Saving California transit: Some progress but not enough - Countdown to 6/15 budget deadline

The news on saving California transit over the last week includes a small amount of progress but not nearly enough. Read on for what happened at last week’s state budget hearings, what’s happening next, and what you can do before the budget deadline on midnight of June 15.

Summary: The current proposal in the legislature is not near enough to save transit. More funding sources need to be on the table, including unallocated highway dollars and discretionary cap and trade money, in order to prevent severe transit cuts that would be devastating to people who depend on transit and to the climate, housing and economic needs of the state.

Earlier in May, the governor’s updated budget proposal had offered nothing to help save transit. Last week, the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Transportation (proposal) and the Assembly Budget Committee (transit recommendations page 78) approved their budget proposals for transportation. These proposals from the legislature offered more than nothing, but still not nearly enough.

Both houses of the legislature rejected the governor’s proposed $2 billion cut to the Transit Intercity Rail and Capital Program (TIRCP) and would allow that restored capital funding to be used flexibly to fund transit operations. Unfortunately, these proposals would force transit agencies to choose between preventing service cuts and important capital priorities and would abandon over $6B+ in federal matching funds.

Neither the Senate or Assembly's proposals provide nearly enough funding to meet the need to prevent transit cuts and regrow ridership.

Negotiations continue - focus on the top 5+1

Thanks to your persistent advocacy, negotiations are ongoing among the state’s legislative leaders and the governor about doing more to save transit. The negotiations are shifting to the top 5 leaders in the state - the legislative leadership (Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon, plus incoming speaker Rivas) - the legislative budget leaders (Budget Chair Ting in the Assembly, Budget Chair Skinner in the Senate), and Governor Newsom.

These need to hear from you to know that it is critical to save transit!

Here’s what you can do NOW to save transit in California:

Click here now to send a letter to California’s top 5 leaders demanding that they save transit by the June 15 budget deadline.

And starting on Tuesday, we need to burn up the phone lines in their offices. Click here for the numbers to call on Tuesday when people are back in the office.

Thanks so much for your support - the door is open a crack to save transit and we need to keep pushing.