Section 7104.

(a) The Transportation Investment Fund (hereafter the fund) is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years for disbursement in the manner and for the purposes set forth in this section.

(b) All of the following shall occur on a quarterly basis:

(1) The State Board of Equalization, in consultation with the Department of Finance, shall estimate the amount that is transferred to the General Fund under subdivision (b) of Section 7102 that is attributable to revenue collected for the sale, storage, use, or other consumption in this state of motor vehicle fuel, as defined in Section 7326.

(2) The State Board of Equalization shall inform the Controller, in writing, of the amount estimated under paragraph (1).

(3) Commencing with the 2003–04 fiscal year, the Controller shall transfer the amount estimated under paragraph (1) from the General Fund to the fund.

(c) For each quarter during the period commencing on July 1, 2003, and ending on June 30, 2008, the Controller shall make all of the following transfers and apportionments from the funds identified for transfer under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) in the following order:

(1) To the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund created in the State Treasury by Section 14556.5 of the Government Code, the sum of one hundred sixty-nine million five hundred thousand dollars ($169,500,000), except that the transfer for the final quarter shall be ninety-three million four hundred thousand dollars ($93,400,000), for a total transfer of three billion three hundred thirteen million nine hundred thousand dollars ($3,313,900,000).

(2) To the Public Transportation Account, a trust fund in the State Transportation Fund, 20 percent of the amount remaining after the transfer required under paragraph (1). Funds transferred under this paragraph shall be made available as follows:

(A) To the Department of Transportation, 50 percent for purposes of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 99315 of the Public Utilities Code, subject to appropriation by the Legislature.

(B) To the Controller, 25 percent for allocation pursuant to Section 99314 of the Public Utilities Code. Funds allocated under this subparagraph shall be subject to all of the provisions governing funds allocated under Section 99314 of the Public Utilities Code. For the 2007–08 fiscal year, these funds are continuously appropriated to the Controller for purposes of this subparagraph.

(C) To the Controller, 25 percent for allocation pursuant to Section 99313 of the Public Utilities Code. Funds allocated under this subparagraph shall be subject to all of the provisions governing funds allocated under Section 99313 of the Public Utilities Code. For the 2007–08 fiscal year, these funds are continuously appropriated to the Controller for purposes of this subparagraph.

(3) To the Department of Transportation for expenditure for programming for transportation capital improvement projects subject to all of the provisions governing the State Transportation Improvement Program, 40 percent of the amount remaining after the transfer required under paragraph (1), except that in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 fiscal years, the transfer shall be 80 percent of the amount remaining after the transfer required under paragraph (1).

(4) To the Controller for apportionment to the counties, including a city and county, 20 percent of the amount remaining after the transfer required under paragraph (1), except that in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 fiscal years, no transfer may be made under this paragraph. Funds transferred under this paragraph shall be allocated in accordance with the following formulas:

(A) Seventy-five percent of the funds payable under this paragraph shall be apportioned among the counties in the proportion that the number of fee-paid and exempt vehicles that are registered in the county bears to the number of fee-paid and exempt vehicles registered in the state.

(B) Twenty-five percent of the funds payable under this paragraph shall be apportioned among the counties in the proportion that the number of miles of maintained county roads in each county bears to the total number of miles of maintained county roads in the state. For the purposes of apportioning funds under this subparagraph, any roads within the boundaries of a city and county that are not state highways shall be deemed to be county roads.

(5) To the Controller for apportionment to cities, including a city and county, 20 percent of the amount remaining after the transfer required under paragraph (1), except that in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 fiscal years, no transfer may be made under this paragraph. Funds transferred under this paragraph shall be apportioned among the cities in the proportion that the total population of the city bears to the total population of all the cities in the state.

(d) Funds received under paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c) shall be deposited as follows in order to avoid the commingling of those funds with other local funds:

(1) In the case of a city, into the city account that is designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for transportation purposes.

(2) In the case of a county, into the county road fund.

(3) In the case of a city and county, into a local account that is designated for the receipt of state funds allocated for transportation purposes.

(e) Funds allocated to a city, county, or city and county under paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c) shall be used only for street and highway maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and storm damage repair. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) "Maintenance" means either or both of the following:

(A) Patching.

(B) Overlay and sealing.

(2) "Reconstruction" includes any overlay, sealing, or widening of the roadway, if the widening is necessary to bring the roadway width to the desirable minimum width consistent with the geometric design criteria of the department for 3R (reconstruction, resurfacing, and rehabilitation) projects that are not on a freeway, but does not include widening for the purpose of increasing the traffic capacity of a street or highway.

(3) "Storm damage repair" is repair or reconstruction of local streets and highways and related drainage improvements that have been damaged due to winter storms and flooding, and construction of drainage improvements to mitigate future roadway flooding and damage problems, in those jurisdictions that have been declared disaster areas by the President of the United States, where the costs of those repairs are ineligible for emergency funding with Federal Emergency Relief (ER) funds or Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funds.

(f) (1) Cities and counties shall maintain their existing commitment of local funds for street and highway maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and storm damage repair in order to remain eligible for the allocation of funds pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c).

(2) In order to receive any allocation pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c), the city or county shall annually expend from its general fund for street, road, and highway purposes an amount not less than the annual average of its expenditures from its general fund during the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 fiscal years, as reported to the Controller pursuant to Section 2151 of the Streets and Highways Code. For purposes of this paragraph, in calculating a city's or county's annual general fund expenditures and its average general fund expenditures for the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 fiscal years, any unrestricted funds that the city or county may expend at its discretion, including vehicle in-lieu tax revenues and revenues from fines and forfeitures, expended for street and highway purposes shall be considered expenditures from the general fund. One-time allocations that have been expended for street and highway purposes, but which may not be available on an ongoing basis, including revenue provided under the Teeter Plan Bond Law of 1994 (Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 54773) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), may not be considered when calculating a city's or county's annual general fund expenditures.

(3) For any city incorporated after July 1, 1996, the Controller shall calculate an annual average of expenditure for the period between July 1, 1996, and December 31, 2000, inclusive, that the city was incorporated.

(4) For purposes of paragraph (2), the Controller may request fiscal data from cities and counties in addition to data provided pursuant to Section 2151, for the 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99 fiscal years. Each city and county shall furnish the data to the Controller not later than 120 days after receiving the request. The Controller may withhold payment to cities and counties that do not comply with the request for information or that provide incomplete data.

(5) The Controller may perform audits to ensure compliance with paragraph (2) when deemed necessary. Any city or county that has not complied with paragraph (2) shall reimburse the state for the funds it received during that fiscal year. Any funds withheld or returned as a result of a failure to comply with paragraph (2) shall be reallocated to the other counties and cities whose expenditures are in compliance.

(6) If a city or county fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) in a particular fiscal year, the city or county may expend during that fiscal year and the following fiscal year a total amount that is not less than the total amount required to be expended for those fiscal years for purposes of complying with paragraph (2).

(7) The allocation made under paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c) shall be expended not later than the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the allocation was made, and any funds not expended within that period shall be returned to the Controller and shall be reallocated to the other cities and counties pursuant to the allocation formulas set forth in paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c).

(g) The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall give first priority for using its share of the funds made available under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) to providing the levels of bus service mandated under the consent decree entered into by the authority on October 29, 1996, in the case of Labor/Community Strategy Center, et al. v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

(h) (1) For the purpose of allocating funds under paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (c) to counties, cities, and a city and county, the Controller shall use the most recent population estimates prepared by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance. For a city that incorporated after January 1, 1998, that does not appear on the most recent population estimates prepared by the Demographic Research Unit, the Controller shall use the population determined for that city under Section 11005.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(2) The amendments made to Section 11005.3 by the act adding this paragraph shall not apply to a population determination under paragraph (1).

(i) This section shall become inoperative on the date that all encumbrances incurred for the projects funded under paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) have been liquidated or on June 30, 2008, whichever date is later, and as of the January 1 immediately following that date is repealed.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 296, Sec. 274. Effective January 1, 2012. Inoperative on June 30, 2008, or later date, as provided in subd. (i). Repealed, by its own provisions, on January 1 following inoperative date.)