Section 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:

"Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of the State of California is pledged to the payment of principal or interest of this bond."

(5) The department is authorized to enter into any lease, easement, permit, or other agreement with the commission necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.

(6) The commission shall have the authority to impose tolls for use of the transportation facilities for 50 years following the opening of the transportation facilities for public use, after which time the commission shall have no further authority to impose or to collect a toll for use of transportation facilities on State Highway Route 91, unless reauthorized by the Legislature. The transportation facilities shall revert to the department after the bonds issued pursuant to this section are paid off in their entirety, unless tolls have been reauthorized by the Legislature. Upon reversion, the facilities shall be delivered to the department in a condition that meets the performance and maintenance standards established by the department.

(7) The commission shall make available for public review and comment the toll schedule and any subsequent proposed changes to the schedule no less than 30 days prior to the adoption by the commission of a toll schedule.

(d) This section shall be supplemental and in addition to any other authority of the commission to undertake the transportation project.

(e) This section shall not prevent the department or any local agency from constructing facilities within the State Highway Route 91 corridor that compete with the transportation project, and in no event shall the commission be entitled to compensation for the adverse effects on toll revenues due to those facilities.

(f) If any provision of this section or the application thereof is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this extent the provisions of this section are severable.

(g) This section shall not apply to State Highway Route 91 between the Orange and Riverside County line and State Highway Route 15 unless the authority amends or partially assigns the restated franchise agreement, as amended, between the department and the authority to exclude that portion of State Highway Route 91 from the restated franchise agreement, as amended.

(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 714, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2009.)