Federal transportation economic stimulus funds.

Existing law generally provides for programming and allocation of state and federal transportation capital improvement program funds pursuant to the state transportation improvement program process administered by the California Transportation Commission. Under these provisions, 25% of available funds are available for interregional improvement projects nominated by the Department of Transportation, subject to a requirement that 60% of these funds be available for projects in nonurbanized areas on the interregional road system and for intercity rail projects. The remaining 75% of available funds are available for regional improvement projects nominated by regional agencies. All funds programmed through the state transportation improvement program process are subject to the north-south split, and the regional improvement funds are further subject to the county shares formula. Existing law provides for allocation of certain other transportation capital improvement funds outside the state transportation improvement program process, including federal regional surface transportation improvement program funds, state bond funds, funds set aside for state highway rehabilitation under the state highway operation and protection program, and funds from various other sources. This bill would appropriate to the department, and provide for programming and apportionment of, federal economic stimulus funds made available to the state for highway purposes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bill would provide for 37.5% of the funds to be programmed by the department for allocation by the commission, and for 62.5% of the funds to be apportioned to the regional agencies based on the existing formula for allocation of federal regional surface transportation improvement program funds. The bill would require a portion of these funds to be programmed and allocated for transportation enhancement activities and would establish priorities in that regard. The bill would require the department, from the funds to be programmed by the department, to program a minimum of $935,000,000 for projects in the state highway operation and protection program and would authorize not more than $310,000,000 of those funds to be temporarily loaned by the department to advance bond-funded projects pursuant to the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 that meet certain requirements. The bill would also provide for regional agency sponsors of projects receiving bond funds under the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, if federal funds, or federal funds and other funds under the control of the regional or local agency, are used instead of the bond funds, to select replacement projects for those bond funds. The bill would enact reporting requirements and other related provisions. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.