Existing law sets forth the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact, an interstate agreement between the States of California and Nevada pursuant to which the bistate Tahoe Regional Planning Agency regulates environmental and land-use matters within the Lake Tahoe Basin. (NRS 277.190-277.220) The Tahoe Regional Planning Compact provides for the creation of the Tahoe transportation district as a special purpose district managed by a board of directors which develops and implements transportation plans and programs for the Lake Tahoe Basin. While Congressional approval is generally required to amend the Compact, the Compact specifically grants the authority to the legislatures of the states of California and Nevada to, by substantively identical enactments, amend the article of the Compact relating to the Tahoe transportation district. (NRS 277.200) This bill proposes to enact various changes to this article of the Compact relating to the Tahoe transportation district. First, section 1 of this bill imposes, with certain exceptions, a transit surcharge on the per night rental of transient lodging in the amount of $4.00 within the Tahoe region in the State of California and $4.25 within the Tahoe region in the State of Nevada. The proceeds of these transit surcharges must be: (1) distributed to Tahoe transportation district; and (2) used to support transportation in the Tahoe region, except that $0.25 of the surcharge imposed in the Tahoe region in the State of Nevada must be distributed to the Tahoe Science Advisory Council to support its activities in the Tahoe region. Second, section 1 creates the Lake Tahoe Basin Scenic Byway Corridor Recreation Safety Zone, consisting of any portion of U.S. Highway 50, California State Route 28, Nevada State Route 28 and Nevada State Route 431 that is located in the Tahoe region and directly connected to a recreational destination or that has otherwise been designated as a scenic byway. Section 1 further authorizes the Tahoe transportation district to enter into an agreement with one or more local governments in the region to provide parking enforcement within the Safety Zone. If the district enters into such an agreement, the Tahoe transportation district may enter into a contract with a private company to provide such parking enforcement services but such a contract must not order, mandate or require the issuance of a certain number of parking citations or otherwise base a payment to the private company on the number of parking citations issued by the private company. Finally, section 1 authorizes the board of county commissioners in the Tahoe region to, upon any publicly owned property or right-of-way, construct, acquire, install, equip, maintain, operate and regulate parking facilities or parking spaces for use by the general public. Section 1 further authorizes such a board of county commissioners to: (1) enter into a contact, lease or other arrangement with the Tahoe transportation district to operate certain parking facilities or parking spaces; and (2) fix and charge reasonable fees for the use of any such parking facility or parking space. The proceeds of the fees for use of such parking that is along California State Route 28 or Nevada State Route 28 and connected to any recreational trail must be used to administer parking management programs and operate and maintain parking facilities or associated facilities, including sanitation, signage, recreational trails and public transit.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 277.200
BDR: 277.200