130244
. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Authority" means the Orange County Transportation Authority.
(2) "Bonds" means bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness
authorized to be issued pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision
(c).
(3) "Commission" means the Riverside County Transportation
Commission.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Transportation.
(5) "Franchise agreement" means the franchise agreement assigned
to the authority pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 130240.
(6) "Transportation facilities" means one or more of the following
on State Highway Route 91 between the Orange and Riverside County
line to the west and State Highway Route 15 to the east: (A) general
purpose toll lanes; (B) lanes or facilities where the tolls may be
levied and may vary according to levels of congestion anticipated or
experienced or according to the occupancy of the vehicle; and (C)
facilities or lanes utilizing combinations of or variations on (A) or
(B), or other strategies the commission may determine appropriate on
a facility-by-facility basis.
(7) "Transportation project" means the planning, design,
development, financing, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
improvement, acquisition, lease, operation, or maintenance, or any
combination of these, with respect to tolled and nontolled
facilities, structures, onramps, connector roads, bridges, and
roadways that are on, necessary for, or related to the construction
or operation of State Highway Route 91 between the Orange and
Riverside County line to the west and State Highway Route 15 to the
east.
(b) Pursuant to subdivision (l) of Section 130240, the authority
may amend, assign, or terminate the Riverside County portion of the
franchise agreement in the interest of advancing the transportation
project described in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a). The
department, upon request of the authority, shall approve an amendment
to the franchise agreement to eliminate any portion of State Highway
Route 91 within Riverside County from the franchise agreement.
(c) (1) The commission shall have the authority to set, levy, and
collect tolls, user fees, or other similar charges payable for use of
the transportation facilities, and any other incidental or related
fees or charges, in amounts as required for the following
expenditures relative to the transportation facilities as defined in
paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) and for purposes of paragraph (2):
(A) Capital outlay, including the costs of design, construction,
right-of-way acquisition, and utility adjustment.
(B) Operations and maintenance, including, but not limited to,
toll collection and enforcement.
(C) Repair and rehabilitation.
(D) Indebtedness incurred, including related financing costs.
(E) Reserves.
(F) Administration, which shall not exceed 3 percent of toll
revenues and associated facility revenues.
(2) Excess toll revenues beyond the expenditure needs of paragraph
(1) may be expended for the following purposes:
(A) To enhance transit service designed to reduce traffic
congestion on State Highway Route 91 or to expand travel options
along the State Highway Route 91 corridor. Revenues expended under
this subparagraph may be used to maintain the enhanced transit
service. Eligible expenditures include, but are not limited to,
transit operating assistance, the acquisition of transit vehicles,
improvements to commuter rail traveling between Riverside and Orange
Counties, and those transit capital improvements otherwise eligible
to be funded under the State Transportation Improvement Program
pursuant to Section 164 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(B) To make operational or capacity improvements designed to
reduce congestion or improve the flow of traffic on State Highway
Route 91. Eligible expenditures may include any phase of project
delivery to make capital improvements to onramps, connector roads,
roadways, bridges, or other structures that are related to the tolled
and nontolled facilities on State Highway Route 91 between the
Orange and Riverside county line to the west and State Highway Route
15 to the east.
(3) The commission, in consultation with the authority and the
department, shall issue a plan of transportation improvements for the
State Highway Route 91 corridor, which shall include projected
costs, the use of toll revenues, and a proposed completion schedule.
This plan shall be updated annually. The plan and each annual update
shall be made available for public review and comment no less than 30
days prior to adoption by the commission.
(4) The commission is authorized to issue bonds to finance the
costs of the transportation project, including the costs of issuing
the bonds and paying credit enhancement and other fees related to the
bonds, which bonds are payable from the tolls authorized pursuant to
paragraph (1), sales tax revenues, development impact fees, federal
grant funds, or any other source of revenues available to the
commission that may be used for these purposes. The bonds may be sold
pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in a resolution
adopted by the governing board of the commission. Bonds shall be
issued pursuant to a resolution adopted by a two-thirds vote of the
commission. Any bond issued pursuant to this paragraph shall contain
on its face a statement to the following effect: