AB 4

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law imposes a tax of $0.18 per gallon on motor vehicle fuel, commonly referred to as gasoline. The Diesel Fuel Tax Law imposes a tax of $0.18 per gallon on diesel fuel. These revenues, after certain deductions for nonhighway fuel uses, are deposited in the Highway Users Tax Account. Approximately 13 of the revenues in the account are apportioned by various formulas to cities and counties, and most of the remaining revenues are deposited in the State Highway Account after specified transfers to the Bicycle Transportation Account and the State Parks and Recreation Fund. Under Article XIX of the California Constitution, the portion of fuel tax revenues that is derived from use in motor vehicles upon public streets and highways is restricted for expenditure on street and highway and certain mass transit guideway purposes, and up to 25% of these and other vehicle-related revenues that are available for street and highway purposes may be pledged or used for the payment of principal and interest on voter-approved bonds issued for those purposes. This bill would modify the apportionment of fuel tax revenues designated for street and highway and guideway purposes for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 fiscal years. For those years, the bill would provide for 65% of revenues to be deposited in the State Highway Account and 25% to be deposited in the Transportation Debt Service Fund. Of the remaining 10% of revenue, additional fuel tax revenues would be transferred to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in an amount equivalent to 25% of vehicle weight fee revenues for the 2009–10 fiscal year only, certain amounts would be made available to the Bicycle Transportation Account and the State Parks and Recreation Fund, and the remaining revenues would be apportioned to cities and counties by certain formulas. (2) Existing law, pursuant to Proposition 116 of 1990, creates the Public Transportation Account as a trust fund in the State Transportation Fund, provides that revenues are to be deposited in that account from specified portions of the sales taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, and provides that moneys in the account are available for expenditure only for transportation planning and mass transportation purposes. Existing law creates the Mass Transportation Fund in the State Treasury and provides that for the 2009–10 to 2012–13 fiscal years all of the gasoline sales tax revenues commonly known as the "spillover" that would otherwise be deposited in the Public Transportation Account shall be deposited instead in that fund. Existing law specifies the transportation purposes that may be funded by the fund, including payment of debt service on transportation general obligation bonds by transfer of funds from the Mass Transportation Fund to the Transportation Debt Service Fund. Existing law creates the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose, among other things, of using transportation revenues rather than the General Fund for the payment of debt service on transportation bonds or to reimburse the General Fund in that regard. This bill, for the 2009–10 fiscal year, would provide that up to $225,044,000 from the Public Transportation Account may be used to reimburse the General Fund for current debt service payments on transit-related general obligation bonds and up to $101,826,000 from that account may be used to reimburse the General Fund for home-to-school transportation expenditures. The bill would also provide for transfer from the Mass Transportation Fund to the Transportation Debt Service Fund of any amount of the "spillover" funds received during the 2009–10 to 2012–13 fiscal years necessary to offset the cost of debt service payments made from the General Fund during any fiscal year for transportation-related general obligation bond expenditures. This bill would also authorize the Director of Finance to reimburse the General Fund, from revenues transferred to the Transportation Debt Service Fund from the Highway Users Tax Account, any amount necessary to offset the cost of debt service payments made from the General Fund during any fiscal year for transportation-related general obligation bond expenditures consistent with specified provisions of Article XIX of the California Constitution. (3) Existing law establishes the Aeronautics Account in the State Transportation Fund. Existing law imposes a per gallon jet fuel tax on aircraft jet fuel dealers and requires that the funds be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account in the Transportation Tax Fund. Existing law requires that moneys deposited to the credit of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account attributable to the distribution of motor vehicle fuel for use in propelling an aircraft in the state be transferred to the Aeronautics Account in the State Transportation Fund. Existing law requires funds in the Aeronautics Account to be used to pay the Controller and the State Board of Equalization for their pro rata costs in carrying out the duties imposed on them by the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law and to pay the Department of Transportation for the administration of the State Aeronautics Act. Existing law allows the remaining balance of moneys in the account to be used for preapproved eligible projects that are for airport and aviation purposes, to make allocations to public entities for the aquisition or development of airports if the department determines that it is feasible, and to allow the California Transportation Commission to provide local matching funds for federal Airport Improvement Program Grants. This bill would suspend these grants and funding programs for the 2009–10 fiscal year. The bill would require $4,000,000 to be transferred from the Aeronautics Account to the General Fund, upon the order of the Director of Finance. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2011. (4) Existing law, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds for various transportation purposes, including $2,000,000,000 for local street and road improvement, congestion relief, and traffic safety. Existing law requires a city or city and county that receives an allocation of those funds in the 2008–09 fiscal year to agree to encumber the funds before July 1, 2009. This bill would instead require a city or city and county that receives an allocation of those funds in the 2008–09 fiscal year to agree to encumber the funds before July 1, 2010. (5) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in consultation with transportation planning agencies, county transportation commissions, counties, and cities, to carry out long-term state highway system planning. Existing law authorizes the department, to the extent that it does not jeopardize the delivery of projects in the adopted state transportation improvement program, to prepare a project studies report for capacity-increasing state highway projects. Existing law requires the department to review project studies reports performed by an entity other than the department. Existing law authorizes a local entity to request the department to prepare a project studies report for a capacity-increasing state highway project that is being proposed for inclusion in a future state transportation improvement program. If the department determines that it cannot complete the report in a timely fashion, existing law authorizes the requesting entity to prepare the report. This bill would require the department to be reimbursed by a requesting entity for any work performed by the department when it reviews or prepares these project studies reports. (6) This bill would make other related changes. (7) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.