On October 6, 2021, the Executive Committee received an update on state and federal legislative activities and provided input on priorities for the Agency for 2022. Attachment 1 is the draft 2022 legislative program, showing changes from the 2021 adopted program (web attachment 1), for discussion at the meeting. Staff recommends the Board approve this draft program for distribution to the Rail Policy Committee, Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee, and Technical Advisory Committee in November. Staff will also meet with partner agencies locally and statewide to discuss items for the program. The Executive Committee will then receive an update and discuss the final draft program in January 2022, followed by presentation to the Board in January for adoption.
Agency state legislative analyst Gus Khouri will present an end-of-the-year report on state legislative activities. Attachment 2 is the state legislative update and Attachment 3 is the final state bill list. Key issues addressed in these attachments include the Brown Act exemptions for meetings during the pandemic emergency, the state budget, and broadband legislation. The bill list shows the current status of state legislation, whether the bills were enacted, vetoed, or two-year bills. Bills that TAMC supported that were signed into law include:
- Assembly Bill (AB) 361 (Rivas, Robert): Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences
- Senate Bill (SB) 4 (Gonzalez): Communications: California Advanced Services Fund
- SB 28 (Caballero): Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006
- SB 69 (McGuire): North Coast Railroad Authority: right-of-way: Great Redwood Trail Agency: Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District
- SB 790 (Stern): Wildlife connectivity mitigation credits
Bills that TAMC supported that were vetoed include:
- AB 122 (Boerner Horvath): Vehicles: required stops: bicycles - this was the so-called "Idaho Stop" bill. In his veto message (web attachment 2), the Governor cited a concern that the bill could be confusing and cause more accidents.
- SB 792 (Glazer): Sales and use tax: retailers: reporting - this bill would require tracking the location of online purchases, which could have helped secure Measure X revenues. In his veto message (web attachment 3), the Governor called the bill duplicative, burdensome and costly.
Attachment 4 and 5 are federal legislative updates outlining the status of transportation legislation negotiations as of September 17 and September 24, 2021. The federal government approved a continuing resolution for all twelve appropriations bills through December 3, keeping funding levels steady from the 2020/21 appropriations bills. Senator Alex Padilla is requesting $2 million in congressionally directed funding for the US 101 South of Salinas project in the 2021/22 transportation appropriations bill. Congress also passed a short-term extension of the federal transportation authorization act, to the end of October, while infrastructure authorization negotiations continue. Agency federal legislative analyst Paul Schlesinger is standing by in case there is new information to present at the meeting.
Web attachment 4 is an itinerary and web attachment 3 is a screenshot of the Central Coast Coalition's first-ever federal legislative action day, held via zoom on September 30, 2021. TAMC was represented by 1st Vice Chair Mary Adams, her aide Colleen Courtney, Executive Director Todd Muck, and Principal Planner Christina Watson.