Agenda Item No. 15
CITY OF YUCAIPA
AGENDA REPORT
TO: I , ,�H�onorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: rl* xaymond A. Casey, City Manager
Shane Massoud, Public Information Officer/Grant Coordinator FOR: City Council Meeting of June 27, 2022
SUBJECT: Assembly Bill 2237 (Friedman) — Transportation Planning RECOMMENDATION:
That City Council review and approve a letter of opposition for Assembly Bill 2237 (Friedman), which will require projects and programs included in the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) to be consistent with the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS) as well as State and Federal air quality standards.
BACKGROUND:
Currently, existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt regional transportation plans directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. The law requires each regional transportation plan to also include a sustainable communities strategy prepared by each Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in order to, among other things, achieve certain targets established by the State Air Resources Board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks in the region for 2020 and 2035, respectively.
Additionally, existing law, to the extent the sustainable communities strategy is unable to achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, requires the affected MPO(s)metropolitan planning organization(s) to prepare an alternative planning strategy showing how the targets may be achieved through alternative development patterns, infrastructure, or additional transportation measures or policies. The law requires each regional transportation planning agency or county transportation commission to biennially adopt and submit to the California Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation a 5- year regional transportation improvement program that includes, among other things, regional transportation improvement projects and programs proposed to be funded, in whole or in part, in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
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DISCUSSION:
Assembly Bill 2237 (AB), authorized by the Assembly Transportation Committee Chair, Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) would require projects and programs included in the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP is updated every two years, but spans five years and includes a list of highway, local road, transit, and active transportation projects the region proposes for funding) to be consistent with the Regional Transportation Plan/ Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS is a long-range plan that balances future mobility and housing needs with economic and environmental goals) as well as State and Federal air quality standards.
Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPA) are responsible for developing the region's funding priorities for the STIP, and compiling RTIP(s), which are then submitted to the state for inclusion in the State Transportation Improvement Program. The STIP is a five-year capital improvement program that provides funding from the State Highway Account (SHA) for projects that increase the transportation system's capacity. The SHA is funded through a combination of state gas excise tax, the Federal Highway Trust Fund, and truck ' weight fees. The STIP may include projects on state highways, local roads, intercity rail, or public transit systems.
If signed into law, AB 2237 would require each regional agency or county commission to rank all transportation projects and prioritize projects based on their adherence to its most recently adopted SCS and the state's climate goals. The bill requires that projects be ranked to accelerate SCS implementation and not induce Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT). AB 2237 would also prohibit state funds from being used for a project that increases "single occupancy vehicle capacity" unless the project is included in the RTP/SCS, provides sufficient enforceable mitigation to ensure that including the project in the RTP/SCS will not increase Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, and that the MPO(s) finds that the project helps to advance other regional goals, such as safety, freight travel, maintenance, or equity.
Once projects are prioritized, this bill requires each regional agency or county commission to fund and implement the projects in that defined order. AB 2237 would also require each regional agency or county commission to submit its prioritized list to Air Resources Board (ARB) and the CTC, according to the same timeline as the applicable SCS. ARB, in consultation with the CTC, will make the final determination on whether each project is consistent with the most recently adopted SCS and the state's climate goals.
AB 2237 also introduces a precedent that allows the state to dictate parameters on locally approved tax measures. AB 2237 would require each regional agency or county commission to submit a report on local transportation tax measures to the CTC on or before March 30, 2023.
The CTC, in consultation with CARB, will conduct an analysis and propose recommendations in order to align local tax measures with the state's climate goals. The introduction of state control over locally approved tax measures could significantly jeopardize the ability of county transportation agencies to secure voter approval for new measures or extend current ones to fund these projects, drastically reducing funding throughout the region as well as restricting local control. AB 2237 further divides transportation program funds in the State, allowing for Statewide programs to be prioritized administratively, likely favoring highly urbanized areas at the expense of rural and suburban communities, like Yucaipa. -121-
In conclusion, City Staff is recommending that City Council review and approve a letter of opposition for Assembly Bill 2237 (Friedman), Transportation Planning.
ATTACHMENT
Assembly Floor Bill Analysis
Letter of Opposition
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AB 2237
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2237 (Friedman)
As Amended May 19, 2022
Majority vote
SUMMARY
Conditions state and local transportation funding on a project's consistency with the applicable Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) and state climate goals, as defined.
Major Provisions
1) Requires each regional transportation improvement plan submitted to the county transportation commission (CTC) by a regional agency or county commission to include projects and programs that are consistent with its most recently prepared SCS and the state's climate goals, as defined.
2) Requires each regional agency or county commission to rank all transportation projects and prioritize projects based on their adherence to its most recently adopted SCS and the state's climate goals. Requires ranked projects to accelerate SCS implementation and not induce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Each regional agency or county commission shall fund and implement projects in the order of prioritization.
3) Requires each regional agency or county commission to submit its prioritized list to ARB and the CTC, according to the same timeline as the applicable SCS. 4) Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), in consultation with the CTC, to determine whether each project is consistent with the most recently adopted SCS and the state's climate goals.
5) Requires each regional agency or county commission to submit a report on local transportation tax measures to the CTC on or before March 30, 2023, including all of the following infonnation:
a) The text of the local measure.
b) A description of whether the local measure aligns with the most recently adopted SCS and the state's climate goals.
c) A description of the transportation projects funded by the local measure. d) A timeline of the transportation projects, including when they were passed and when they will expire.
6) Requires the CTC, in consultation with ARB, to conduct an analysis and propose recommendations to align local tax measures with the state's climate goals. 7) Requires projects funded by local tax measures to be included in regional transportation plans and adhere to the most recently adopted applicable SCS and the state's climate goals. -123-
AB 2237
8) Requires regional agencies or county commissions that approve projects that adhere to their most recently adopted SCS and the state's climate goals to receive additional funds from surplus state transportation funds and federal funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature. 9) Prohibits a regional agency or county commission from funding a project or program determined to be inconsistent with its most recently adopted SCS or the state's climate goals by ARB.
10) Defines "state's climate goals" as the goals expressed in any of the following:
a) Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure prepared by the Transportation Agency, including the guiding principles in the final draft as adopted by the Transportation Agency and endorsed by the CTC in July 2021. b) State and federal air quality standards set by the federal Clean Air Act, including all state ambient air quality standards and national ambient air quality standards in all areas of the state.
c) Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728 of the Statutes of 2008. d) Senate Bill 32 (Pavley), Chapter 249 of the Statutes of 2016.
COMMENTS
MPOs are federally -mandated regional transportation agencies responsible for programming transportation investments in California's urban areas. SB 375 (Steinberg) requires that each MPO develop, in conjunction with its periodically updated RTP, a SCS, which is a projected "development pattern ... [that, when] integrated with the transportation network, and other transportation measures and policies," and is designed to achieve specific per capita GHG reduction targets set by ARB for automobiles and light trucks over the duration of the RTP/SCS.
SB 375 further requires that RTP/SCSs be consistent with local government land use plans for accommodating housing at all income levels, required under the state's Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process.
MPOs provide a planning interface for transportation programs and investments initiated by multiple sources. MPOs coordinate, in their periodically updated long-range (20+ year) RTP and associated shorter -range transportation investment plans (TIP), multiple projects funded by federal, state, and local agencies. MPOs must make their long-range RTPs consistent with their short-range (four-year) TIPS, and with local eight -year RHNA plans.
The main incentive to ensure local compliance with RTP/SCS land use strategies, and achieve GHG reduction, is some streamlining of environmental review required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for development projects deemed to be consistent with RTP/SCS goals. A survey conducted in 2016 by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) found that less than 5% of responding localities had made use of the primary CEQA streamlining provision in SB 375, called a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment.
Despite the intent of SCSs to reduce GHG production, the changes in local planning and project delivery have been mainly incremental, for a myriad of reasons. -124-
AB 2237
Recent studies have begun to identify disconnections between MPO authority, land use, and achieving the state's GHG emission reduction goals. In a report to the Legislature in 2018, ARB concluded that "California is not on track to meet GHG reductions expected under SB 375," with a particularly worrisome trend being an observed rise in VMT and associated GHGs from cars and light trucks starting after 2013.
The Strategic Growth Council's report required by AB 285 (Friedman), Chapter 605, Statutes of 2019, includes a series of white papers prepared by UC Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS). "MPO Planning and Implementation of State Policy Goals," includes an analysis of the most -recent adopted RTP/SCSs, which indicates that most MPO plans allocate more funds toward roadways than transit, but most allocate more roadway funding toward maintenance and operations than new facilities.
One key conclusion causing SCS misalignment, stated at the local and state level, is that MPOs cannot mandate local land use policy changes, and they have only limited discretion for initiating transportation projects, most of which are controlled by other levels of government, with the MPO role being to coordinate and prioritize project spending within regions.
Another similar study of transportation funding streams in California concluded that decision - making "happens at multiple, often uncoordinated levels, without requirement that those dollars are spent to align with AB 32 or SB 375 implementation." MPOs are working towards more stringent GHG reduction targets, yet they have no choice but to bank on more ambitious state and local action to be able to achieve these more ambitious mandated goals, even though they cannot ensure that desired policies will actually be implemented.
According to the Author
"California can no longer wait to take bold action to reduce GHGs from the single largest sector of emissions, cars and light trucks. With emissions from the transportation sector continuing to rise despite increases in fuel efficiency and decreases in the carbon content of fuel, California will not achieve the necessary greenhouse gas emissions reductions without significant changes to how communities and transportation systems are planned, funded, and built. AB 2237 will make real changes to improve the sustainability of California's communities." Arguments in Support
The Coalition for Clean Air states, "Coalition for Clean Air supports AB 2237 because it would reinvigorate California's efforts to shape sustainable communities that offer clean mobility to our residents. AB 2237, drawing on the Strategic Growth Council's California Transportation Assessment Report, pursuant to AB 285 (Friedman, 2019), would help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to reach their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, set by the Air Resources Board (ARB), and stay consistent with their adopted sustainable community strategies (SCS) and the state's climate standards."
Arguments in Opposition
The Coalition for Clean Air states, "Coalition for Clean Air supports AB 2237 because it would reinvigorate California's efforts to shape sustainable communities that offer clean mobility to our residents. AB 2237, drawing on the Strategic Growth Council's California Transportation Assessment Report, pursuant to AB 285 (Friedman, 2019), would help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to reach their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, set by the Air Resources Board (ARB), and stay consistent with their adopted sustainable community strategies (SCS) and the state's climate standards."
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AB 2237
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1) Costs of an unknown, but significant amount, likely in the low -to -mid hundreds of thousands of dollars to ARB to review and assess projects and tax measures, as well as analyze equity impacts.
2) CTC estimates needing $239,000 per year, for two years, for one limited -term position to collect and analyze local sales tax information and develop recommendations. CTC would also face minor and absorbable ongoing staff costs to provide consultations to ARB determining the consistency of projects with state climate goals.
VOTES
ASM TRANSPORTATION: 8-4-3
YES: Friedman, Berman, Kalra, Lee, Bloom, Nazarian, Ward, Wicks NO: Fong, Cunningham, Davies, Nguyen
ABS, ABST OR NV: Daly, Gipson, O'Donnell
ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 7-3-1
YES: Friedman, Cristina Garcia, Reyes, Muratsuchi, Stone, Wood, Boerner Horvath NO: Flora, Mathis, Seyarto
ABS, ABST OR NV: Luz Rivas
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 12-4-0
YES: Holden, Bryan, Calderon, Carrillo, Mike Fong, Gabriel. Eduardo Garcia, Levine, Quirk, Robert Rivas, Akilah Weber, Wilson
NO: Bigelow, Megan Dahle, Davies, Fong
UPDATED
VERSION: May 19, 2022
CONSULTANT: Julia Kingsley / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0002897 -126-
CITY OF
June 27, 2022
Assemblymember Laura Friedman
California 43'd Assembly District
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, California 94249
RE: Opposition to Assembly Bill 2237 (Friedman), as Amended on June 13, 2022 Dear Assemblymember Friedman:
On behalf of the City of Yucaipa, we write in opposition to Assembly Bill (AB) 2237 (Friedman). The City recognizes the Legislature's intention to secure a climate -resilient future for California, including for residents in San Bernardino County.
As you know, Senate Bill (SB) 375 sought to promote California regions to work together to meet greenhouse gas emission (GHG) goals set forth in AB 32 by requiring integration of planning processes for transportation, land -use, and housing. The California Air Resources Board was charged with developing regional GHG reduction targets for cars and light trucks, and the regions, in turn, were charged with creating sustainable community strategies (SCS) plans to achieve the emissions reduction targets, if feasible. SB 375 was crafted for compliance at the regional level, not at a county or local project level. This allowed for a regional target to be set, providing for some flexibility with regard to an individual project's impact on GHG reduction, if other projects within the SCS contributed significantly to GHG reduction.
AB 2237 seeks to implement SB 375 at the project level and would endanger many local projects that would provide critical benefits to local cities such as City of Yucaipa.
San Bernardino is a Self -Help County which means voters within the county have approved a portion of local sales tax be dedicated to transportation projects countywide. Our Measure I was passed by 80% of voters based on the commitment to fund specific local priorities and projects.
AB 2237 fails to recognize the depth of funding self-help counties, such as San Bernardino County, have already invested in all modes of transportation. AB 2237 would reduce the local voice on mobility improvements within cities and communities here in San Bernardino County.
The City disagrees with the bill's requirement that potential local measure dollars only be spent on projects contained in the most recently adopted SCS, possibly eliminating projects specifically identified by local communities from accessing locally generated transportation dollars. Additionally, tying availability of local tax measure dollars to state climate goals sets a dangerous precedent that could make passage of future local tax measures unappealing to voters.
For these reasons, the City of Yucaipa opposes AB 2237.
If you have any questions regarding AB 2237 and how it would impact our city, please contact Raymond A. Casey, City Manager, at (909) 797-2489 or rcasey@y!Acaipa.org.
City of Yucaipa
34272 Yucaipa Blvd, Yucaipa, CA 92399
90947W-2489
Sincerely,
David Avila
Mayor
Justin Beaver
Mayor Pro Tern
Greg Bogh Bobby Duncan Jon Thorp
Councilmember Councilmember Councilmember
cc: Rosilicie Bogh, Senator, Via FAX No. (916) 651-4923 Chad Mayes, Assemblyman, Via FAX No. (916) 319-2142
Laura Morales, League of California Cities, lmorales@,calcities.org Meg Desmond, League of California Cities, mdesmond(a)cacities.org City of Yucaipa
34272 Yucaipa Blvd, Yucaipa, CA 92399
9992N7-2489