180000-180003

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE
SECTION 180000-180003




180000.  This division shall be known and may be cited as the Local
Transportation Authority and Improvement Act.



180001.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Local highway and transportation improvements and services are
an immediate high priority needed to resolve local and regional
transportation problems that threaten the economic viability and
development potential of counties and cities and adversely impact the
quality of life therein. Furthermore, regional transportation is a
matter of statewide concern.
   (b) Comprehensive studies and reports have been completed by the
Department of Transportation, the Assembly Office of Research, the
Governor's Task Force on Infrastructure, and the California Business
Roundtable which conclude that there exists a local city street and
county road maintenance backlog and shortfall of between five hundred
million dollars ($500,000,000) and eight hundred forty million
dollars ($840,000,000) annually.
   (c) In order to deal in an expeditious manner with current and
future local transportation maintenance and improvement needs, local
agencies need to develop and implement local funding programs that go
significantly beyond current federal and state funding which is
inadequate to resolve these problems.
   (d) It is in the public interest to allow the voters of each
county to establish local transportation authorities and raise
additional local revenues to provide highway capital improvements and
maintenance and to meet local transportation needs in a timely
manner.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that funds generated
pursuant to this division be used to supplement and not replace
existing local revenues used for transportation purposes.



180002.  "Authority" means a local transportation authority created
or designated pursuant to this division.



180003.  This division shall be liberally construed in order to
effectuate its purposes. No inadvertent error, irregularity,
informality, or the inadvertent neglect or omission of any officer,
in any procedure taken under this division, other than fraud, shall
void or invalidate that proceeding or any levy imposed to finance
highway improvements or local transportation needs.