Good news! In our June newsletter, we asked you to call Governor Newsom’s office and request that he support the legislature’s budget calling for public transit systems funding. On July 30, the governor announced that he and the legislature had “reached an agreement that provides $5.1 billion in emergency relief to support statewide public transit systems and their workers.”
Why This Matters
According to our friends at Seamless Bay Area, and thanks to thousands of riders speaking up about the importance of funding transit, the draft state budget released by legislators last month included transit operations funding for the first time. As approved by the legislature and signed by the governor, the new funding will stave off the immediate threat of service cuts.
What We Asked the Gov to Support
The Senate-Assembly agreement provided $1.1 billion over three years to transit agencies for operations. Plus, the agreement restored $2 billion in previously announced cuts to transit capital funding. We asked the governor to approve the budget proposed by the legislature reversing the $2 billion in transit capital cuts and providing $1.1 billion for operations. We also asked him to support using one-time federal highway funds to further meet transit operations’ funding needs.
What the Gov Signed
In his published statement, the governor quoted Masood Samereie of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations (SFCDMA), who said, “With regards to transit, an allocation of $5.1 billion over four years has been designated, fully restoring the $4 billion for construction and incorporating an additional $1.1 billion from cap-and-trade funds.”
If you called the governor’s office, in support of this funding, now is a good time to give them another call to thank him for his support of public transit and the reduction of greenhouse gases.
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Portions of this article first appeared in our June 2023 Newsletter
