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Senate Committee Grills CA High-Speed Rail Authority on Its Funding Plan
Doubts about the High Speed Rail Authority's ability to fund its estimated $68 billion program dominated last week's Senate Transportation and Housing Committee hearing (see the background report in this PDF). Committee Chair Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) said he was “somewhat skeptical” about the Authority's 2014 Draft Business Plan and questioned CAHSRA CEO Jeff Morales on the authority's reliance on uncertain funding sources.
April 1, 2014
California Legislation Watch: Weekly Update
California's legislative season is heating up, and both the Assembly and the Senate are beginning to read and discuss the bills wending their way though the session. Here's Streetsblog's weekly highlight of events and legislation related to transportation at the capitol.
March 28, 2014
Report: In Cutting Emissions, CAHSR Expensive Compared to Local Upgrades
Streetfilms featured Los Angeles' Orange Line BRT and bike path in 2009. A new UCLA report says infrastructure projects like the Orange Line are a better way to invest cap-and-trade funds than CA High-Speed Rail.
March 25, 2014
Transportation Priorities Jostle for CA’s Cap-and-Trade Revenue
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 cap-and-trade program, implemented as part of A.B. 32, and another recent Senate hearing discussed the program's impacts to date.
March 21, 2014
“Our Fears Have Not Been Allayed”: The Limits of Regulatory Powers Over Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction Techniques
"Qué significa 'fracking' en español?" the woman wearing a "People Not Pozos" shirt and a "Ban Fracking Now" sticker asked me.
March 14, 2014
Bill Suspending Hit-and-Run Drivers’ Licenses Passes Assembly Committee
The California Assembly's Public Safety Committee voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve A.B. 1532, which would require an automatic license suspension for drivers who flee the scene of a crash where a person is hit, even if that person is not injured.
March 12, 2014
Caltrans on the Hot Seat: Assembly Looks at State, Local Planning Tensions
It was the California State Assembly's turn to review the recent State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) report on Caltrans at a Transportation Committee hearing Monday.
March 5, 2014
Sen. Steinberg Proposes Carbon Tax on Gas Instead of Cap-and-Trade
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.
February 21, 2014
Senate Hearing Highlights Report on Caltrans’ Car-Centric Ways
With a recent report calling out the need for Caltrans to focus less on building highways and more on letting cities build people-friendly streets, state legislators have an eye trained on the agency's progress towards reform.
February 13, 2014