Executive Director Steve Heminger's Report to the Commission Meeting of May 28, 2014
Lobby Day
April 30, Sacramento
Chair Worth led a gaggle of MTC commissioners, staff, and partner agency representatives in a series of visits to the Bay Area’s state legislative delegation. The focus of our visits was the long-term Cap and Trade funding framework proposed by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, with whom we also met that afternoon. Thanks especially to Randy Rentschler and Rebecca Long for arranging the most upbeat visit to Sacramento that I can recall in many years.
TBPOC Meeting
May 6, Oakland
In the interest of greater transparency, the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee (TBPOC) which I chair has decided to hold its regular meetings in public even though state law permits us to meet in private as we have done since the committee’s creation in 2005. Our first regularly scheduled public session featured discussion of the ongoing demolition work on the Bay Bridge’s old east span as well as proposed architectural finishes for the new bridge.
BATA Financing Update
May 7, San Francisco
Brian Mayhew and I met with our banking and legal teams to discuss the details and timing of the upcoming refinancing of some of BATA’s older fixed rate debt at today’s more attractive interest rates. We also were briefed on some potential options to our current practice of self-insuring the toll bridges for seismic events through a large reserve against BATA’s balance sheet.
Bay Area Council Outlook Conference
May 13, San Jose
I participated in a panel discussion about some of the challenges associated with the region’s resurgent economy: worsening traffic congestion, soaring housing prices, and the growing prominence of income inequality as a major policy issue.
Senate Committee Advances Reauthorization Bill
May 15, Washington DC
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chaired by Barbara Boxer marked-up the highway title of a bill to reauthorize the MAP 21 legislation that will expire on September 30, 2014. The new bill largely retains the MAP 21 program structure with the exception of creating a new categorical program for goods movement. The main uncertainty clouding the bill’s prospects is that its inflation adjusted funding levels rely on a significant infusion of new revenue from a source yet to be determined. Jurisdiction for that funding discussion belongs to the Senate Finance Committee. The transit title of the reauthorization bill is the responsibility of the Senate Banking Committee.
CFEE Infrastructure Conference
May 16, Sonoma
I made a presentation on recent U.S. experience with public-private partnerships based upon research published by the Congressional Budget Office earlier this year. [Presentation]
Ambassador’s Infrastructure Forum
May 19, Beijing
I was invited to speak at a forum highlighting U.S. infrastructure investment opportunities for Chinese capital and engineering firms by our new Ambassador to China, former Montana Senator Max Baucus. I spoke in particular about California’s experience with ZPMC Ltd., the Shanghai-based steel supplier for the self-anchored suspension span of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
“Tranny” Awards
May 22, Sacramento
The 25th annual California Transportation Foundation awards ceremony featured several Bay Area projects, including Safety Project of the Year going to the I-80 Cordelia truck scales project and the Project of the Year award going to the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore. I accepted a Special Recognition Award on behalf of our public agency partners at Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission as well as numerous private sector firms for the new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Map of the Month
On May 1, 2014, the California Department of Finance (DOF) released city, county, and state population estimates updated through the end of year 2013, which includes detailed data on housing production for the San Francisco Bay Area. This map in Attachment 3 depicts housing production performance in the San Francisco Bay Area in year 2013 for counties, subareas, and cities. One noteworthy finding is that three cities accounted for 50% of the Bay Area Housing Production: San Jose, San Francisco and Dublin.
MTC Operational Statistics
The monthly report on the performance of MTC’s operating programs: