(a) After consulting with the department, the regional transportation planning agencies and county transportation commissions shall adopt and submit to the commission and the department, not later than December 15, 2001, and December 15 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, a five-year regional transportation improvement program in conformance with Section 65082. In counties where a county transportation commission has been created pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 130050) of Division 12 of the Public Utilities Code, that commission shall adopt and submit the county transportation improvement program, in conformance with Sections 130303 and 130304 of that code, to the multicounty-designated transportation planning agency. Other information, including a program for expenditure of local or federal funds, may be submitted for information purposes with the program, but only at the discretion of the transportation planning agencies or the county transportation commissions. As used in this section, “county transportation commission” includes a transportation authority created pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 130050) of Division 12 of the Public Utilities Code.

(b) The regional transportation improvement program shall include all projects to be funded with the county share under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 164 of the Streets and Highways Code. The regional programs shall be limited to projects to be funded in whole or in part with the county share that shall include all projects to receive allocations by the commission during the following five fiscal years. For each project, the total expenditure for each project component and the total amount of commission allocation and the year of allocation shall be stated. The total cost of projects to be funded with the county share shall not exceed the amount specified in the fund estimate made by the commission pursuant to Section 14525.

(c) The regional transportation planning agencies and county transportation commissions may recommend projects to improve state highways with the interregional share pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 164 of the Streets and Highways Code. The recommendations shall be separate and distinct from the regional transportation improvement program. A project recommended for funding pursuant to this subdivision shall constitute a usable segment and shall not be a condition for inclusion of other projects in the regional transportation improvement program.

(d) The department may nominate or recommend the inclusion of projects in the regional transportation improvement program to improve state highways with the county share pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) and subdivision (e) of Section 164 of the Streets and Highways Code. A regional transportation planning agency and a county transportation commission shall have sole authority for determining whether any of the project nominations or recommendations are accepted and included in the regional transportation improvement program adopted and submitted pursuant to this section. This authority provided to a regional transportation planning agency or to a county transportation commission extends only to a project located within its jurisdiction.

(e) Major projects shall include current costs updated as of November 1 of the year of submittal and escalated to the appropriate year, and shall be consistent with, and provide the information required in, subdivision (b) of Section 14529.

(f) The regional transportation improvement program may not change the project delivery milestone date of any project as shown in the prior adopted state transportation improvement program without the consent of the department or other agency responsible for the project’s delivery.

(g) Projects may not be included in the regional transportation improvement program without a complete project study report or, for a project that is not on a state highway, a project study report equivalent or major investment study.

(h) (1) Each transportation planning agency and county transportation commission may request and receive an amount not to exceed 5 percent of its county share for the purposes of project planning, programming, and monitoring.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, but to the extent consistent with applicable federal law or regulation, the department may make an advance payment up to three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) per year to transportation planning agencies and county transportation commissions for programming, planning, and monitoring under paragraph (1) where the total allocation under that paragraph is equal to or less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000). Funds advanced shall be programmed in the State Transportation Improvement Program and allocated by the California Transportation Commission prior to payment.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 255, Sec. 3. (AB 135) Effective September 16, 2017.)