Association leadership has voted to reorganize and reprioritize key standing committees, task forces, working groups, and more. Here’s what you need to know.
By Arianna Smith
Managing Editor
Transit California
It’s time for change at the Association: coming this summer, several standing committees and other guiding Association entities will undergo timely restructuring and reorganization.
In considering what reorganization recommendations to make, Association staff and leadership identified several goals of the effort: to further align standing committees and task forces with members’ top priorities and establish more structure, to secure staff support so that committees present value to all Association members and membership categories, and to end overlaps in priorities between committees and task forces.
The specific changes were proposed by Association staff and committee members after extensive formal dialogue, facilitated discussion, individual committee chair interviews, and member input. Executive Committee members approved the changes at their biennial retreat earlier this year.
Why now?
The new updates are a continuation of the long-term work to implement the Association’s Strategic Plan for 2023-28, as well as the result of facilitated discussion by Association leadership and the Association’s Executive Committee.
As part of that plan, the Committee created several temporary, time-limited committees, subcommittees, and task forces with shorter-term goals to support the work of the Association’s standing committees. These included the Subcommittees on Transit Operations Funding, Cap-and-Trade, and Transit Operator Safety and Security; the Transit Transformation Advisory Committee; and the Interagency Zero-Emission Vehicle Task Force.
These additional bodies played key roles in achieving major policy and budget successes for Association members, including securing $5.1 billion in flexible funding to California transit agencies through SB 125, $600 million annually in climate investments through 2040 for the competitive Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. They also ensured the release of streamlined exemptions from the Innovative Clean Transit regulation, a final Transit Transformation Task Force Report that was published without the most problematic proposed recommendations, and the enactment of Association-sponsored AB 394 (Wilson) to improve transit employee protections from violence and harassment.
These additional bodies achieved important successes for Association members but drew focus away from the Association’s standing committees. The Association’s efforts to restructure and reorganize its standing committees will rebalance the Association’s committee structure returning focus to the Association’s standing committees.
What’s getting reorganized and reprioritized
Currently, the Association’s many advocacy activities and member services are guided by eleven standing committees that manage membership activities and finances, develop and provide advice on public policy proposals, and steer advocacy efforts. Association member participants in these committees offer critical leadership and insight in advancing public transit policy priorities.
First, the two separate bodies of the Maintenance Committee and the Zero-Emission Vehicle Task Force will be consolidated, creating a new “Fleet Maintenance and Zero-Emission Transition Committee.” The change reflects the long-term need to provide guidance on ZEV policy beyond a term-limited task force within a maintenance framework. The new committee will provide a forum on maintenance and zero-emission vehicle and infrastructure topics. It will also provide advice on maintenance topics to the Executive Committee and Association membership, as well as review and provide technical assessments and adopt positions on zero emission vehicle and infrastructure-related state and federal legislation, regulations and proceedings, and funding programs. Committee members will also monitor the implementation of Air Resources Board regulations regarding Innovative Clean Transit, Heavy-Duty Omnibus, Commercial Harborcraft, and Advanced Clean Fleets. Finally, it will advise on educational content development on the topics of maintenance, zero emission vehicles, and infrastructure. The committee will transition to a member-driven committee, where the committee members and chair set the agenda rather than staff. It will have quarterly meetings, and membership caps will be lifted unless changed by the chair.
Reflecting the rise of modern technologies used in transit - from artificial intelligence to shared mobility - the Information Technology Committee, originally constituted in the 1990s, will be maintained but renamed the “Technology and Innovation Committee.” The committee will continue to provide a forum on advanced technologies, serve as a resource to Association staff and the Executive Committee on recommending statewide policy related to advanced technologies, and advise on educational content development on advanced technologies topics. The new committee will meet monthly and will lift membership caps unless changed by the chair.
The Operations Committee’s priorities will remain largely unchanged, and will continue to focus its efforts on providing a forum for the discussion of all operations issues and advising the Executive Committee on issues related to operations and on educational content development on operations topics. However, it will also become a member-driven committee with quarterly meetings.
An Operations Funding Subcommittee will be constituted under the Executive Committee to provide a forum for long-term funding solutions for transit.
Finally, the Executive Committee will initiate a separate review of the Rail Operations & Regulatory Committee to determine its continued utility to the Association and its members.
Updates to Legislative Committee Work
Currently, the Association relies on both the State Legislative Committee and Federal Legislative Committee to review policy proposals, help the Association formulate and take positions on introduced legislation and regulations, and determine the Association’s annual sponsored legislative package and budgetary actions. The Federal Legislative Committee was created in 2015 to help elevate the Association's profile and voice in Washington, D.C. and address policy developments, impacting only California transit agencies, including the transition zero-emission vehicles and PEPRA and 13(c).
For eleven years, members of the Federal Legislative Committee, Executive leadership, and Association staff traveled annually to Washington, D.C. to lobby congressional representatives and Administration appointees and engage the American Public Transportation Association regarding the Association’s budget and legislative priorities.
However, in reflecting on the return from these activities, the Executive Committee acted to disband the Federal Legislative Committee, following the current term. In its place, and as necessary, the Association will constitute a Reauthorization Task Force to identify and communicate the Association’s priorities before future reauthorization bills.
Looking ahead
Now that the Executive Committee has approved the restructuring, Association staff expects the changes to begin implementation in July 2026. Association members who are not currently committee members, but who are considering participation in the updated committees, should watch for a solicitation by email in the coming weeks.