California Legislature Focuses on Transportation Funding

Even though the regular session of the California Legislature adjourned for the remainder of the year in September, the Transportation Funding Special Session that created a buzz this summer technically is still ongoing, leaving the door open to possible action.

Legislative leaders recently formed an Assembly-Senate conference committee to continue looking at the urgent need to stabilize and boost funding for maintenance and repair of local streets and highways, among other pressing needs, calling hearings for October 16 (2015) in Sacramento, and in Southern California on October 21. Serving as co-chairs are Senator Jim Beall (San Jose) and Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (Northeast Los Angeles). The other Bay Area representative included in the conference committee is Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (South San Francisco).

The October 16 hearing is informational in nature, in which the Legislative Analyst’s Office reviewing Beall’s Senate Bill x1-1, a transportation funding measure introduced during the special session, as well as Governor Brown’s proposed funding package and a number of other proposals introduced during the special session. A range of interests are testifying at the hearings. (See background information assembled by the conference committee.)

This story is an update to a story that ran on August 31, 2015: Funding Drought Leads to Hot Month for Transportation