(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.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 11, Sec. 3. (AB 335) Effective January 1, 2020.)