Association Highlights Federal Priorities at Successful 2023 Federal Lobby Day
I was pleased to join Association leaders in Washington, D.C. last week for our 2023 Federal Lobby Day, our first in-person lobby day since 2019.
Organized by our Federal Legislative Committee, our Federal Lobby Day brought fifteen Executive Committee and Federal Legislative Committee members as well Legislative Advocates Matt Robinson and Alchemy Graham to our nation's capital to discuss the Association's federal legislative, budgetary, and regulatory priorities. Over an action-packed two days, two Association delegations - one representing our Northern California members, and the other representing our Southern California members - met with California's Congressional delegation, the policy and appropriations committees with jurisdiction of public transit and rail programs, the American Public Transportation Association, and the President's Administration, including FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool, to advocate for the interests of California's transit industry, as outlined in our 2023 Federal Legislative Program.
In meeting with our California representatives and federal officials, we emphasized the need to fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - a priority that is now the subject of immense debate in Congress as a government shutdown looms (see additional information below) - and to provide California with its fair share of zero-emission vehicle funding. We also provided updates on our industry's operations funding needs and the status of the ongoing PEPRA and 13(c) litigation.
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 annual development of our federal legislative program. This week, the Association's Federal Legislative Committee will meet to debrief on the event and discuss next steps for action this year. The information we received during the event will help inform the development of our 2024 Federal Legislative Program, which will get underway in the coming weeks. For photos of the event, please see the Association's X account.
Association Unveils Concurrent Session Program for Fall Conference & Expo as Early Bird Deadline Approaches
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.
In case you missed it, we released our full program of concurrent sessions, which was 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, 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.
We also have an exciting speaker announcement coming later this week. Keep an eye out!
To see the agenda with concurrent sessions and to register, please visit the Association's website. Remember to register by this Wednesday, September 27 to take advantage of our early bird discount.
Federal Legislative Update: Government Shutdown Impacts on Public Transportation
The following update is repackaged from APTA's Legislative Update, dated September 25, 2023.
This week, Congress must enact a continuing appropriations act, or Continuing Resolution (CR), to prevent a government shutdown beginning Sunday, October 1. At this point, it is unclear if Congress will reach a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to prevent a shutdown.
The impacts of a government shutdown on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies vary considerably. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) operations will continue and none of its 700 employees will be furloughed. FTA will be able to reimburse transit agencies for previously approved projects. However, it is not clear that FTA will be able to approve new grants.
Conversely, 350 employees (35 percent) of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would be furloughed during a government shutdown. Remaining FRA personnel would be focused primarily on activities necessary to protect life and property (e.g., FRA safety inspections). Similarly, 455 employees (25 percent) of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation would also be furloughed.
Federal Transit Administration
According to DOT, during a government shutdown, FTA operations will continue because the personnel are financed by the Highway Trust Fund or advance appropriations under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Therefore, none of FTA's 700 employees will be furloughed.
The impact on FTA activities is less clear. FTA has sufficient liquidating cash to support several months of reimbursements for previously approved projects. In addition, activities funded from IIJA advance appropriations will continue during a lapse in annual appropriations. However, it is not clear that FTA will be able to approve new grants. In particular, to the extent that FTA activities involve other agencies, the personnel of those agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of the Interior) may be furloughed, which could stop progress on projects.
Federal Railroad Administration
According to DOT, 350 (35 percent) of FRA's 1,006 employees would be furloughed during a government shutdown. Remaining FRA personnel would be focused primarily on activities necessary to protect life and property. For instance, FRA staff that manage rail accident/incident investigations would continue working. The continuous inspector presence on railroad property allows for the proactive review and identification of unsafe operations. When safety hazards are identified, FRA railroad safety personnel ensure uniform and consistent feedback to railroads on noncompliance violations of federal safety laws and regulations. These activities would continue during a lapse in appropriations. Employees of the Office of Railroad Development would also continue working during a lapse in appropriations on activities funded under FRA's Oversight account related to the award, administration, oversight, and technical assistance of FRA programs.
FRA would not continue any of its unfunded core agency functions. No contracts, purchase orders, or other documents obligating funds would be executed. FRA would not advance any rulemakings, including those related to railroad safety.
Read APTA's Legislative Update here.
ICYMI: 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 by CalSTA this week on September 30.
FTA Issues Dear Colleague Letter on Grant Programs to Support Real-time ADA Paratransit Service
To promote equity in public transportation, FTA has issued a Dear Colleague Letter to highlight FTA grant programs that can be used to provide paratransit service to eligible riders on a real-time basis and/or allow for intermediate stops. While next-day, advanced reservation service is the minimum requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations for ADA complementary paratransit, FTA grant recipients have the option to provide more flexible paratransit service based on community needs. As the letter explains, funding through Urbanized Area Formula Grants (Section 5307), Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities (Section 5310), Formula Grants for Rural Areas (Section 5311), and Buses and Bus Facilities (Section 5339) programs can be used to support local decisions to provide real-time paratransit and/or allow for intermediate stops.
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