CHAPTER 14. Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies [2550. - 2559.]

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC 14.
in effect

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2550. Section 2550.

The Legislature declares that its intent in enacting this chapter is to encourage a motorist aid system comprising multiple service elements and infrastructure along the California Freeway and Expressway System to enable motorists in need of aid to obtain assistance. However, it is not intended that a motorist aid system be considered an emergency system.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2551. Section 2551.

(a) A service authority for freeway emergencies may be established in any county if the board of supervisors of the county and the city councils of a majority of the cities within the county having a majority of the population of cities within the county adopt resolutions providing for the establishment of the authority. (b) The resolutions may designate the county transportation commission for the county created pursuant to Division 12 (commencing with Section 130000) of the Public Utilities Code or a council of governments formed pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) as the service authority for freeway emergencies. The powers of a commission or council of governments so designated are limited to those of the service authority. (c) The Metropolitan Transportation Commission may function as the service authority for freeway emergencies in any or all of the Counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Solano, Sonoma, and Napa, and the City and County of San Francisco, upon adoption of a resolution by the commission to act as a service authority and upon ratification of the commission’s resolution in a particular county by the board of supervisors of the city and county or by the board of supervisors of the county and by the city councils of the cities within the county having a majority of the population of the cities within the county. (d) (1) The Sacramento Area Council of Governments may function as the service authority for freeway emergencies in any or all of the Counties of Sacramento, Yolo, Yuba, Sutter, and San Joaquin, or any other county that is not within another multicounty service authority, upon adoption of a resolution by the council to act as a service authority and upon ratification of the resolution in a particular county by the board of supervisors of the county and by the city councils of the cities within the county having a majority of the population of the cities within the county. (2) The Sacramento Area Council of Governments may also exercise, as a service authority, in any of those counties, the powers specified in Section 891.5 pertaining to callboxes on class 1 bikeways. (e) The Imperial County Transportation Commission may function as the service authority for freeway emergencies in the County of Imperial pursuant to Section 132822 of the Public Utilities Code upon adoption of a resolution by the commission to act as a service authority and upon ratification of the resolution by the board of supervisors of the county and by the city councils of the cities within the county having a majority of the population of the cities within the county. (f) As used in this chapter, “authority” and “service authority” mean a service authority for freeway emergencies created pursuant to this chapter.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2551.5. Section 2551.5.

The board of supervisors, and the city councils of the cities in the county, may authorize the members of the service authority to receive for each attendance at meetings of the service authority, and for each day any member is engaged in authorized service authority business other than attendance at meetings of the service authority, the maximum sum of one hundred dollars ($100), but not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in any calendar month, and to be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2551.6. Section 2551.6.

A service authority may agree to operate the freeway service patrol in the county or region in which the service authority was created. If another agency is operating a freeway service patrol in the county or region, the service authority shall obtain approval from that agency before operating the freeway service patrol.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2552. Section 2552.

When the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or the Sacramento Area Council of Governments functions as the service authority for two or more counties, the revenues which it receives pursuant to Section 9250.10 of the Vehicle Code, after retention of amounts necessary to reimburse the commission or the council for its reasonable and necessary administrative costs, shall be expended for implementation, maintenance, and operation of a motorist aid system within those counties. The amount expended for each of those counties shall be in the same proportion as the revenues generated within the county bears to the total revenues received by the commission or the council. Expenditures may be made in a county in addition to revenues proportionately generated if the expenditures are approved by all of the donor county representatives on the service authority.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2553. Section 2553.

An authority, other than the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or a county transportation commission or a council of governments designated pursuant to Section 2551, shall have seven members, with two members selected by the board of supervisors and five members selected jointly by the city councils of cities within the county. If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission functions as a service authority, it shall consist of all the members of the commission as set forth in Section 66503 of the Government Code. If the Sacramento Area Council of Governments functions as a service authority, it shall consist of (a) all of the members of the board of directors of the council, as set forth in the Joint Powers Agreement of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, dated October 21, 1980, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, (b) one member representing San Joaquin County, (c) one member representing the cities of San Joaquin County, (d) one member representing any other county that is not already a member of the council, and (e) one member representing the cities within that county.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2555.1. Section 2555.1.

(a) On January 1, 2013, the service authority created in the County of San Diego shall be dissolved, and, notwithstanding Section 2551, SANDAG shall become the successor to the dissolved service authority and assume the remaining responsibilities for all operational, administrative, and maintenance tasks for the callbox system. SANDAG shall post its detailed budget relative to the revenue received from the collection of fees pursuant to Section 9250.10 of the Vehicle Code, and the expenditures of these funds, on its Internet Web site. (b) Any reserves in excess of four million dollars ($4,000,000) held by the authority on the date that the act adding this section becomes effective shall be distributed to cities in the County of San Diego, and to the county with respect to the unincorporated area of the county, in proportion to fees paid pursuant to Section 2555 in the 2010–11 fiscal year by residents of each city and the unincorporated area. SANDAG, as the successor authority, shall distribute the funds on or before March 31, 2013. The distributed funds shall be used by the recipient jurisdictions in compliance with the provisions of Section 2557. (c) The authority shall develop a plan in consultation with SANDAG for transitioning its responsibilities to SANDAG during the transition period between the effective date of the act adding this section and January 1, 2013. During the transition period, the authority shall not expend any funds or enter into any contracts without written approval from SANDAG. (d) SANDAG as the successor authority may continue to fund police, fire, and rescue helicopter programs consistent with the provisions of Section 2557.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2556. Section 2556.

An existing service authority established by any of the counties or the city and county enumerated in subdivision (c) of Section 2551 may be merged into a service authority established by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2557. Section 2557.

(a) Each service authority shall determine how moneys received by it pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 9250.10 of the Vehicle Code shall be used for the implementation, maintenance, and operation of a motorist aid system, including the lease or lease-purchase of facilities and equipment for the system, on the portions of the California Freeway and Expressway System and a county expressway system, and the unincorporated county roads in that county, and on state highway routes that connect segments of these systems, that are located within the county in which the authority is established. The department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall each review and approve plans, pursuant to the “CHP/Caltrans Call Box and Motorist Aid Guidelines,” referenced in Section 2421.5 of the Vehicle Code, for implementation of a motorist aid system of call boxes proposed for any state highway route and shall be reimbursed by the service authority for all costs incurred due to review and approval of the plan. (b) An authority or any other public entity may construct and maintain, and lease or lease-purchase on terms and conditions it deems appropriate, the facilities of a motorist aid system or it may contract with a private person or entity to do so. (c) If leases or lease-purchase agreements are entered into pursuant to subdivision (a), or if revenue bonds are issued and sold pursuant to Section 2558, the moneys received by each service authority pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 9250.10 of the Vehicle Code shall be used to the extent necessary to make lease payments or to pay the principal of, and interest on, the amount of bonded indebtedness outstanding, as the case may be. Facilities and equipment acquired through the expenditure of proceeds from the sale of those bonds shall have a useful life at least equal to the term of the bonds. (d) (1) Any moneys received and allocated by a service authority pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 9250.10 of the Vehicle Code may be used for purposes of paragraph (2) and for full implementation and ongoing costs to maintain and operate the motorist aid system pursuant to subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, the following motorist aid and safety-related projects: (A) Call boxes. (B) Changeable message signs. (C) Lighting for call boxes. (D) Support for traffic operations centers. (E) Contracting for removal of disabled vehicles from the traveled portion of the right-of-way, including operation of the freeway service patrol pursuant to Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 2560). (F) Traveler information systems, Intelligent Transportation System architecture and infrastructure, and other transportation demand management services. (G) Safety-related hazard and obstruction removal. (2) Any amendment to an existing plan for a motorist aid system of call boxes adopted by a service authority for any state highway route shall, prior to implementation, be submitted to the department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol for review and approval, and shall not be implemented until so reviewed and approved pursuant to the “CHP/Caltrans Call Box and Motorist Aid Guidelines,” referenced in Section 2421.5 of the Vehicle Code. The service authority shall reimburse each department for the costs of that review. (3) Service authority funding provided for projects described in subparagraphs (B),(F), and (G) of paragraph (1) is intended to supplement, and not replace, department expenditures for similar infrastructure and services on the California Freeway and Expressway System. (e) A service authority may develop policies for the retention of records, including, but not limited to, authority operations, contracts, and programs, and the length of the retention period. (f) A motorist aid system constructed, maintained, or operated pursuant to this section shall meet the applicable standards of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336) and federal regulations adopted pursuant thereto. (g) Nothing in this section relieves a service authority of any obligation under the law to receive appropriate permission or approval from the department for activities within rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of the department.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2558. Section 2558.

(a) Subject to subdivision (b), a service authority may issue revenue bonds pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 54300) of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 4950) of Part 3 of Division 5 of the Health and Safety Code, as nearly as practicable, for the implementation and maintenance of a motorist aid program and shall pledge revenues to be received from fees referred to in Section 2555 as security for the payment of principal or of interest or other amounts due on those revenue bonds. In addition, a service authority that has entered into one or more leases or lease-purchase agreements for facilities of a motorist aid program may also pledge, as security for the payment of amounts due under the leases or agreements, revenues to be received from those fees. The pledge of revenues provided for in this subdivision shall be a first and prior lien and, without any action other than the adoption by the members of a resolution providing for the pledge, the lien of the pledge shall attach and become perfected as to each fee imposed pursuant to Section 9250.10 of the Vehicle Code as and when the fee becomes due and payable. However, if a service authority has, at the same time, existing obligations under one or more issues of revenue bonds, one or more leases or lease-purchase agreements, or both, the respective priorities of the liens of pledges of revenue shall be determined on the basis of the respective dates on which resolutions providing for those pledges were adopted, with the highest priority being accorded the pledge of revenues provided for in the earliest of those resolutions. Bond proceeds shall not be used for operation of a motorist aid system of call boxes. (b) A service authority may issue revenue bonds for each county within its jurisdiction.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 2559. Section 2559.

It is a misdemeanor for any person to remove, damage, interfere with the use of, or obstruct any motorist aid call box provided pursuant to this chapter without the consent of the authority. A person convicted under this section may be required by the court to pay to the service authority the costs of repairing or replacing the call box, in addition to any other penalty.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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