Association Priority Bills Head to Governor's Desk
Last week marked the end of the first year of the 2023-24 Regular Legislative Session, with all bill votes concluding on Thursday, September 14. The Legislature has now officially adjourned for "interim recess," with legislators returning to their districts through the end of the year. The Legislature will reconvene to start the second year of the two-year session on January 3, 2024.
Among the critical bills passed by the Legislature in the final days of session are the following Association priority bills:
SB 410 (Becker) Powering Up Californians Act. This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish, by September 30, 2024, reasonable average and maximum target energization time periods to facilitate connecting new customers and upgrading the service of existing customers to the electrical grid. The Association supports this bill.
SB 434 (Min) Street Harassment. This bill would require the top 10 transit agencies (by ridership) to implement a survey produced by the Mineta Transportation Institute to reduce street harassment on and around transit services. The Association supports this bill.
SB 747 (Caballero) Surplus Lands Act. This bill would amend the Surplus Lands Act (SLA) to address many of the concerns and comments raised by the California Transit Association and further amend the SLA to permit more economic development on transit properties. The Association supports this bill.
AB 719 (Boerner) Nonemergency Medical Transportation. This bill would require Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans (MCP) to reimburse public transit operators for nonmedical transportation (NMT) and nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) services. The Association co-sponsored this bill with San Diego MTS.
AB 1377 (Friedman) Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program. This bill would require applicants of the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program (HHAP) to provide quantifiable of data to the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) about the steps the applicant has taken to improve delivery of housing, assistance, and similar services on transit facilities and within a transit district's jurisdiction to people experiencing homelessness. The Association supports this bill.
The advancement of these bills to Governor Newsom is significant for our priorities as an Association, as they address several of the most pressing issues faced by California transit agencies, including funding and revenue source diversity (SB 747, AB 719, ACA 1 - see below), rider experience and safety (SB 434, AB 1377), and the transition to zero-emission vehicle technologies (SB 410).
Later this week, we will distribute a Legislative Bulletin that details the final status of all the bills we took positions on this year. We thank you for your support in moving our critical priorities forward!
ACA 1: California Voters to Decide
One of the Association's long-standing priorities, ACA 1 (Aguiar-Curry), also crossed the finish line last week when it cleared its last legislative hurdle and passed off the Senate Floor.
Now, the measure heads to the November 2024 General Election ballot for voters to decide whether to amend the California Constitution. If approved by the California electorate, ACA 1 would amend the California Constitution to reduce the vote threshold from 2/3 to 55-percent for special taxes and general obligation bonds that fund affordable housing and infrastructure, including public transit capital projects.
The Association has been a vocal supporter of ACA 1 since it was first introduced in 2019 and thanks Assembly Speaker pro Tem Aguiar-Curry for her leadership in moving the measure forward.
Association Hosts 2023 Federal Lobby Day
On September 19-20, the Association will host its 2023 Federal Lobby Day, our first in-person lobby day since 2019.
This annual event is organized by our Federal Legislative Committee and brings Executive Committee and Federal Legislative Committee members to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of California's Congressional delegation, the policy and appropriations committees with jurisdiction of public transit and rail programs, and the President's Administration to advocate for the interests of California's transit industry.
This year, Legislative Advocates Matt Robinson and Alchemy Graham and I will lead a delegation of 15 Association members from across the state to discuss with our representatives and federal officials the need to fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and to provide California with its fair share of zero-emission vehicle funding. We will also provide updates on our industry's operations funding needs and the status of the ongoing PEPRA and 13(c) litigation. While in our nation's capital, we will also meet with leadership from the American Public Transportation Association to share information and further strengthen our decades-long partnership.
Over the last decade, our Federal Lobby Day has been instrumental to elevating California transit industry's priorities in federal policy and funding discussions and has helped inform the development of our federal legislative program.
Association Responds to Formal Draft SB 125 Guidelines
As we previously reported to you, the Budget Act of 2023-24 included SB 125 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), which imposes new accountability and reform requirements on regions and their transit agencies to access the $5.1 billion in funds authorized under AB 102 (Committee on Budget). SB 125 requires the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to adopt guidelines that provide greater structure and specificity to these accountability and reform requirements.
On September 1, CalSTA released formal draft guidelines to implement SB 125. The release followed the earlier release of informal draft guidelines on August 19. When adopted, the guidelines will govern access to the General Fund-supported Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program. AB 102 appropriated $4 billion in General Fund support to the TIRCP over the next two fiscal years as well as $1.1 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and Public Transportation Account support to the Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program (ZETCP) over the next four years.
The release of the formal draft guidelines formally opened public comment period, which closed on September 14, and which will help facilitate the adoption of final guidelines by CalSTA by September 30. Working through our Transit Operations Funding Subcommittee, the Association submitted a comment letter in response to the formal draft guidelines. We will continue to work with CalSTA to ensure our recommendations are address, as the guidelines are adopted on September 30. Read our letter here.
Association to Unveil Concurrent Session Program Later this Week. Register for Fall Conference Today!
The Association's 58th Annual Fall Conference & Expo, hosted by Foothill Transit, Access Services, and the City of Pasadena, is our marquee event of the year and will take place November 15-17 in Pasadena, CA. CNN political contributor and show host, Van Jones, will kick-off the event with a timely and lively conversation moderated by Fox 11 News co-anchor Elex Michaelson.
This week, we will release our full program of concurrent sessions, which is informed in part by our recent call for proposals. You can expect a program focused on strategies to grow your agency's ridership, best practices to meet your agency's workforce needs, guidance on centering and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion principles in your management practices, and critical lessons for transitioning to zero-emission technology. As you take in our full program later this week, I encourage you to review the offerings in our new concurrent session track: Community Outreach and Community Benefits. We intentionally designed this track to further elevate the critical roles public transit plays in our communities, and to present educational offerings that will be of interests across multiple departments at our member organizations.
To register, please visit the Association's website.
CARB Releases Advanced Clean Fleets Regulations Factsheets and Compliance Planning Tool
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the adoption of the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulation, the latest of a series of truck regulations aimed at driving the commercialization of zero-emission vehicles in fleets that are best suited to make the transition. CARB is committed to the successful implementation of the ACF Regulation.
To assist in this effort, CARB staff have developed several factsheets that provide overviews of the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation, the High Priority and Federal Fleets Requirements, the State and Local Government Agency Fleet Requirements, the Drayage Truck Requirements, and the ZEV Milestones Option. All factsheets will be posted on the Advanced Clean Fleets Factsheets page.
APTA Soliciting Comments on Standards for Bus Transit Systems
The APTA Standards Program has advanced several documents for public review and commenting. APTA is seeking feedback from all industry stakeholders to help shape the language found in the latest set of documents. The Public Comment period is an essential component of APTA's consensus-based standards development process.
Executive-level administrators, operators, transit security professionals, and others are invited to provide their comments, criticisms, or recommendations. APTA will accept comments from industry stakeholders through September 29, 2023. The current set of documents addresses the following topic: Zero-Emission Bus Maintenance Training. To view these documents and submit comments, visit the Standards Public Comment page.