Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Transportation Funding

Transportation Priorities Jostle for CA’s Cap-and-Trade Revenue

By Melanie Curry | Mar 21, 2014 | 18 Comments

A series of hearings in Sacramento have been revisiting California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, Assembly Bill (A.B.) 32, which calls for a statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to 1990 levels by 2020. Two recent hearings have opened discussions of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed spending plan for the revenue received so far from the state’s […]

Sen. Steinberg Proposes Carbon Tax on Gas Instead of Cap-and-Trade

By Melanie Curry | Feb 21, 2014 | 8 Comments

CA Senator Darrell Steinberg proposed a change yesterday to California’s nascent cap-and-trade program that would replace next year’s cap on fuel emissions with a per-gallon carbon tax. Steinberg called it a “broader, more stable, and more flexible” way to reduce emissions from fuels than cap-and-trade. His proposal would apply the revenue raised from the tax […]

Feds Announce Regional Connector Funding, Hint at Purple Line Funding

By Joe Linton | Feb 20, 2014 | 13 Comments

This morning, local elected officials and federal administrators joined together to announce that Metro’s Regional Connector is now fully funded. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is granting $670 million in New Starts funding to the Regional Connector, and also extending a low-interest TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) loan of $160 million. A document […]

Governor’s Budget Earns High Marks, But Active Transportation Shutout from Cap and Trade Funds

By Damien Newton | Jan 10, 2014 | 5 Comments

Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown officially unveiled his budget after days of speculation and leaked reports to newspapers. One of the highlights of the budget is how Brown proposes to spend the “Cap and Trade”* funds. Last year, the state borrowed against these funds to fill a gap in the general operating budget. This year, with […]

In Battle Over Pensions, Federal Government Lets Unions Hold Transit Hostage

By Damien Newton | Aug 15, 2013 | 9 Comments

Labor unions weren’t happy when Governor Jerry Brown signed the Public Employees Pension Reform Act of 2012. The law, which applies to government workers across the state, allows government agencies more flexibility in extending the retirement age, increase employee contribution, and halt the practice of “pension spiking” for new employees. A full summary of the […]

Obama’s Budget Would Save the Transpo Trust Fund. If Only It Were Real.

By Tanya Snyder | May 21, 2013 | No Comments

President Obama’s transportation budget proposal can give you a contact high if you stand too close. The prospect of budget surpluses — in the near-term, at least — is intoxicating. And the source of those surpluses — from Overseas Contingency Operations — is a hallucination. The Congressional Budget Office, in its invaluable “just-the-facts” way, released […]

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