Call to Action: Urge Your Lawmakers to Fund Transit… Again

Seamless Bay Area and aligned advocacy groups are more than halfway towards their goal of getting 10,000 letters to lawmakers, urging them to stop California from diverting $1.4 billion a year away from affordable housing and public transit. Join the effort and write your own letter via their action page.

This is because of the Newsom Administration’s move last May to alter the state’s Cap-and-Invest requirements. “We need the State Legislature to undo the damage and fulfill the promise they made last year to fully fund affordable housing and public transit programs,” wrote Transform, one of the advocacy groups. “This is the make-or-break moment for transit and housing.”

For readers who may be getting up to speed on what happened a couple of months ago, here’s more from Seamless:

In May, Governor Gavin Newsom’s appointees at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved changes to California’s Cap-and-Invest Program which gave billions to Big Oil and other large polluters and in doing so, slashed the funding available for transit, affordable housing, clean water, and clean air programs.

This decision will make California an even less affordable place to live as housing and transportation expenses are the biggest household expense for Californians.

This decision also slows down the fight against climate change. Cars are California’s largest source of carbon emissions and funding public transit and affordable housing near frequent transit is critical to stop climate change.

We need to speak out and get the state legislature to maintain funding for these programs so our public transit doesn’t get cut, affordable housing keeps getting built, and clean air and clean water programs make California a healthier place to live!

Be sure to fill out the action letter and let your representatives know how much this issue matters to you.