Key Vote on Bill to Authorize Regional Transportation Funding Measure

A critical vote is scheduled for Monday, July 10 in the Assembly Transportation Committee on legislation (SB 595) to authorize a regional transportation funding ballot measure, and the Bay Area Council is urging lawmakers to approve it. The committee is chaired by East Bay Assemblymember Jim Frazier, who has been a champion of improving transportation and was co-author of SB 1, the landmark bill to invest $52.1 billion to fix the state’s roads, highways and bridges, fight congestion and enhance transit. On SB 595, the Council has been working directly with state lawmakers who are crafting a $3-$4.2 billion regional plan that would support a major expansion of regional ferry service; acquire new high capacity BART cars; break freeway bottlenecks; and invest in other critical improvements that will address the Bay Area’s transportation crisis.

These badly needed improvements would be funded by a gradual increase of tolls on state-owned bridges (Regional Measure 3) in the Bay Area that voters in all nine counties would be asked to approve in June 2018. Recent poll results found that Bay Area voters fed up with the region’s awful traffic and overcrowded transit systems would approve a toll increase of up to $3. The Council will be in Sacramento on Monday testifying in support SB 595. To learn more about the Council’s transportation policy work, contact Policy Director Emily Loper.