AB 91

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law authorizes general obligation bonds to be issued and sold under various transportation bond measures approved by the voters. Debt service for general obligation bonds is generally payable from the General Fund. Existing law provides for the imposition of weight fees on certain vehicles. Revenues from weight fees, after administrative expenses, are available for expenditure from the State Highway Account. Under Article XIX of the California Constitution, weight fee revenues are restricted to expenditure on certain transportation purposes. Existing law, beginning with the 2012–13 fiscal year, provides for the transfer to the Transportation Debt Service Fund of weight fee revenues deposited in the State Highway Account. These revenues are then transferred from the Transportation Debt Service Fund to the General Fund, as reimbursement for debt service on certain transportation general obligation bonds until all of the eligible debt service on those bonds has been reimbursed, or to redeem or defease bonds that are maturing in a subsequent fiscal year. Existing law also provides for a loan to the General Fund of any of these weight fee revenues that are not immediately needed for debt service reimbursement purposes, but provides for the loans to be repaid when those revenues are needed for debt service reimbursement purposes at a later time, as specified. This bill would create a class of transportation general obligation bonds known as designated bonds, which would be a portion of the transportation general obligation bonds issued and sold pursuant to Proposition 1B of 2006. The bill would provide for transfer, pursuant to a certificate of the Treasurer, of a certain amount of weight fee revenue to the Transportation Debt Service Fund for the purpose of directly paying the debt service on the designated bonds, rather than providing for payment of the debt service indirectly through reimbursement of the General Fund. These weight fee revenues would be deposited in the newly created Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account in the Transportation Debt Service Fund and would be continuously appropriated for that purpose. To the extent the transferred weight fee revenues are insufficient to pay all the debt service on the designated bonds, the General Fund would remain responsible for the remaining debt service. The weight fee revenue to be used to pay debt service on the designated bonds would generally be the amount of weight fee revenue received by the Controller from the 15th day to the last day of each month. The remaining weight fee revenue would be used to pay the debt service on certain other transportation general obligation bonds. This bill would provide that the state covenants with bond holders of designated bonds that it will not alter, amend, or restrict the statutory provisions in this bill that provide for the transfer of weight fees to the Transportation Debt Service Fund or the Transportation Bond Direct Payment Account, and that it will not reduce weight fees below a specified amount on and after the first date that designated bonds are issued. The bill would enact other related provisions. (2) Existing law provides that the Department of Finance may adjust the budgeting, accounting, and reporting systems for various transportation funds and accounts so that unliquidated encumbrances are not reflected in the fund balance or financial statements. These provisions apply to the Public Transportation Account, the State Highway Account, the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund, the Transportation Investment Fund, and the Transportation Deferred Investment Fund. This bill would delete these provisions and instead provide that, upon order of the Department of Finance, all or some of the state agencies collecting revenues for, or spending from, each of these funds or accounts shall adjust budgeting, accounting, and reporting systems and documents so that unliquidated encumbrances, payables, and other accruals are not reflected in the fund balance in the Governor's Budget fund condition display or the fund balance in the financial statements submitted to the Controller for the Budgetary/Legal Annual Report. In addition, this bill would provide that the balance of cash advanced from each of these funds and accounts to the Transportation Revolving Account shall be deemed available for budgeting purposes to certain funds and accounts, as specified. (3) Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties, including the power to enter into contracts, as specified. This bill would provide legal procedures for the relocation of publicly and privately owned utility facilities, as defined, when the authority requires any utility to remove any utility facility lawfully maintained in the right-of-way of any high-speed rail property to a location entirely outside the high-speed rail property right-of-way subject to specified conditions. The bill would generally require the authority to pay the reasonable and necessary cost of the removal, including the cost of relocation to a new location outside of the high-speed rail property right-of-way, subject to specified credits. The bill would authorize the authority and any utility to enter into a specified agreement or contract to remove or relocate any utility facility that provides for, among other things, the respective amounts of the cost to be borne by each party or that apportions the obligations and costs of each party. The bill would authorize each party to bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate the obligations and costs to be borne by each party or in the event of a failure to reach an agreement as provided under these provisions. The bill would also authorize the authority to issue permits to utilities for specified purposes, including applications of utilities for permits to occupy high-speed rail property for longitudinal locations of utility facilities. (4) Existing law, in the 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13 fiscal years, requires certain revenues deposited in the State Highway Account that are not restricted as to expenditure by Article XIX of the California Constitution to be transferred to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Transportation Fund for payment of current year debt service on certain mass transportation bonds. Existing law, commencing with the 2013–14 fiscal year, requires that these revenues be retained in the State Highway Account until appropriated by the Legislature. This bill would delete this latter requirement and, instead, commencing with the 2013–14 fiscal year, would require the Controller to transfer these revenues to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Transportation Fund, as specified, and would continuously appropriate these funds for payment of current year debt service on certain mass transportation bonds. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.