The department shall prepare and submit to the Legislature not later than July 1, 1976, a priority list of abandoned railroad lines having rights-of-way that may be developed for public transportation uses.

In preparing the list, the department shall consider the State Rail Plan prepared pursuant to Section 7701 of the Public Utilities Code and shall also consult with any city, county, transit district, or regional transportation planning entity within whose boundaries those abandoned railroad lines are located.

The department may consider contributions by local agencies toward the purchase of those rights-of-way as a factor in ranking the rights-of-way on the priority list.