PART 2. Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program [75220 - 75226]
( Part 2 added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 36, Sec. 21. )
(a) The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program is hereby created to fund transformative capital improvements, as defined in subdivision (d), that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems and bus and ferry transit systems to achieve all of the following policy objectives:
(1) Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
(2) Expand and improve transit service to increase ridership.
(3) Integrate the rail service of the state’s various rail operators, including integration with the high-speed rail system.
(4) Improve transit safety.
(b) The Transportation Agency shall evaluate applications
consistent with the criteria set forth in this part and approve a multiyear program of projects for funding pursuant to Section 75224, which may be revised as necessary.
(c) The California Transportation Commission shall allocate funding to applicants pursuant to the program of projects approved by the Transportation Agency.
(d) “Transformative capital improvement” means a rail, bus, or ferry transit project that will significantly reduce vehicle miles traveled, congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions by creating a new transit system, increasing the capacity of an existing transit
system, or otherwise significantly increasing the ridership of a transit system.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 710, Sec. 1. (SB 9) Effective January 1, 2016.)
(a) Projects eligible for funding under the program include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Rail capital projects, including acquisition of rail cars and locomotives, that expand, enhance, and improve existing rail systems and connectivity to existing and future transit systems, including the high-speed rail system.
(2) Intercity, commuter, and urban rail projects that increase service levels, improve reliability,
or decrease travel times, including infrastructure access payments to host railroads in lieu of capital investments.
(3) Rail, bus, and ferry integration implementation, including integrated ticketing and scheduling systems, shared-use corridors, related planning efforts, and other service integration initiatives.
(4) Bus rapid transit and other bus and ferry transit investments to increase ridership and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(b) In order to be eligible for funding under the program, a project shall demonstrate that it will achieve a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. In selecting projects for funding, the Transportation Agency shall consider the extent to which a project reduces emissions of greenhouse gases.
(c) The program shall have a programmatic goal of providing at least 25 percent of available funding to projects benefiting disadvantaged communities, consistent with the objectives of Chapter 830 of the Statutes of 2012.
(d) In evaluating grant applications for funding, the Transportation Agency shall consider all of the following:
(1) The cobenefits of projects that
support the implementation of sustainable communities strategies through one or more of the following:
(A) Reducing vehicle miles traveled from automobiles and the number of automobile trips through growth in transit ridership.
(B) Promoting housing development in the vicinity of rail stations and major transit centers.
(C) Expanding existing rail and public
transit systems.
(D) Enhancing the connectivity, integration, and coordination of the state’s various transit systems, including, but not limited to, regional and local transit systems and the high-speed rail system.
(E) Implementing clean vehicle technology.
(F) Promoting active transportation.
(G) Improving public health.
(2) The project priorities developed through the collaboration of two or more rail operators and any memoranda of understanding between state agencies and local or regional rail operators.
(3) Geographic equity.
(4) Consistency with an adopted sustainable communities strategy or, if a sustainable strategy is not required for a region by law, a regional plan that includes policies and programs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
(5) The extent to which a project has supplemental funding committed to it from other nonstate sources.
(6) The extent to which the project will increase transit ridership.
(e) Eligible applicants under the program shall be public agencies, including joint powers agencies, that operate or have planning responsibility for existing or planned regularly scheduled intercity or commuter passenger rail service, urban rail transit service, or bus or
ferry transit service.
(f) A recipient of moneys under the program may combine funding from the program with other state funding, including, but not limited to, the State Transportation Improvement Program, the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, the State Air Resources Board clean vehicle program, and state transportation bond funds.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 710, Sec. 2. (SB 9) Effective January 1, 2016.)
(a) Applications for grants under the program shall be submitted to the Transportation Agency for evaluation in accordance with procedures and program guidelines approved by the agency. An eligible applicant may submit an application to the agency to fund a project over multiple fiscal years. The agency may make multiyear funding commitments for projects that are proposed by an eligible applicant to be funded from the program over a period of more than one fiscal year.
(b) The application shall define the project purpose, intended scope, proposed cost, intended funding sources, and schedule for project completion.
(c) The application shall specify the phases of work for which an eligible applicant is seeking an allocation of moneys from the program.
(d) The application shall identify the sources and timing of all
moneys required to undertake and complete any phase of a project for which an eligible applicant is seeking an allocation of moneys from the program. The application shall also describe intended sources and timing of funding to complete any subsequent phases of the project, through construction or procurement.
(e) The application shall include information describing the funding sources and approach to ensuring that ongoing operating and maintenance costs of the project are funded through the useful life of the project, as applicable.
(f) Eligible applicants may submit more than one application for grants under the program pursuant to this section.
(g) An eligible applicant may use a project study report or equivalent document to demonstrate eligibility of a project for inclusion in the multiyear program of projects pursuant to Section 75224. The project study report or equivalent document shall, at a minimum, be adequate to define and justify the project scope, cost, and schedule for the project application.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 710, Sec. 3. (SB 9) Effective January 1, 2016.)
(a) The Transportation Agency shall conduct at least two public workshops on draft program guidelines containing selection criteria prior to approval and shall post the draft guidelines on the agency’s Internet Web site at least 30 days prior to the first public workshop. Concurrent with the posting, the agency shall transmit the draft guidelines to the fiscal committees and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.
(b) The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) does not apply to the development and approval of procedures and program guidelines for the program
pursuant to this section.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 710, Sec. 4. (SB 9) Effective January 1, 2016.)
(a) No later than July 1, 2018, the Transportation Agency shall approve a program of projects, which shall cover a period of five fiscal years, beginning with the 2018–19 fiscal year.
(b) The Transportation Agency shall approve each subsequent program of projects not later than April 1 of each even-numbered year. Each subsequent program shall cover a period of five fiscal years, beginning July 1 of the year of approval, and shall be a statement of intent by the Transportation Agency for the allocation and expenditure of moneys during those five fiscal years.
(c) In developing the program of projects, and consistent with the consideration of all other criteria for individual projects, the Transportation
Agency shall seek to maximize the total amount of reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases that would be achieved under the program.
(d) For a project to be funded from the program over a period of more than one fiscal year, the Transportation Agency, at the request of an eligible applicant and in cooperation with the commission, shall enter into and execute a multiyear funding agreement with the eligible applicant for the project for an amount of program moneys and for any duration, as determined jointly by the agency and applicant.
(e) A regional transportation planning agency, as defined in Section 13987 of the Government Code, shall not be eligible to receive a grant under the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program in the 2026–27 fiscal year or any subsequent fiscal years unless the Transportation Agency approves the regional transportation planning agency’s long-term
financial plan submitted pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13987 of the Government Code. The Transportation Agency shall update the guidelines approved pursuant to Section 75223 to reflect the eligibility limitation imposed pursuant to this subdivision.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 54, Sec. 4. (SB 125) Effective July 10, 2023.)
(a) A lead applicant agency may apply to the commission for a letter of no prejudice for a project or for any component of a project included in the program of projects approved by the Transportation Agency. If approved by the commission, the letter of no prejudice shall allow the lead applicant agency to expend its own moneys for the project or any component of the project and to be eligible for future reimbursement, as applicable, from moneys available for the program from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government
Code, or from moneys available for the program pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11053 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(b) The amount expended under subdivision (a) shall be reimbursed by the state from moneys available for the program if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The project or project component for which the letter of no prejudice was requested has commenced, and the regional or local expenditures have been incurred.
(2) The expenditures made by the lead applicant agency are eligible for reimbursement in accordance with applicable laws and procedures. If expenditures made by the lead applicant agency are determined to be
ineligible, the state has no obligation to reimburse those expenditures.
(3) The lead applicant agency complies with all legal requirements for the project, including the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)).
(4) There are moneys designated for the program that are sufficient to make the reimbursement payment.
(c) The lead applicant agency and the commission shall enter into an agreement governing reimbursement as described in this section. The timing and final amount of reimbursement is dependent on the terms of the agreement and the availability of moneys
for the program.
(d) The commission, in consultation with intercity, commuter, urban rail, and other public transit entities, may develop guidelines to implement this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 255, Sec. 4. (AB 135) Effective September 16, 2017.)
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, moneys appropriated to the Transportation Agency in the annual Budget Act from the General Fund and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for purposes of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program shall not be distributed pursuant to a program of projects adopted pursuant to Section 75222 and allocated by the California Transportation Commission pursuant to Section 75220.
(b) The moneys described in subdivision (a) shall
instead be distributed to regional transportation planning agencies pursuant to Section 99313 of the Public Utilities Code and the distribution of those moneys shall be subject to the requirements of Section 13987 of the Government Code and the guidelines adopted pursuant to that section.
(c) Subject to compliance with Section 13987 of the Government Code, a regional transportation planning agency may use moneys described in subdivision (a) to fund transit operating expenses within its jurisdiction consistent with an approved regional short-term financial plan or a long-term financial plan, as applicable, or for transformative capital improvements described in Sections 75220 and 75221, or for both of these purposes.
(d) In allowing the funds described in subdivision (a) to be available for operating costs, it is the intent of the Legislature for those expenditures to do all of the
following:
(1) Provide one-time multiyear bridge funding for transit operators to address operational costs until long-term transit sustainability solutions are identified.
(2) Assist transit operators in preventing service cuts and increasing ridership.
(3) Prioritize the availability of transit for riders who are transit dependent.
(4) Prioritize transit agencies representing a significant percentage of the region’s ridership.
(e) For purposes of this section, “regional transportation planning agency” means a recipient of funding described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 99312.1 of the Public Utilities Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 53, Sec. 6. (AB 173) Effective July 2, 2024.)