More information about this week's hearings:
1. Tues 3/14 1:30p Joint Senate Transportation and Senate Budget Subcommittee on Transportation Hearing
This meeting is about making the most of federal transportation infrastructure funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA.
- Example comment: "Thank you for considering the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding which provides nearly a 20% increase in highway maintenance funds. As you may have heard, there's a fiscal cliff creating the risk of major transit service cuts. Please consider opportunities to flex this increased funding to transit, as encouraged by President Biden's recently released budget. We must help regrow ridership from impacts of COVID. We can achieve this and still come out ahead in repairing roads."
- 1-minute dial-in comments will be at the end of the meeting, typically about 2-3 hours from the start time --Dial-in Information: Phone Number: 877-226-8163 Access Code: 7362834
- The agenda is here
- Hearing information and livestream link is available at https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/, (The first section under Joint Hearing - Transportation Committee and Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, the Judiciary, Labor and Transportation)
- You can also send a written comment prior to the hearing to SBUD.Committee@senate.ca.gov
2. Weds 3/15 9:30a Assembly Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 Hearing on Transportation
- The agenda can be found here
- Hearing information is available at https://abgt.assembly.ca.gov/hearings#toggle (Scroll to Wednesday 3/15, Budget Subcommittee No. 3 On Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy, And Transportation)
- 1-minute dial-in comments will be at the end of the meeting, typically about 2-3 hours from the start time -- Phone number: 877-692-8957 / Access Code: 131 54 47
- The livestream will be available at https://www.assembly.ca.gov/schedules-publications/todays-events
- You can also send a written comment prior to the hearing to BudgetSub3@asm.ca.gov
- Key talking points you can speak to include (full talking points here):
1. how Governor Newsom's budget worsens the impending budget shortfalls transit operators are facing
2. how service cuts would undermine the state's ability to meet ambitious climate goals as transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions
3. the necessity of public transit for much of California residents' commutes, especially for those earning less than $35,000
4. how public transit supports good-paying jobs for thousands of California workers
5. that the status quo of transit funding was not good enough to support climate, equity, and mobility goals pre-pandemic -- we have the opportunity to restrategize the structure of our transit systems by pairing short-term operations funding with strategic investments in things like public safety, workforce development and retention, transit priority for more reliable service to help rebuild ridership.
