CSAC’s sponsored bill,
SB 137 (Dodd), was approved unanimously by both houses of the
Legislature and is now headed to the Governor’s desk. The bill
would eliminate duplicative environmental reviews and expedite
county bridge and road safety projects by authorizing additional
exchanges of federal and state transportation funding through the
Match Exchange Program. A similar streamlining mechanism is
currently only available to regional transportation planning
agencies with populations below 200,000.
SB 137 will allow the state and local agencies to reduce the cost
of transportation projects and provide for more projects to be
completed with the same amount of revenue by expanding the Match
Exchange Program to other transportation programs with federal
funds allocated to local agencies, specifically the Highway
Safety Improvement Program and local bridge projects. Counties
have estimated that going through federal aid process and the
National Environmental Policy Act review, in addition to
California’s robust processes, adds anywhere from fifteen to
forty percent to the cost of a project; especially smaller
projects.
CSAC worked closely with the Legislature, the California
Department of Transportation, the California Department of
Finance, and the California State Transportation Agency to
negotiate amendments and secure passage of the bill. We encourage
counties supportive of SB 137 to submit a letter to the Governor
requesting his signature.
