Chapter 2.3. Long-range Transportation Planning of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 7. >> Chapter 2.3.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares, consistent with Section 65088, that it is in the interest of the State of California to have an integrated state and regional transportation planning process. It further finds that federal law mandates the development of a state and regional long-range transportation plan as a prerequisite for receipt of federal transportation funds. It is the intent of the Legislature that the preparation of these plans shall be a cooperative process involving local and regional government, transit operators, congestion management agencies, and the goods movement industry and that the process be a continuation of activities performed by each entity and be performed without any additional cost.
  (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the last attempt to prepare a California Transportation Plan occurred between 1973 and 1977 and resulted in the expenditure of over eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) in public funds and did not produce a usable document. As a consequence of that, the Legislature delegated responsibility for long-range transportation planning to the regional planning agencies and adopted a seven-year programming cycle instead of a longer range planning process for the state.
  (c) The Legislature further finds and declares that the Transportation Blueprint for the Twenty-First Century (Chapters 105 and 106 of the Statutes of 1989) is a long-range state transportation plan that includes a financial plan and a continuing planning process through the preparation of congestion management plans and regional transportation plans, and identifies major interregional road networks and passenger rail corridors for the state.

The department shall update the California Transportation Plan consistent with this chapter. The first update shall be completed by December 31, 2015. The plan shall be updated every five years thereafter.

The California Transportation Plan shall include all of the following:
  (a) A policy element that describes the state's transportation policies and system performance objectives. These policies and objectives shall be consistent with legislative intent described in Sections 14000, 14000.5, 14000.6, and 65088.
  (b) A strategies element that shall incorporate the broad system concepts and strategies synthesized from the adopted regional transportation plans prepared pursuant to Section 65080. The California Transportation Plan shall not be project specific.
  (c) A recommendations element that includes economic forecasts and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor to achieve the plan's broad system concepts, strategies, and performance objectives.

The California Transportation Plan shall consider all of the following subject areas for the movement of people and freight:
  (a) Mobility and accessibility.
  (b) Integration and connectivity.
  (c) Efficient system management and operation.
  (d) Existing system preservation.
  (e) Safety and security.
  (f) Economic development, including productivity and efficiency.
  (g) Environmental protection and quality of life.

In developing the California Transportation Plan pursuant to Sections 65072 and 65072.1, the department shall address how the state will achieve maximum feasible emissions reductions in order to attain a statewide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 as required by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, taking into consideration the use of alternative fuels, new vehicle technology, tailpipe emissions reductions, and expansion of public transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, bicycling, and walking. The plan shall identify the statewide integrated multimodal transportation system needed to achieve these results. The department shall complete an interim report by December 31, 2012, which shall include a list and provide an overview of all sustainable communities strategies and alternative planning strategies prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080, and shall assess how implementation of the sustainable communities strategies and alternative planning strategies will influence the configuration of the statewide integrated multimodal transportation system. The department shall submit the interim report to the California Transportation Commission and to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, the Senate Committee on Local Government, the Assembly Committee on Transportation, the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, and the Assembly Committee on Local Government.

The department shall consult with, coordinate its activities with, and make a draft of its proposed plan, and each update, available to the California Transportation Commission, the Strategic Growth Council, the State Air Resources Board, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the air quality management districts, public transit operators, and the regional transportation planning agencies for review and comment. The department shall also provide an opportunity for input by the general public. Prior to adopting the plan or update, the department shall make a final draft available to the Legislature and Governor for review and comment. The commission may present the results of its review and comment to the Legislature and the Governor. The Governor shall adopt the plan and submit the plan to the Legislature and the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation.

The California Transportation Commission shall review recommendations in the update to the California Transportation Plan prepared by the department in 2015, and every five years thereafter, and prepare specific, action-oriented, and pragmatic recommendations for transportation system improvements. A report containing the specific recommendations shall be submitted to the Legislature and the Governor by December 31, 2016, and every five years thereafter, and in compliance with Section 9795.

The Department of Transportation shall prepare, in cooperation with the metropolitan planning agencies, a Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program in accordance with subsection (g) of Section 135 of Title 23 of the United States Code. The Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program shall be submitted by the department to the United States Secretary of Transportation, by not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year.