Proponents of an effort to repeal SB 1 (last year’s increase in the State Gas Tax) submitted nearly 1 million signatures to place a proposition on the statewide ballot this November, widely exceeding the minimum number to qualify (584,000).
A June ballot measure to be voted on in the nine counties of the Bay Area will help address the region’s air quality, congestion, and transportation needs. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the state legislature worked to place the measure on the ballot, which will raise bridge toll revenue to finance $4.45 billion in transportation improvements, including:
$500 million for new BART cars
The California Transportation Commission has announced another (likely final) workshop on the applications and guidelines for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program on Tuesday April 17 in Sacramento. The workshop will also cover SB 1 accountability guidelines. Please see the meeting announcement with full details including how to participate remotely here.
In recent months, the Safe Routes Partnership has solicited input from constituents throughout California about the potential impact of SB 328, which would require middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. We received input from stakeholders on all sides of the legislation and have done some careful research and consideration of the issues.
On March 23rd, the California Air Resources Board held a board meeting in the City of Riverside. A key agenda item was a vote on setting regional goals for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets as mandated by SB 375. Advocates hoped that SB 375 would encourage regional governments to coordinate land use and transportation planning efforts to curb GHG emission from driving. The board heard testimonial presentations from all Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), who must implement the targets at the regional level.
Last fall, equity and environmental justice advocates were pleased at the passage of AB 179. The legislation mandated reform of the California Transportation Commission (CTC) board and placed requirements to ensure diverse representation, including experience working in disadvantaged communities. Despite the promising requirements written into AB 179, Governor Brown just re-appointed two incumbents who do not meet the criteria of equity or climate justice champions.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) held the final public workshop for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program on March 1, releasing the latest draft applications the night before. While we had initially pushed to retain standalone questions on public health, we had agreed to a compromise to have public health addressed in the Statement of Need question. We were heartened to see much of our compromise language for those questions adopted, even though our suggestions for questions pertaining to addressing the need were apparently not included this round.
In late February, we joined our partners in the Sustainable Communities for All (SC4A) Coalition for a lobby day at the State Capitol, meeting with staff in the Governor’s Office, State Senate and State Assembly to discuss how to spend revenues from California’s Cap and Trade program.
A number of state agencies are having public input meetings this month. We’ll be there, and hope to see you too!
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| Safe Routes to School in California |
