The Third District Court of Appeals has announced that oral arguments in Shaw v. Chiang, the California Transit Assocciation lawsuit regarding the state's raid on transit funding, will take place on June 16.

The original suit filed in October, 2007 contested the diversion of $1.259 billion from public transit funding as part of the 2007-08 state budget agreement. The Association argued that the raid on transit funding constituted a violation of a number of statewide voter initiatives that created funding streams and specified that the funds be directed specifically to public transportation.  In January, 2008, the Superior Court of California granted a partial victory to the Association, but the legislature quickly responded by reconfiguring the law on which the favorable portion of the court's decision was based, effectively preserving the complete funding raid.

The Association responded by appealing the Superior Court decision, filing opening briefs with the appellate court in September, 2008. The upcoming oral arguments mark the final stage of the appeal process. The appellate court's ruling is not expected until possibly several weeks after oral arguments.