services Fund, which would authorize a County Board of Supervisors to construct and operate broadband internet access service.
- AB 34 (Murasutchi): Communications: Broadband for All Act of 2022, which was amended from a spot bill to place $10 billion in general obligation bonds for broadband infrastructure on the November 2022 ballot.
- AB 41 (Wood): Broadband Infrastructure, which was amended to specify the priority areas for broadband conduits in Caltrans projects to include Castroville, Chualar, Gonzales, Greenfield, King City and Soledad.
- AB 1260 (Chen): California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions: transportation-related projects, which would exempt from state environmental review the infrastructure to charge or refuel zero-emission trains.
- Senate Bill (SB) 4 (Gonzalez): Communications: California Advanced Services Fund, which would require the state to facilitate streamlining of local land use approvals for projects related to broadband infrastructure.
- SB 735 (Rubio): Vehicles: speed safety cameras, which would authorize the use of traffic speed safety cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones.
An additional change supported by the Executive Committee is the change from an "oppose" to a "watch" position on SB 542 (Limon), which was amended on March 25 to pertain to heavy/light duty truck license fees instead of vehicle registration fees. As amended, the bill no longer impacts transportation funding programs, removing TAMC's opposition.
Federal Legislative Update
Pursuant to the TAMC Board action on March 24, staff submitted the US 101 South of Salinas and the State Route 68 Salinas-Monterey projects for consideration for Community Project Funding.
On March 31, the President announced “The American Jobs Plan” (a.k.a. the infrastructure investment plan) with a total price tag of $2.3 Trillion over 15 years, to be funded via the “The Made In America Tax Plan”, a permanent tax increases on corporations (see web attachments 4, 5, 6 and 7). This investment plan is over and above the surface transportation authorization bill - the current bill is the Fixing America's Surface Transportation ("FAST") Act, which expires on September 30, 2021. The administration is expected to support a reauthorization bill separately from this jobs plan.
Of the $2.3 trillion total, the jobs plan includes $932 billion (41%) for infrastructure, of which $571 billion is for transportation:
- $135 billion (24%) for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure
- $115 billion (20%) to modernize, reconstruct, and repair highways and bridges
- $110 billion (19%) for mass transit, including $25 billion for electric buses
- $80 billion (14%) for intercity rail
- $44 billion (8%) for "megaprojects", described as transformative investments that are too large or complex for existing funding programs
- $25 billion (4%) for airports
- $25 billion (4%) for equity projects such as reconnecting neighborhoods divided by freeways
- $20 billion (4%) for road safety projects such as vision zero/ “safe streets for all program”
- $17 billion (3%) Ports
The plan also includes $100 billion for broadband, a subject of interest to the Agency as broadband investments support telecommuting; and $50 billion for resiliency projects, including transportation, grid, water resiliency. Staff will monitor Congress regarding legislation which includes any of the features of the President's infrastructure proposals.
On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the availability of $1 billion through the "Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity" (RAISE) grants, formerly known as BUILD and TIGER (see web attachment 8). The deadline for applications is July 12, 2021.