Section 99314.6.

(a) Except as provided in Section 99314.7, the following eligibility standards apply:

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), funds shall not be allocated for operating purposes pursuant to Sections 99313 and 99314 to an operator unless the operator meets either of the following efficiency standards:

(A) The operator's total operating cost per revenue vehicle hour in the latest year for which audited data are available does not exceed the sum of the preceding year's total operating cost per revenue vehicle hour and an amount equal to the product of the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the same period multiplied by the preceding year's total operating cost per revenue vehicle hour.

(B) The operator's average total operating cost per revenue vehicle hour in the latest three years for which audited data are available does not exceed the sum of the average of the total operating cost per revenue vehicle hour in the three years preceding the latest year for which audited data are available and an amount equal to the product of the average percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the same period multiplied by the average total operating cost per revenue vehicle hour in the same three years.

(2) The transportation planning agency, county transportation commission, or the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, as the case may be, shall adjust the calculation of operating costs and revenue vehicle hours pursuant to paragraph (1) to account for either or both of the following factors:

(A) Exclusion of costs increases beyond the change in the Consumer Price Index for fuel; alternative fuel programs; power, including electricity; insurance premiums and payments in settlement of claims arising out of the operator's liability; or state or federal mandates, including the additional operating costs required to provide comparable complementary paratransit service as required by Section 37.121 o, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), as identified in the operator's paratransit plan pursuant to Section 37.139 o.

(B) Exclusion of startup costs for new services for a period of not more than two years.

(3) Funds withheld from allocation to an operator pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be retained by the transportation planning agency, county transportation commission, or the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, as the case may be, for reallocation to that operator for two years following the year of ineligibility. In a year in which an operator's funds are allocated pursuant to paragraph (1), funds withheld from allocation during a preceding year shall also be allocated. Funds not allocated before the commencement of the third year following the year of ineligibility shall be reallocated to cost effective high priority regional transit activities, as determined by the transportation planning agency, county transportation commission, or the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, as the case may be. If that agency or commission, or the board, determines that no cost effective high priority regional transit activity exists, the unallocated funds shall revert to the Controller for reallocation.

(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) "Operating cost" means the total operating cost as reported by the operator under the Uniform System of Accounts and Records, pursuant to Section 99243 and subdivision (a) of Section 99247.

(2) "Revenue vehicle hours" has the same meaning as "vehicle service hours," as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 99247.

(3) "Consumer Price Index," as applied to an operator, is the regional Consumer Price Index for that operator's region, as published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. If a regional index is not published, the index for the State of California applies.

(4) "New service" has the same meaning as "extension of public transportation services" as defined in Section 99268.8.

(c) The restrictions in this section do not apply to allocations made for capital purposes.

(d) The exclusion of costs increases described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) applies solely for the purpose of calculating an operator's eligibility to claim funds pursuant to this section and does not authorize an operator to report an operating cost per revenue vehicle hour other than as described in this section and in Section 99247, to any of the following entities:

(1) The Controller pursuant to Section 99243.

(2) The entity conducting the fiscal audit pursuant to Section 99245.

(3) The entity conducting the performance audit pursuant to Section 99246.

(e) The restrictions in this section shall not apply to the allocation of funds made pursuant to Sections 99313 and 99314 after January 1, 2010, and through the 2014–15 fiscal year.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 341, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2012.)