CHAPTER 3. Grants [99620. - 99655.]

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC 3.
in effect

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99620. Section 99620.

This chapter sets forth the purposes and the amounts for which allocations shall be made from the fund. Money from the fund shall be awarded as grants by the commission pursuant to Sections 99622 to 99651, inclusive, for the purposes specified in those sections. The amount of a grant awarded pursuant to any of those sections shall not exceed the amount specified therein. The department and local agencies may implement service funded pursuant to this chapter on an incremental basis. Partial grants may be made for preliminary engineering and design purposes.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99622. Section 99622.

Two hundred thirty million dollars ($230,000,000) shall be allocated to the department for all of the following: (a) Improvements to the Los Angeles-Fresno-San Francisco Bay Area passenger rail corridor and extension of the corridor to Sacramento, one hundred forty million dollars ($140,000,000), including at least sixty million dollars ($60,000,000) for rail rehabilitation and other rail improvements to provide intercity rail service between Fresno and Oakland via Madera, Merced, Turlock, and Modesto, and not more than thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) for rehabilitation and other rail improvements to provide intercity rail service between Stockton and Sacramento via Lodi and Galt. (b) Preliminary engineering and feasibility studies of a high speed passenger rail link between Bakersfield and Los Angeles, five million dollars ($5,000,000). (c) Implementation of intercity rail service from Placer County to Santa Clara County, eighty five million dollars ($85,000,000), of which not more than thirty five million dollars ($35,000,000) shall be for commuter rail service between Auburn and Davis, including funding for right-of-way acquisition. Service to Woodland may also be provided, if deemed practicable by the department.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99623. Section 99623.

(a) Eighty one million dollars ($81,000,000) shall be allocated to the department for intercity and commuter rail projects along the Los Angeles-Santa Barbara rail corridor to be allocated for expenditure as follows: (1) In Ventura County, thirty one million dollars ($31,000,000). (2) In Santa Barbara County, seventeen million dollars ($17,000,000). (3) In Los Angeles County, thirty three million dollars ($33,000,000). (b) The funds allocated for expenditure in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties may be expended in coordination with a joint powers agency required to be established for commuter rail service pursuant to Section 130255 within that segment of the corridor.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99624. Section 99624.

(a) Eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) to the department for grade separations along the Alameda-San Pedro branch rail line connecting the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors with downtown Los Angeles and paralleling Alameda Street, to alleviate vehicle traffic congestion, conserve energy, reduce air pollution in the area, and facilitate the more efficient and expeditious shipment of freight to and from the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors. The current owner of the Alameda-San Pedro branch line may, at its option, continue to own and operate the line and related right-of-way. (b) The allocation and granting of funds pursuant to this Section shall be exempt from Sections 99653 and 99663. The allocation and granting of funds pursuant to this section shall also be exempt from subdivision (c) of Section 1202, and Sections 1202.5 and 99317.8 of the Public Utilities Code, and Sections 2450 to 2461, inclusive, of the Streets and Highways Code if the affected railroad corporation contributes ten (10) percent of the costs of constructing the grade separations funded pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding any provision of this code or the Streets and Highways Code, no city on the Alameda-San Pedro branch line shall be assessed costs for the grade separations. The department is the sole state agency responsible for designing, determining priorities, and implementing the construction of those grade separations. The department shall coordinate its planning with any joint powers agency established to represent affected cities, local agencies, or commissions. The department shall further coordinate and cooperate with any such joint powers agency so that the expenditure of any federal, local, and private funds including those for tracks, switching, and interconnection improvements, and the possible construction of a proposed Alameda Street truck corridor is accomplished in an efficient and well-planned manner. (c) For the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), grade separations funded pursuant to this section and all related track and switching improvements and rail interconnections shall be considered to be one project.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99625. Section 99625.

(a) Six million dollars ($6,000,000) shall be allocated to the department for the improvement of rail service, including rail freight service and tourist-related services, important to the regional economy of Humboldt County. (b) The commission shall not approve a grant for purposes of this section unless the Board of Supervisors of the County of Humboldt makes a finding that the project proposed for funding is in the public interest and vital to the economy of the county and the commission determines that the proposed project will serve a public purpose. (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the grant authorized by this section may be used by the Humboldt County Association of Governments, at its request, for any of the purposes specified in Section 99628.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99626. Section 99626.

(a) Four million dollars ($4,000,000) shall be allocated to the department for the improvement of rail service, including rail freight service and tourist-related services, important to the regional economy of Mendocino County. (b) The commission shall not approve a grant for purposes of this section unless the Board of Supervisors of the County of Mendocino makes a finding that the project proposed for funding is in the public interest and vital to the economy of the county and the commission determines that the proposed project will serve a public purpose. (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the grant authorized by this section may be used by the Mendocino Council of Governments, at its request, for any of the purposes specified in Section 99628.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99627. Section 99627.

(a) If the Legislature establishes a railroad transportation authority which includes, or which is subsequently expanded to include, within its jurisdiction, Humboldt County or Mendocino County, or both of them, the authority shall be substituted for the department and affected councils of government as the applicant and the grantee agency for purposes of Sections 99625 and 99626. (b) If the authority includes, or is expanded to include, within its jurisdiction, Del Norte County, the authority shall be substituted for the county as the applicant and grantee agency for purposes of Section 99628.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99628. Section 99628.

(a) Seventy three million dollars ($73,000,000) for allocation by the commission on a per capita basis to the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Plumas, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, and Yuba, for railroad grade crossing improvements, acquisition of railroad rights-of-way for rail transportation purposes, rail passenger or other rail stations, railroad soundwalls, and other local rail improvements for safety; purchase of paratransit vehicles; and other capital facilities for public transportation. Funds may not be allocated for street or highway improvements, operations, maintenance, or construction. (b) Application for grants shall be submitted to the commission by the transportation planning agency having jurisdiction in the county. (c) If the commission has not received applications by December 31, 1992, for all of the funds available for allocation pursuant to this section, it may reallocate the remaining funds on the basis of a competitive grants program to the counties specified in subdivision (a). The commission shall adopt regulations or guidelines governing the competitive program allocations to proposals which best serve the purposes of this part. (d) Funds allocated pursuant to this section and Section 99639 may be pooled by any combination of the recipient counties and used with private funds to acquire existing railroad rights-of-ways for passenger and freight rail projects, or for other rail projects.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99629. Section 99629.

Two hundred two million dollars ($202,000,000) shall be allocated to the Los Angeles-San Diego Rail Corridor Agency for intercity and commuter rail projects for expenditure as follows: (a) In San Diego County, forty five million dollars ($45,000,000). (b) In Orange County, eighty two million dollars ($82,000,000). (c) In Los Angeles County, seventy five million dollars ($75,000,000).

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99630. Section 99630.

Two hundred twenty nine million dollars ($229,000,000) shall be allocated to the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, for expenditure on rail projects within Los Angeles County as follows: (a) Not less than eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) thereof shall be allocated for Metro Rail. (b) Not less than eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) thereof shall be allocated for rail projects other than Metro Rail within Los Angeles County.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99631. Section 99631.

(a) Seventy nine million dollars ($79,000,000) shall be allocated to the joint powers agency required to be established pursuant to Section 130255, for the San Bernardino-Riverside-Orange County rail corridor, for expenditure for commuter rail projects as follows: (1) In Riverside County, forty seven million dollars ($47,000,000). (2) In Orange County, twenty seven million dollars ($27,000,000). (3) In San Bernardino County, five million dollars ($5,000,000). (b) If full or partial funding for the project in Riverside County becomes available from other sources, application may be made by the Riverside County Transportation Commission to use the portion of the grant not needed for the project for other rail projects in the county. (c) If full or partial funding for the project in San Bernardino County becomes available from other sources, application may be made by the San Bernardino County Transportation Commission to use the portion of the grant not needed for the project for other rail projects in the county. (d) If full or partial funding for the project in Orange County becomes available from other sources, application may be made by the Orange County Transportation Commission to use the portion of the grant not needed for the project for other rail projects in the county.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99632. Section 99632.

(a) Ninety eight million dollars ($98,000,000) shall be allocated to the joint powers agency required to be established pursuant to Section 130255, for the San Bernardino-Los Angeles rail corridor, for expenditure for commuter rail projects as follows: (1) In Los Angeles County, forty two million dollars ($42,000,000). (2) In San Bernardino County, fifty six million dollars ($56,000,000). (b) If full or partial funding for the project in Los Angeles County becomes available from other sources, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission may make application to use the portion of the grant not needed for the project for other rail projects in the county. (c) If full or partial funding for the project in San Bernardino County becomes available from other sources, application may be made by the San Bernardino County Transportation Commission to use the portion of the grant not needed for the project for other rail projects in the county.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99633. Section 99633.

Sixty-one million dollars ($61,000,000) shall be allocated to the Alameda County Transportation Commission for expenditure on rail projects of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District and other rail projects within Alameda County, as determined by the authority. Projects funded pursuant to this section shall be consistent with the new rail starts and extensions plan of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99634. Section 99634.

Thirty seven million dollars ($37,000,000) shall be allocated to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority for expenditure on rail projects of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District and other rail projects within Contra Costa County, as determined by the authority. Projects funded pursuant to this section shall be consistent with the new rail starts and extensions plan of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99635. Section 99635.

Thirty five million dollars ($35,000,000) shall be allocated to the Public Utilities Commission of the City and County of San Francisco, for expenditure for rail projects within the City and County of San Francisco.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99636. Section 99636.

One hundred seventy three million dollars ($173,000,000) shall be allocated to the Peninsula Corridor Study Joint Powers Board for CalTrain capital improvements and acquisition of rights-of-way, as follows: (a) In the City and County of San Francisco, thirteen million dollars ($13,000,000). (b) In San Mateo County, nineteen million dollars ($19,000,000). (c) In Santa Clara County, twenty one million dollars ($21,000,000), to be allocated for expenditure as follows: (1) Existing service from San Jose, seventeen million dollars ($17,000,000). (2) Extension of service south of San Jose to the county line, four million dollars ($4,000,000). (d) Acquisition of rights-of-way, one hundred twenty million dollars ($120,000,000).

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99637. Section 99637.

Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be allocated to the San Mateo County Transit District for expenditure for extensions of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District within San Mateo County.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99638. Section 99638.

Seventeen million dollars ($17,000,000) shall be allocated to the Monterey County Transportation Commission for the following: (a) Extension of CalTrain service. (b) Other rail projects within Monterey County.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99639. Section 99639.

(a) Twenty eight million dollars ($28,000,000) shall be allocated to a joint powers agency responsible for expenditure for a rail project along the Santa Rosa to Larkspur rail corridor. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), eleven million dollars ($11,000,000) of the grant authorized by this section may be allocated to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Marin, and seventeen million dollars ($17,000,000) may be allocated to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, for expenditure on the rail project described in subdivision (a) or for any of the purposes specified in Section 99628, if both boards concur.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99640. Section 99640.

Eleven million dollars ($11,000,000) shall be allocated to the Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission for the following: (a) Intercity passenger rail projects connecting the City of Santa Cruz with the Watsonville Junction. (b) Other rail projects within Santa Cruz County which facilitate recreational, commuter, intercity and intercounty travel.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99641. Section 99641.

Forty seven million dollars ($47,000,000) shall be allocated to the Santa Clara County Transit District, for expenditure for rail projects within Santa Clara County.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99642. Section 99642.

Seventy seven million dollars ($77,000,000) shall be allocated on a per capita basis to the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board and the North San Diego County Transit Development Board for expenditure for rail projects within San Diego County.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99644. Section 99644.

Fourteen million dollars ($14,000,000) shall be allocated to the San Joaquin Council of Governments for expenditure for rail projects along the Stockton-Manteca-Tracy corridor to the Alameda County line, including three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for a preliminary engineering and economic study of passenger rail service along the Stockton-Livermore (Altamont) corridor. Projects funded pursuant to this section shall be consistent with a locally adopted regional transportation plan.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99647. Section 99647.

Seven million dollars ($7,000,000) shall be allocated to the City of South Lake Tahoe for expenditure on acquisition of rights-of way, construction of an intermodal station, and related facilities for an exclusive public mass transit guideway project.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99648. Section 99648.

Five million dollars ($5,000,000) to the Department of Parks and Recreation for construction of the California State Museum of Railroad Technology. These funds shall be provided to the Department of Parks and Recreation when sufficient funding for the entire project is available.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99649. Section 99649.

(a) One hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be allocated by the commission to fund a competitive program for the acquisition of both commuter and intercity rail cars and locomotives designed pursuant to Section 99603. Local agencies and the department may apply for these funds, which shall be allocated to the department for a joint purchase. No matching funds shall be required for this competitive program. A local agency may contract with the department for purchase of additional rail equipment funded with other funds available to the local agency, including funds made available by this chapter. No funds made available by the commission pursuant to this chapter shall be used to purchase intercity or commuter rail cars or locomotives other than the standard equipment designed pursuant to Section 99603. (b) The department shall estimate the need for commuter and intercity rail cars and locomotives to be ordered pursuant to this section and establish a delivery schedule based on the needs of the operators of rail service. Orders for rail cars and locomotives shall include options as deemed necessary by the department to ensure that equipment is delivered when needed and to permit additional future orders. (c) The department may purchase rail cars and locomotives by competitive bid or competitive negotiation, and may negotiate sale-lease back provisions if determined to be advantageous. Proceeds from sale-lease back shall be used to acquire additional rail cars and equipment.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99650. Section 99650.

(a) Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall be allocated to fund a program of competitive grants to local agencies for capital outlay for bicycle improvement projects which improve safety and convenience for bicycle commuters. (b) Grants for the establishment of separate bicycle paths and ways shall be awarded only if the department determines that the route established will be principally used by bicycle commuters.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99651. Section 99651.

Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall be allocated to fund a program of competitive grants to local agencies for the construction, improvement, acquisition, and other capital expenditures associated with water-borne ferry operations for the transportation of passengers or vehicles, or both.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99652. Section 99652.

Not more than ten million dollars ($10,000,000) may be allocated for the administration of this part by the commission to pay its expenses and the expenses of the department in administering this part. The commission may contract with the department for technical review services needed to review grant applications pursuant to this section. The commission shall not reduce the amount of a grant authorized by this chapter to defray the costs of analyzing grant applications or any other costs associated with its administration of this part.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99653. Section 99653.

In any case in which funds are granted or allocated for expenditure within specified counties or regions in or along a rail corridor, the grantee agency, including the department may, by resolution, and with the approval of the commission and of all the agencies which program capital improvements for transportation purposes along the affected part of the corridor, reallocate the funds for expenditure elsewhere along the corridor. For the purposes of this section, a corridor is a route used to provide passenger rail service.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99654. Section 99654.

Any agency or combination of agencies which is the successor to an agency having any rights, powers, duties, or obligations under this part, including eligibility to apply for, award, receive, and expend a grant, shall fully succeed to those rights, powers, duties, and obligations.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 99655. Section 99655.

As of June 30, 2007, fourteen million five hundred sixty-three thousand dollars ($14,563,000) allocated for the improvement of the Los Angeles-Fresno-San Francisco Bay Area passenger rail corridor in Section 99622 remains unexpended, and one million dollars ($1,000,000) allocated for rail right-of-way studies in former Section 99621 remains unexpended. Pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 99684, the unexpended funds cited in this section are hereby reallocated to the department and shall be made available for expenditure by the High-Speed Rail Authority for the state-sponsored high-speed rail project.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

Starting a business in California? California LLC guide: costs and requirements