Executive Director Steve Heminger's Report to the Commission Meeting of January 22, 2014
Governor’s Budget Release
Sacramento, January 10
Buoyed by the strong state economy, Governor Brown released his budget proposal for FY 2014-15 that contained good news across many fronts, including transportation.
TRB Annual Meeting
Washington DC, January 13-16
Numerous MTC staff attended the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board and presented papers on various subjects. I was originally scheduled to attend, but came down with the flu and stayed home. In my absence, Randy Rentschler made a presentation on metropolitan economies and transportation investment that I thought you might find of interest.
Congress Passes Omnibus Spending Bill
Washington DC, January 16
Hard on the heels of the two-year budget agreement reached at the close of 2013, Congress has passed a mammoth 1,500 page appropriations bill for FY 2014 that will fund the federal government through September 30. Two key highlights: (1) The TIGER discretionary grant program will live for another year at $600 million in annual funding; and (2) the rider sponsored by Central Valley Congressman Jeff Denham that would have banned any new federal funding for California’s high-speed rail system was removed from the final bill.
U.S. DOT Staff Changes
The election of Bill de Blasio as the new mayor of New York City unexpectedly has led to two major staffing changes at the U. S. Department of Transportation. Polly Trottenberg has resigned as DOT’s Undersecretary for Policy to become Mayor de Blasio’s director of transportation. And Peter Rogoff has announced that he will be leaving his post as Federal Transit Administrator to take Polly’s place in the Secretary’s office. The undersecretary position requires Senate confirmation. We wish both Polly and Peter good luck with their new responsibilities.
MTC Operational Statistics
The monthly report on the performance of MTC’s operating programs: