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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07211992 - TC.2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ;; !'f `'"" "ra n' � Costa o, r •, .. FROM: TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEECounty , �'•. DATE: July 21, 1992 SUBJECT: Report on Federal and State Legislation SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Adopt resolution supporting the Rail Transportation Bond Act of 1992 (see Exhibit A) ; 2 . Adopt a position of opposition to AB 3093 (Congestion Management Program) unless amended, and authorize the Director of Public Works to advise our legislative representative of this position; and 3 . Adopt a position of support for HR 5082 (Telecommuting Act of 1992) , and authorize the Chair to sign a letter (see Exhibit B) requesting amendments to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance. FISCAL IMPACT None directly. Without voter approval of the Rail Transportation Bond Act of 1992, funding of certain highway and transit projects serving Contra Costa will be delayed. AB 3093 may jeopardize future gas tax revenues received by Contra Costa. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS Rail Transportation Bond Act for 1992 On June 9, 1992 the Board referred to the Transportation Committee a request from Assemblyman Jim Costa, (D-Fresno) , to adopt a resolution in support of the Rail Transportation Bond Act for 1992 (Proposition 156) . Proposition 156 is the second of the three rail bond measures included in the Transportation Blueprint legislation approved by the Legislature and voters in 1990. The bond measure CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: XX YES SIGNATURE 11ECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) Schroder Tom Tor.lakson ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT.: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Orig.- Community Development Department ATTESTED a 1 ' /9 9 .3.cc: Public Works Department PHIL R AT HEL , CLERK OF CCTA .(via CDD) THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY , DEPUTY Report on State and Federal Legislation July 21, 1992 Page Two includes revenues for BART and AMTRAK service to Contra Costa. Failure to approve the bond measure would cause major delays freeway and transit projects throughout the state. The Transportation Committee recommends that the Board approve the attached resolution and send copies to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, our State legislative delegation, and Californians for Rail Transit. AB 3093 (Katz) - Congestion Management Program On March 24 , 1992 , the Board adopted a position to support this legislation with amendments. The bill changes the requirement for preparation of Congestion Management Programs (CMP) from annual to biannual and would result in a significant savings to the County' s Congestion Management Agency (CMA) , which in our case is the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. The Authority is projecting a $250, 000 deficit in its CMA budget for 1992-93 . In addition, the Board recommended AB 3093 be amended to exempt the CMP from the California Environment Quality Act, similar to exemptions enjoyed by transportation programming documents prepared by MTC and the California Transportation Commission, which would provide a further savings to the Authority. During the week of June 8, 1992 , AB 3093 was substantially amended to include a wide range of new CMP requirements which will greatly impact the County' s ability to implement its General Plan. The Transportation Committee recommends AB 3093 be opposed unless amended based on the following: - Current legislation allows a city or county to violate the CMP's level of service standards at an individual location if it holds a public hearing and adopts a Deficiency Plan which is to be submitted to the CMA. The CMA will hold its own public hearing and either accept or reject the Deficiency Plan. If a Deficiency Plan is rejected, a city or county will not be in conformance with the CMP requirement and will have no way to rectify the situation. The Transportation Committee believes AB 3093 should contain an appeal procedure. The next issue shows the consequences of Deficiency Plan rejections that cannot be appealed. - Under existing law, when a CMA finds that a city or a county is not conforming with the requirements of the CMP, and such jurisdictions do not come into conformance within 90 days, their new gasoline tax allocation under Proposition 111 will be withheld until conformance is attained. If AB 3093 becomes law, after one year of non-conformance, a jurisdiction's withheld funds will be allocated to the CMA for transportation projects included in the CMP. Such a provision creates a conflict of interest for the CMA since its decision on a city or county's conformance to the CMP could result in the CMA receiving funds withheld from a non-conforming jurisdiction. The Transportation Committee believes AB 3093 must be opposed unless this provision is deleted or substantially modified. - Under existing law, certain types of trips are excluded from he determination of level-of-service standards. AB 3093 would also exclude trips generated by high density residential developments located within one quarter mile of a fixed-rail passenger station. The Transportation Committee believes this is a positive provision and recommends a further provision to exempt trips from similar developments adjacent to ferry terminals. Contra Costa has several locations for possible ferry terminals and could benefit from such a provision. HR 5!1.82 - The Telecommuting Act of 1992 HR 5082 , sponsored by Representative Tom McMillan (D-Maryland) , would establish an office of Telecommuting in the Department of Commerce to promote the development of telecommuting technologies, techniques, and procedures, and would authorize the appropriation of $5 million to establish at least five satellite telecommuting offices for use of employees in the Washington, D.C. area. The Transportation Committee. recommends the following changes in the bill: 1) authorize establishment of one or more sites in California; and 2) promote the development of technologies to. permit the public to access local government electronically. These revisions are described in a letter (see Exhibit B) , which the Transportation Committee proposes be sent, under the Chair' s signature, to a July 23 hearing on the bill in Washington, D.C. Copies of this test _mony should be sent to our Federal legislative delegation. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on July 21, 1992, by the following vote:. AYES: Supervisors Powers , Fanden, Schroder, Torlakson and McPeak NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None RESOLUTION NO. 92/504 SUBJECT: RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE RAIL 1 TRANSPORTATION BOND ACT OF 1992 1 WHEREAS, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors finds that rail transportation results in cleaner air, less energy use, more transportation opportunities for those who cannot drive, and less congestion on already overcrowded streets and highways; and WHEREAS, in 1989, the Legislature provided for three $1 billion rail transportation bond measures on the ballot as part of the $18.5 billion Transportation Blueprint for the Twenty First Century; and WHEREAS, Proposition 108, the Passenger Rail and Clean Air Bond Act of 1990, which the voters approved in June, 1990 was the first of these three measures; and WHEREAS, the second $1 billion bond measure will appear on the November 3, 1992 ballot; and WHEREAS, the Proposition 156, the Passenger Rail and Clean Air Bond Act of 1992, would provide $1 billion to improve and expand intercity, commuter and light rail transit throughout California; and WHEREAS, the act would benefit Contra Costa County by providing funds vitally needed to extend BART, rehabilitate BART vehicles, improve intercity service from Contra Costa County to San Jose, Sacramento,the Central Valley and southern California, and acquire much needed cars and locomotives for Amtrak service; and WHEREAS, failure to approve the bond measure would cause Contra-Costa's "county minimum" transportation funding from the state to be reduced by $27.1 million; and WHEREAS, California's overall transportation funding would be dramatically reduced should the bond measure fail to be approved, jeopardizing hundreds of local projects and causing major reprogramming and delays in both highway and rail transportation programs; and WHEREAS, thousands of jobs will be created with passage of this bond; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors endorses Proposition 156, the Passenger Rail and Clean Air Bond Act of 1992, on the November 3, 1992 ballot. hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of an order entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors of the date aforesaid. Witness my hand and Seal of the Board of Supervisors affixed on this 21 s tday of July, 1992. Phil Batchelor, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator By: (i( Deput. CIA Orig. Dept.: Community Development Department cc: CCTA (via CDD) Californians for Rail Transit (via CDD) State Legislative Delegation (via CDD) RESOLUTION NO. 92/504 L-trans/ml/rail.res The Board of Supervisors Contra ClarklofftttheBoard and County Administration BuildingCosta County Administrator Costa (415)646-2371 651 Pine St, Room 106 County Martinez, California 94553 Tom Powers.let District Many C.Fandon.2nd District \ Yr =.`•; Robed I.Schroder,3rd District / � \•,• Sunne Wright McPeak 4th District Tom Torfakson,5th District ' V` July 21, 1992 The Honorable Representative Markey, Chair House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance U.S. Capitol Building Washington, D.C. Dear Representative Markey: On July 21, 1992, the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California, authorized the submittal of the following comments in support of H.R. 5082, the Telecommuting Act of 1992. During the past year, the Board of Supervisors formed the Contra Costa County Telecommuting Committee to develop a telecommuting policy for County government. Efforts to comply with Federal and state clean air laws, and state and local congestion management requirements have required the County to explore all potential strategies to reduce the number of commuters driving alone to work. Our committee has developed a pilot program for County employees which the Board is considering at this time. The Office of Telecommuting, proposed in H.R. 5082, would help facilitate implementation of telecommuting programs such as the one we are considering. Our committee is also interested in exploring the capability of telecommuting applications that would allow the public to access County information electronically. Such applications could reduce driving by members of the public who desire access to information maintained at County facilities. H.R. 5082 should include, as a function of the Office of Telecommuting, the development and promotion of technologies to permit the public to access local government electronically. We further request your Subcommittee consider expanding the definition of eligible projects for Federal Telecommuting Satellite Centers to include other regions of the country such as the San Francisco Bay Area. Broadening the potential locations for these centers beyond the Maryland-Virginia area would ensure that telecommuting strategies are applied to a broader range of conditions. 1. E 1'H118) 17 Within our County, there are two significant projects that may greatly further telecommuting. One is a grant from FHWA to fund a telecommuting study of the I- 680 corridor to reduce congestion and improve air quality along our County's central north-south interstate freeway. This grant was awarded to the 1-580/1-680 Transportation Association, a private organization of large businesses along the interstate corridor. In addition, Contra Costa County is currently processing an 11,000 unit planned community; the largest development project in our County's history. We view this as an opportunity to plan a community that is state of the art in terms of transportation, communication facilities and telecommuting capabilities. This community would be a perfect location for a satellite telecommuting office and would have the advantage of being planned and built as an integral part of the community. This community is located near the 1-680 corridor. The combination and coordination of a telecommuting satellite office and a telecommuting study by the business community would provide the opportunity for a truly comprehensive telecommuting demonstration project. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors appreciates the opportunity to have these comments on H.R. 5082 incorporated into the record of your Subcommittee's deliberations. Sincerely, Sunne Wright McPeak, Chair cc:Federal Legislative Delegation cAwp5l WhVnrkbrd 2.