Alternative Bill on New Transit Agency Advances
The Assembly Transportation Committee on Monday approved legislation that would create a new Orange County Transportation Agency with the power to plan the county’s roads and operate its mass transit system.
The bill, by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), was passed on an 11-0 vote and sent to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
Ferguson’s measure is similar to a bill by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) that was approved last week by the Senate Transportation Committee. Both bills would combine the Orange County Transportation Commission and the Orange County Transit District into a single agency.
The major difference between them is the makeup of the new agency’s board of directors.
Ferguson’s bill provides for an 11-member board with all five members of the County Board of Supervisors, five members from among the various cities in the county and one member chosen by the other 10.
Bergeson’s bill calls for three county supervisors, seven city representatives and an at-large member.
Bergeson’s measure is currently the focus of negotiations among the county, the cities and the Orange County Transportation Commission. Ferguson, who is a co-author of the Bergeson measure, described his solo effort as a safety valve in case negotiations on the Bergeson bill bog down.
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