Re: SB 1 (Beall) - Transportation Funding - Oppose Unless Amended

Dear Chairman Beall,

The undersigned organizations have a strong interest in how California invests federal and state transportation dollars, and our coalition has actively participated in the transportation funding dialogue throughout the last two years. We will support a proposal that includes the five recommendations we outline in principle below, and hope to work with your staff and other transportation stakeholders to craft those solutions. However, since we have not made progress toward those amendments to date, we regretfully oppose Senate Bill 1 at this time.

We appreciate the importance of maintaining our road infrastructure, and the urgency to find a funding solution as maintenance costs continue to climb. We also support your proposal for up to $150 million to the Active Transportation Program and 3.5 percent diesel sales tax to State Transit Assistance. In addition, we support investments to electrify freight trucks and equipment and reduce burdens on communities by the goods movement sector as proposed in SB 4, and want to see those provisions accompany additional infrastructure investment to the Trade Corridor Improvement Fund.

However, we still strongly believe that funding for our roads must be balanced with investments in a future transportation system that protects our environment, promotes social and economic justice, and improves our communities. We request amendments to address the following:

1. Advance social and economic justice by ensuring that significant investments from this package--not only from the ATP or GGRF programs--provide meaningful benefits for low income communities and people of color who are disproportionately in need of greater mobility, pay more than their fair share of the regressive taxes proposed, and bear the brunt of the health and safety impacts of our transportation system. 

 2. Dramatically increase sustainable funding for operating public transit and reducing fares, to provide high-quality, efficient transit service especially for low-income individuals and families.

3. Align transportation investments with federal, health-based clean air and our 2030 and 2050 climate standards by prioritizing projects that reduce vehicle miles traveled, while also improving air quality, physical health, and access for those without a car. Any funding that could potentially expand freeways or add new road capacity must be tracked and mitigated with projects that contribute to attainment of our air quality and climate standards. 

4. Increase Expertise and Accountability at the California Transportation Commission, which is responsible for oversight and approval of federal and state transportation dollars, and advises the Legislature on transportation policy. Future appointees to the Commission should be required to have expertise in social equity, climate change, and sustainable transportation.

5. Oppose any rollback of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which improves project outcomes and reduces environmental impacts of projects, by offering opportunities to inform the public about project benefits and for the public to inform the project.

Including these five reforms will ensure progress toward a transportation system that provides clean, affordable access to opportunity for all Californians, and that makes our communities healthy and safe places to live and work while addressing air quality and climate change. We look forward to working with your staff and other transportation stakeholders to find compromise on our concerns.

Sincerely,

National & Statewide

Jeanie Ward-Waller
Policy Director California Bicycle Coalition

Tony Dang
Executive Director California Walks

Joshua Stark
State Policy Director  TransForm

Chanell Fletcher
Associate Director ClimatePlan

Kyle Jones
Policy Advocate Sierra Club California

Bill Sadler
California Senior Policy Manager Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Linda Rudolph, MD, MPH
Director Center for Climate Change and Health, Public Health Institute

Rico Mastrodonato
Sr Government Relations Manager The Trust For Public Land

Richard Marcantonio
Managing Attorney Public Advocates Inc.

Julie Snyder
Legislative Advocate, Planning & Conservation League

Angela Glover Blackwell
CEO PolicyLink

Laura R. Cohen, J.D.
Director, Western Region Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Kristen Pawling
LA Urban Solutions Coordinator  Natural Resources Defense Council

Bill Magavern
Policy Director Coalition for Clean Air

Miya Yoshitani
Executive Director  Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

Amy Vanderwarker
Co-Director California Environmental Justice Alliance

Bonnie Holmes-Gen
Senior Director, Air Quality and Climate Change American Lung Association in California

Phoebe Seaton & Veronica Garibay
Co-Directors Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability

Manal J. Aboelata, MPH
Managing Director Prevention Institute

Jena Price
Legislative Affairs Manager California League of Conservation Voters

Benjamin D. Winig
Vice President, Law & Policy ChangeLab Solutions

Joel Ervice
Associate Director Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP)
A Project of the Public Health Institute

Orson Aguilar, President
The Greenlining Institute

John Shaban
President Gamaliel of California

LA County & Inland Valley

Jessica Meaney
Executive Director  Investing in Place

Gloria Ohland
Policy & Communications Director Move LA

Tamika L. Butler, Esq.
Executive Director Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

Michele Hasson
Policy Advocate/Specialist Center for Community Action & Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)

Bryn Lindblad
Associate Director Climate Resolve

Emilia Crotty
Policy & Program Manager Los Angeles Walks

Steve Gerhardt
Project Coordinator Walk Long Beach

Claire Robinson
Managing Director Amigos de Los Rios

Taylor Thomas
Research & Policy Analyst East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Wesley Reutimann
Project Director Bike San Gabriel Valley

San Joaquin Valley

Rev. Earl W. Koteen
Member, Coor Cmte Sunflower Alliance

Kevin D. Hamilton
CEO Central California Asthma Collaborative

Katelyn Roedner Sutter
Environmental Justice Program Manager Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton

Sopac McCarthy Mulholland
President and CEO Sequoia Riverlands Trust

Genoveva Islas
Program Director Cultiva la Salud

Margarita Rocha
Executive Director Centro la Familia

Rey León
Executive Director Valley LEAP

Sacramento & North State

Kirin Kumar
Executive Director WALKSacramento

 

Emily Sinkhorn
Deputy Director Redwood Community Action Agency

Neil Davis, RN PHN
Director Walk & Bike Mendocino

Anne Wallach Thomas
Director Shasta Living Streets

Lino Pedres
President Capital Region Organizing Project

Tim Hornbecker
Executive Director The Arc of California

Bay Area

Bob Allen
Policy & Advocacy Campaign Director  Urban Habitat

Jim Elias
Executive Director Marin County Bicycle Coalition

Alisha O’Loughlin
Executive Director Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition

Nicole Ferrara
Executive Director Walk San Francisco

Dave Campbell
Advocacy Director Bike East Bay

Dave Campbell
Board Member Walk Oakland Bike Oakland

Brian Wiedenmeier
Executive Director San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

Alvaro Palacios Casanova
Environmental Scientist and Strategist Center for Environmental Health

Eddie H. Ahn
Executive Director Brightline Defense

Evelyn Stivers
Executive Director Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County

Peter Strauss
Executive Board Member San Francisco Transit Riders

Omar Medina
President North Bay Organizing Project

Rev. Hubert Ivery
President Genesis

Harry Chomsky
Core Member Albany Strollers & Rollers

Odie Dancer
Founder Pathway's to Right-of-Way's Inc.

 San Diego

Joy Williams
Research Director Environmental Health Coalition

James D. Stone
Executive Director Circulate San Diego

Nicole Capretz
Executive Director Climate Action Campaign 

Andy Hanshaw
Executive Director San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

Randy Van Vleck
Active Transportation Manager City Heights Community Development Corp.

Ken Herman
President Justice Overcoming Boundaries

Central Coast

Mike Bennett
Executive Director Bike SLO County

Eve Sanford
Advocacy Associate Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition

Eva Inbar
President Coalition for Sustainable Transportation

Janneke Strause
Executive Director Bike Santa Cruz County 

Rick Longinotti
Chair Campaign for Sensible Transportation

Debbie Bulger
Coordinator Mission: Pedestrian

Beverly Shelton
Family Coordinator A to Z Families for Safe Streets