The Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Fund of 2006 is hereby created in the State Treasury. The Legislature intends that the proceeds of bonds deposited in the fund shall be used to fund the mobility, safety, and air quality improvements described in this article over the course of the next decade. The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter for the purposes specified in this chapter shall be allocated in the following manner: (a) (1) Four billion five hundred million dollars ($4,500,000,000) shall be deposited in the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account, which is hereby created in the fund. Funds in the account shall be available to the California Transportation Commission, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Bill by the Legislature, for allocation for performance improvements on highly congested travel corridors in California. Funds in the account shall be used for performance improvements on the state highway system, or major access routes to the state highway system on the local road system that relieve congestion by expanding capacity, enhancing operations, or otherwise improving travel times within these high-congestion travel corridors, as identified by the department and regional or local transportation agencies, pursuant to the process in paragraph (3) or (4), as applicable. (2) The commission shall develop and adopt guidelines, by December 1, 2006, including regional programming targets, for the program funded by this subdivision, and shall allocate funds from the account to projects after reviewing project nominations submitted by the Department of Transportation and by regional transportation planning agencies or county transportation commissions or authorities pursuant to paragraph (4). (3) Subject to the guidelines adopted pursuant to paragraph (2), the department shall nominate, by no later than January 15, 2007, projects for the allocation of funds from the account on a statewide basis. The departmentâs nominations shall be geographically balanced and shall reflect the departmentâs assessment of a program that best meets the policy objectives described in paragraph (1). (4) Subject to the guidelines adopted pursuant to paragraph (2), a regional transportation planning agency or county transportation commission or authority responsible for preparing a regional transportation improvement plan under Section 14527 may nominate projects identified pursuant to paragraph (1) that best meet the policy objectives described in that paragraph for funding from the account. Projects nominated pursuant to this paragraph shall be submitted to the commission for consideration for funding by no later than January 15, 2007. (5) All nominations to the California Transportation Commission shall be accompanied by documentation regarding the quantitative and qualitative measures validating each projectâs consistency with the policy objectives described in paragraph (1). All projects nominated to the commission for funds from this account shall be included in a regional transportation plan. (6) After review of the project nominations, and supporting documentation, the commission, by no later than March 1, 2007, shall adopt an initial program of projects to be funded from the account. This program may be updated every two years in conjunction with the biennial process for adoption of the state transportation improvement program pursuant to guidelines adopted by the commission. The inclusion of a project in the program shall be based on a demonstration that the project meets all of the following criteria: (A) Is a high-priority project in the corridor as demonstrated by either of the following: (i) its inclusion in the list of nominated projects by both the department pursuant to paragraph (3) and the regional transportation planning agency or county transportation commission or authority, pursuant to paragraph (4); or (ii) if needed to fully fund the project, the identifica
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.