Good news! We’re one step closer to getting California’s transportation leaders to consider how their decisions affect low-income and disadvantaged communities.

AB 179 just passed the State Assembly, in a vote of 44 to 20. AB 179 (Cervantes, D-Corona) would require that one of the 11 voting members of the California Transportation Commission have expertise in environmental justice.

For Immediate Release

April 6, 2017

Coalition statement about passage of SB1

Statement from 32 organizations representing walking, bicycling, public transit, public health, social equity, environmental, and environmental justice concerns on today’s passage of transportation funding bill SB 1

SB 1 will make major improvements to the transportation system in California, and our coalition of more than 80 organization supported many elements of the package. We appreciate the bill’s focus on fixing roads first and investing significant dollars in public transportation and safe walking and biking, yet we believe there is still more work ahead to target and prioritize transportation investment to benefit disadvantaged communities.

California is suffering from a serious shortfall in transportation funding. Two years ago, Governor Brown called for a special legislative session to address this with what would have been the state’s largest transportation funding increase in decades. Though the special session ultimately ended without a deal in place, the need continues to grow.

Now, a new bill nears passage, and it has some major improvements.

But an eleventh-hour change from the trucking lobby is posing a grave threat to air quality. We are particularly concerned about what it could mean for communities who have already suffered from pollution for too long. You can help: Call your State Senator and Assemblymember to say NO to this threat. Find their info here.

On Monday, ClimatePlan released a new report—Leading the Way: Policies and Practices for Sustainable Communities—at an all-day event in Sacramento, bringing together elected officials, advocates, planners, and other leaders from across California to share successful tools for creating sustainable communities.

Leading the Way presents the best strategies yet—what we’re calling “leading practices”—that regions around the state have used for public engagement, funding, planning land-use scenarios, and more. It offers inspiration and solutions that advocates and planners can use in their own communities. You can download the executive summary here or the full report here.

Whew! This year’s legislative season, which ended last week, was quite a whirlwind. While ClimatePlan doesn’t endorse legislation, we work to keep our partners informed about bills that might influence all of our work.

Hang on to your hat — here’s a high-speed rundown: