(a) Notwithstanding Sections 149 and 30800, a regional transportation agency, as defined in subdivision (k), or the department may apply to the commission to develop and operate high-occupancy toll lanes or other toll facilities, including the administration and operation of a value pricing program and exclusive or preferential lane facilities for public transit or freight.
(b) Each application for the development and operation of the toll facilities described in subdivision (a) shall be subject to review and approval by the commission pursuant to eligibility criteria set forth in guidelines established by the commission. Prior to approving an application, the commission shall conduct at least one public hearing at or near the proposed toll facility for the purpose of receiving public comment. Upon approval of an application, the regional transportation agency or the department may develop and operate the toll facility proposed in the application.
(c) The eligibility criteria set forth in the guidelines established by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b) shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) A demonstration that the proposed toll facility will improve the corridor’s performance by, for example, increasing passenger throughput or reducing delays for freight shipments and travelers, especially those traveling by carpool, vanpool, and transit.
(2) A requirement that the proposed toll facility is contained in the constrained portion of a conforming regional transportation plan prepared pursuant to Section 65080 of the Government Code.
(3) Evidence of cooperation between the applicable regional transportation agency and the department.
(4) A discussion of how the proposed toll facility meets the requirements of this section.
(5) A requirement that a project initiation document has been completed for the proposed toll facility.
(6) A demonstration that a complete funding plan has been prepared.
(d) A regional transportation agency that applies to the commission to develop and operate toll facilities pursuant to this section shall reimburse the commission for all of the commission’s costs and expenses incurred in processing the application.
(e) Toll facilities approved by the commission on or after January 1, 2016, pursuant to this section, shall be subject to the following minimum requirements:
(1) A regional transportation agency sponsoring a toll facility shall enter into an agreement with the Department of the California Highway Patrol that addresses all law enforcement matters related to the toll facility and an agreement with the department that addresses all matters related to design, construction, maintenance, and operation of the toll facility, including, but not limited to, liability, financing, repair, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.
(2) A regional transportation agency sponsoring a toll facility shall be responsible for reimbursing the department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol for their costs related to the toll facility pursuant to an agreement between the agency and the department and an agreement between the agency and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(3) The sponsoring agency shall be responsible for establishing, collecting, and administering tolls, and may include discounts and premiums for the use of the toll facility.
(4) The revenue generated from the operation of the toll facility shall be available to the sponsoring agency for the direct expenses related to the following:
(A) Debt issued to construct, repair, rehabilitate, or reconstruct any portion of the toll facility, payment of debt service, and satisfaction of other covenants and obligations related to indebtedness of the toll facility.
(B) The development, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, improvement, reconstruction, administration, and operation of the toll facility, including toll collection and enforcement.
(C) Reserves for the purposes specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(5) All remaining revenue generated by the toll facility shall be used in the corridor from which the revenue was generated pursuant to an expenditure plan developed by the sponsoring agency, as follows:
(A) (i) For a toll facility sponsored by a regional transportation agency, the regional transportation agency shall develop the expenditure plan in consultation with the department.
(ii) For a toll facility sponsored by the department, the department shall develop the expenditure plan in consultation with the applicable regional transportation agency.
(B) (i) For a toll facility sponsored by a regional transportation agency, the governing board of the regional transportation agency shall review and approve the expenditure plan and any updates.
(ii) For a toll facility sponsored by the department, the commission shall review and approve the expenditure plan and any updates.
(6) The sponsoring agency’s administrative expenses related to operation of a toll facility shall not exceed 3 percent of the toll revenues.
(f) For any project under this section involving the conversion of an existing high-occupancy vehicle lane to a high-occupancy toll lane, the sponsoring agency shall demonstrate that the project will, at a minimum, result in expanded efficiency of the corridor in terms of travel time reliability, passenger throughput, or other efficiency benefit.
(g) This section shall not prevent the construction of facilities that compete with a toll facility approved by the commission pursuant to this section, and the sponsoring agency shall not be entitled to compensation for the adverse effects on toll revenue due to those competing facilities.
(h) A sponsoring agency that develops or operates a toll facility pursuant to this section shall provide any information or data requested by the commission or the Legislative Analyst. The commission, in cooperation with the Legislative Analyst, shall annually prepare a summary report on the progress of the development and operation of any toll facilities authorized pursuant to this section. The commission may submit this report as a section in its annual report to the Legislature required pursuant to Section 14535 of the Government Code.
(i) (1) A regional transportation agency may issue bonds, refunding bonds, or bond anticipation notes, at any time, to finance construction of, and construction-related expenditures for, a toll facility approved pursuant to this section, and construction and construction-related expenditures that are included in the expenditure plan adopted pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (e), payable from the revenues generated from the toll facility. The bonds, refunding bonds, and bond anticipation notes shall bear such interest rates and other features and terms as the regional transportation agency shall approve and may be sold by the regional transportation agency at public or private sale.
(2) A bond, refunding bond, or bond anticipation note issued pursuant to this subdivision shall contain on its face a statement to the following effect:
“Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of the State of California is pledged to the payment of principal of, or the interest on, this instrument.”
(3) Bonds, refunding bonds, and bond anticipation notes issued pursuant to this subdivision are legal investments for all trust funds, the funds of all insurance companies, banks, trust companies, executors, administrators, trustees, and other fiduciaries.
(4) Interest earned on any bonds, refunding bonds, and bond anticipation notes issued pursuant to this subdivision shall at all times be free from state personal income tax and corporate income tax.
(5) (A) For a toll facility operated by the department, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank or the Treasurer may issue bonds, refunding bonds, or bond anticipation notes, at any time, to finance development, construction, or reconstruction of, and construction-related expenditures for, a toll facility approved pursuant to this section and construction and construction-related expenditures that are included in the expenditure plan adopted pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (e), payable solely from the toll revenue and ancillary revenues generated from the toll facility.
(B) This subdivision shall be deemed to provide all necessary state law authority for purposes of Section 63024.5 of the Government Code.
(j) (1) Before submitting an application pursuant to subdivision (a), a regional transportation agency shall consult with every local transportation authority designated pursuant to Division 12.5 (commencing with Section 131000) or Division 19 (commencing with Section 180000) of the Public Utilities Code and every congestion management agency whose jurisdiction includes the toll facility that the regional transportation agency proposes to develop and operate.
(2) A regional transportation agency shall give a local transportation authority or congestion management agency described in paragraph (1) the option to enter into agreements, as needed, for project development, engineering, financial studies, and environmental documentation for each construction project or segment that is part of the toll facility. The local transportation authority or congestion management agency may be the lead agency for these construction projects or segments.
(k) Notwithstanding Section 143, for purposes of this section, “regional transportation agency” means any of the following:
(1) A transportation planning agency described in Section 29532 or 29532.1 of the Government Code.
(2) A county transportation commission established under Section 130050, 130050.1, or 130050.2 of the Public Utilities Code.
(3) Any other local or regional transportation entity that is designated by statute as a regional transportation agency.
(4) A joint exercise of powers authority established pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, with the consent of a transportation planning agency or a county transportation commission for the jurisdiction in which the transportation project will be developed.
(5) The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority established pursuant to Part 12 (commencing with Section 100000) of Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code.
(l) A regional transportation agency or the department may require any vehicle accessing a toll facility authorized under this section to have an electronic toll collection transponder or other electronic device for enforcement or tolling purposes.
(m) Nothing in this section shall authorize or prohibit the conversion of any existing nontoll or nonuser-fee lanes into tolled or user-fee lanes, except that a high-occupancy vehicle lane may be converted into a high-occupancy toll lane.
(n) Nothing in this section shall apply to, modify, limit, or otherwise restrict the authority of any joint powers authority described in Section 66484.3 of the Government Code to establish or collect tolls or otherwise operate any toll facility or modify or expand a toll facility.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 687, Sec. 2. (AB 194) Effective January 1, 2016.)