Section 8503 Of Chapter 12. Metropolitan Transportation Commission From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 2. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 12.
8503
. (a) Prior to imposing the tax, the commission shall adopt a
regional transportation expenditure plan for the revenues derived
from the tax. The regional transportation expenditure plan shall
describe specific proposed transportation projects and the estimated
cost of each project.
(b) The regional transportation expenditure plan shall also meet
the following minimum objectives and criteria:
(1) Project expenditures shall reflect an equitable distribution
of revenues throughout the region with not less than 95 percent of
revenues from each county, based on population, being invested over
the 20-year life of the tax in projects attributable to that county.
In addition, during every five-year period, no less than 80 percent
of the revenues from each county, based on population, invested
during that period shall be invested in projects attributable to that
county. The commission shall allocate any accrued interest according
to the same formula. At the time of the development of the
expenditure plan, the commission shall use population data from the
most recent United States census, and shall take into account
estimated increases in population over the 20-year period projected
by the Association of Bay Area Governments.
(2) Projects included in the expenditure plan shall be consistent
with the commission's regional transportation plan, a congestion
management program, or a countywide transportation plan. The
commission shall, in prioritizing projects in the expenditure plan,
give additional consideration to projects where local land use
policies reduce dependence on single-occupant motor vehicle travel.
The expenditure plan development process shall include consultation
with cities, counties, transit operators, congestion management
agencies, and other interested groups.
(3) Cost estimates for each project shall be prepared by the
commission, in consultation with project sponsors, and verified by an
independent cost-estimating firm retained by the commission for that
purpose. Estimates of other funding required to complete any project
shall be based on an estimate of funds reasonably expected to be
available during the 20-year period commencing with the year that the
tax is initially imposed.
(4) To be eligible for inclusion in the expenditure plan, a
project shall meet at least one of the following regional
transportation needs:
(A) Fund maintenance and rehabilitation of local streets and
roads, sidewalks, or bicycle routes, or close a gap in the local
street and road system.
(B) Fund capital or operating expenses of public transit systems.
(C) Fund transit expansion projects in the commission's Resolution
3434, Regional Transit Expansion Program as contained in the
commission's regional transportation plan.
(D) Provide an alternative to single occupancy automobile travel.
(E) Improve safety on specific roadway segments where accident or
fatality rates exceed the expected rate for those segments over a
multiyear timeframe, including, but not limited to, expansion or
realignment of the roadway.
(F) Improve the operational efficiency of the existing roadway
system without a physical expansion of the system. However, expansion
projects to reconfigure existing interchanges are eligible for
inclusion in the plan.
(G) Fund implementation of the requirements of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-336), or those
requirements as revised, on public transit systems and other
transportation-related facilities.
(H) Fund seismic retrofitting of transportation facilities.
(I) Fund intermodal freight or passenger facilities.
(J) Fund transportation enhancement activities, including projects
consistent with the commission's Transportation for Livable
Communities (TLC) Program and the Housing Incentive Program (HIP).
(K) Defray interest costs and other expenses associated with the
issuance of revenue bonds or revenue anticipation notes.
(5) If not otherwise available, sufficient funding shall be
included in the cost estimates and expenditure plan presented to the
voters to operate and maintain each included project for the duration
of the tax.