Building Buy Hits Snag

California’s Legislative Counsel says the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s $93 million purchase of a building in San Francisco, using bridge toll money, violates state law.

Legislative counsel Diane Boyer-Vine’s opinion, released on May 4, said the MTC’s decision to buy the building, which is set to become its headquarters, was “unauthorized by law,” according to a statement by state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord.

The “purchase would exceed the statutory authority of [the Bay Area Toll Authority] and MTC, and would be an impermissible use of bridge toll revenue,” the nonbinding opinion said.

The MTC, the San Francisco Bay Area’s transportation and financing agency, voted to buy the San Francisco building and move out of its Oakland headquarters despite criticism from local politicians.

Most of the upfront funding would come from BATA, which collects tolls on Bay Area bridges and issues bonds backed by the tolls, and is part of the MTC.

DeSaulnier has been leading a charge in the Legislature to stop the purchase of the building and bring the commission under tougher scrutiny.

He requested an audit of the MTC after its decision in July to pursue the purchase in the wake of recent toll hikes. The audit was approved by a unanimous vote by the California Join Legislative Audit Committee in August.

He also has authored a bill to stop the MTC from moving into the building until the audit is complete.

DeSaulnier, as chairman of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, has also authored legislation that would create a regionally elected board to oversee the operations of the MTC, which is now comprised of political appointees.

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