California Legislation Watch: Weekly Update

Screen Shot 2014-03-28 at 2.09.21 PM

For social media coverage focused on statewide issues, follow Melanie Curry @currymel on Twitter or like our Facebook page

Here is Streetsblog’s weekly highlight of legislation and events related to sustainable transportation at the California capitol.

  • This week, the legislature was out for Spring Recess, giving legislative staff time to prepare for the onslaught of bill hearings coming up in the next few weeks.
  • On Monday, Senate President Darrell Steinberg changed his mind about a carbon tax and instead proposed a new plan for spending revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade system.
  • California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee staff published its summary of the committee’s March hearing on CA high-speed rail. Its main conclusion: while numerous legal and fiscal challenges for the project remain, the most pressing issue is the lack of a plan to fill the funding shortfall of $15 to $21 billion.
  • Next week, the State Senate has postponed all hearings that were scheduled for Wednesday, April 23, so that senators and staff can spend the day discussing ethics. This comes in the wake of the recent arrest of Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) on charges of gun trafficking, the arraignment of Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) for bribery and corruption, and the suspension of Senator Rod Wright (D-Inglewood) for pretending to live in a house he didn’t live in.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Today’s Headlines

|
Pasadena Reviewing Fate Of Canceled 710 Freeway Housing (Pasadena Now) South L.A. Community Plan Update Aims To Shift Development To Commercial Corridors (Urbanize) California Ends Parking Mandates At Transit-Rich Locations (LAT) Southeast L.A. Toxic Tours Teach About Pollution And Resistance (LAist) 8 Places To Bike In Southern California (LAT) …9 Groups To Bike So Cal […]

Today’s Headlines

|
More On October 7 K/Crenshaw Line Opening (The Source, LAT, Daily News) United To House L.A. Could Fund Housing Needs (L.A. Taco) County Ends Mask Mandate On Transit (LAT) Metro Approves Motion To Advance Bus/BRT/Rail On Vermont (Daily News) Advisory Commission Approves Pasadena Ped Plan (Pasadena Now) Metrolink Train Stalled Due To Wire Theft (Daily […]