Article 5. Intercity Rail Agreements of California Government Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 5.
As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Board" or "joint powers board" means the governing board of a
joint exercise of powers agency established pursuant to Article 5.2
(commencing with Section 14072), Article 5.4 (commencing with Section
14074), or Article 5.6 (commencing with Section 14076) for the
purpose of assuming administrative responsibility for intercity
passenger rail service within the respective corridor.
(b) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation.
(a) If authorized by the secretary, the department may,
through an interagency transfer agreement, transfer to a joint powers
board, and the board may assume, all responsibility for
administering intercity passenger rail service in the corridor,
including associated feeder bus service. Upon the date specified in
the agreement, the board shall succeed to the department's powers and
duties relative to that service, except that the department shall
retain responsibility for developing budget requests for the service,
consistent with the annual business plan as approved by the
secretary for the service, through the state budget process, which
shall be developed in consultation with the board, and for
coordinating service in the corridor with other intercity passenger
rail services in the state.
(b) An interagency transfer agreement may be executed on or after
June 30, 2014, but not later than June 30, 2015, subject to
negotiation and approval by the state and the board. The interagency
transfer agreement between the department and the board shall cover
the initial three-year period after the transfer, but may be extended
thereafter by mutual agreement. If an interagency agreement is not
entered into on or before June 30, 2015, the secretary shall provide
a report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before June 30,
2016, explaining why an acceptable agreement has not been developed,
with specific recommendations for developing an acceptable
interagency agreement.
(c) The secretary shall require the board to demonstrate the
ability to meet the performance standards established by the
secretary pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 14031.8.
(a) An interagency transfer agreement between the
department and a joint powers board, when approved by the secretary,
shall do all of the following:
(1) Specify the date and conditions for the transfer of
responsibilities and identify the annual level of funding for the
initial three years following the transfer and ensure that the level
of funding is consistent with and sufficient for the planned service
improvements within the corridor.
(2) Identify, for the initial year and subsequent years, the funds
to be transferred to the board including state operating subsidies
made available for intercity rail services in the corridor, and funds
currently used by the department for administration and marketing of
the corridor, with the amounts adjusted annually for inflation and
in accordance with the business plan.
(3) Specify the level of service to be provided, the respective
responsibilities of the board and the department, the methods that
the department will use to assure the coordination of services with
other rail passenger and feeder bus services in the state, and the
methods that the department will use for the annual review of the
business plan and annual proposals on funding and appropriations.
(4) Describe the terms of use by the board of car and locomotive
train sets and other equipment and property owned by the department
and required for the intercity service in the corridor including, but
not limited to, the number of units to be provided, liability
coverage, maintenance and warranty responsibilities, and
indemnification issues.
(5) Describe auditing responsibilities and process requirements,
reimbursement and billing procedures, the responsibility for funding
shortfalls, if any, during the course of each fiscal year, an
operating contract oversight review process, performance standards
and reporting procedures, the level of rail infrastructure
maintenance, and other relevant monitoring procedures.
(b) Use of the annual state funding allocation, as set forth in
the interagency transfer agreement, shall be described in an annual
business plan submitted by the board to the secretary for review and
recommendation by April 1 of each year. The business plan, when
approved by the secretary, shall be deemed accepted by the state. The
budget proposal developed by the department for the subsequent year
shall be based upon the business plan approved by the secretary. The
business plan shall be consistent with the interagency agreement and
shall include a report on the recent as well as historical
performance of the corridor service, an overall operating plan
including proposed service enhancements to increase ridership and
provide for increased traveler demands in the corridor for the
upcoming year, short-term and long-term capital improvement programs,
funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, and an action
plan with specific performance goals and objectives. The business
plan shall document service improvements to provide the planned level
of service, inclusion of operating plans to serve peak period work
trips, and consideration of other service expansions and
enhancements. The initial business plan shall be consistent with the
immediately previous State Rail Plan developed by the department
pursuant to Section 14036 and the January 2014 business plan
developed by the High-Speed Rail Authority pursuant to Section 185033
of the Public Utilities Code. Subsequent business plans shall be
consistent with the immediately previous plans developed by the
department and the authority. The business plan shall clearly
delineate how funding and accounting for state-sponsored intercity
rail passenger services shall be separate from locally sponsored
services in the corridor. Proposals to expand or modify passenger
services shall be accompanied by the identification of all associated
costs and ridership projections. The business plan shall establish,
among other things: fares, operating strategies, capital improvements
needed, and marketing and operational strategies designed to meet
performance standards established in the interagency transfer
agreement.
(c) Based on the annual business plan and the subsequent
appropriation by the Legislature, the secretary shall allocate state
funds on an annual basis to the board. As provided in the interagency
agreement, any additional funds that are needed to operate the
passenger rail service during the fiscal year shall be provided by
the board from jurisdictions that receive service. In addition, the
board may use any cost savings or farebox revenues to provide service
improvements related to intercity service. In any event, the board
shall report the fiscal results of the previous year's operations as
part of the annual business plan.
(d) The level of service funded by the state during the first
three years following the effective date of the interagency transfer
agreement shall in no case be less than the number of intercity round
trips operated in a corridor and serving the end points served by
the intercity rail corridor as of the effective date of the
interagency transfer agreement. Subject to Section 14035.2, the level
of service funded by the state shall also include feeder bus service
with substantially the same number of route miles as the current
feeder system, to be operated in conjunction with the trains. For
that same three-year period, the board shall continue to provide at
least the same level of intercity rail and feeder bus services as
were in operation on the effective date of the interagency transfer
agreement, except that the interagency agreement shall not prohibit
the board from reducing the number of feeder bus route miles if the
board determines that a feeder bus route is not cost effective as
provided in Section 14035.2.
(e) Nothing in this article shall be construed to preclude
expansion of state-approved intercity rail service.
(f) Local resources may be available to offset any redirection,
elimination, reduction, or reclassification by the state of state
resources for operating intercity rail services identified in
subdivision (b) only if the local resources are dedicated by a vote
of the local agency providing the funds, with the concurrence of the
board.
The department and any entity that assumes administrative
responsibility for intercity passenger rail services through an
interagency transfer agreement, may, through a competitive
solicitation process, contract with the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) or with organizations not precluded by state or
federal law to provide intercity passenger rail services, and may
contract with rail corporations and other rail operators for the use
of tracks and other facilities and for the provision of intercity
passenger services on terms and conditions as the parties may agree.
The department is deemed to be a third-party beneficiary of the
contract, and the contract shall not contain any provision or
condition that would negatively impact on or conflict with any other
contracts the department has regarding intercity passenger rail
services. Any entity that succeeds the department as sponsor of
state-supported intercity passenger rail services through an
interagency transfer agreement, is deemed an agency of the state for
all purposes related to intercity passenger rail services, including
Section 5311 of Title 49 of the United States Code. If the intercity
passenger rail service is operated by a contractor, the contractor
shall, as a condition of entering into an operating agreement with
the entity, agree that its labor relations shall be governed by the
federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.).
The department and the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, to the
extent the agency assumes administrative responsibility for
intercity passenger rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor through an
interagency transfer agreement, may, through a competitive
solicitation process, contract with Amtrak or with organizations
authorized by state or federal law to provide intercity passenger
rail services, and may contract with rail corporations and other rail
operators for the use of the tracks and other facilities and for the
provision of intercity passenger rail services on terms and
conditions as the parties may agree. The department is deemed to be a
third-party beneficiary of the contract, and the contract shall not
contain any provision or condition that would negatively impact on or
conflict with any other contracts the department has regarding
intercity passenger rail services. The LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency,
if it succeeds the department as sponsor of state-supported intercity
passenger rail services on the LOSSAN Corridor through an
interagency transfer agreement, is deemed to be an agency of the
state for all purposes related to intercity passenger rail services,
including Section 5311 of Title 49 of the United States Code. If the
LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency or the entity providing administrative
services enters into a contract for the operation of those services,
the contractor shall, as a condition of entering into an operating
agreement with the entity providing administrative services or the
LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, agree that its labor relations shall be
governed by the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 and
following).
Section 14070.6 shall not apply to the LOSSAN Corridor.