State Senate

The California Legislaturee saw a lot of action in the last two weeks on bills related to sustainable transportation. The deadline to pass bills out of committee was on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, and today is the deadline for all bills to be voted on by their houses of origin. If they couldn't pass by today from the Senate to the Assembly, or vice versa, then they died for this session.

Negotiations over the California state budget are producing dueling proposals on how best to spend revenue from the state's cap-and-trade program.

This week and the next are busy ones in Sacramento. Next Friday, May 2, is the last day policy committees (e.g. Transportation and Housing) can discuss bills that require a hearing in any fiscal committees (e.g. Appropriations).

Senate Bill 1183, the bill from Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) which was originally proposed as a “bike tax,” is no longer a bike tax. This time the change is not just in the bill's title -- the bill, which originally proposed a sales tax on bicycles to create a stable source of funding to maintain bicycle facilities in regional parks, now proposes a fee on motor vehicle registrations instead.

For social media coverage focused on statewide issues, follow Melanie Curry @currymel on Twitter or like our Facebook page. 

Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) announced a proposed plan to create a permanent spending strategy for cap-and-trade revenue [PDF] that prioritizes investments in affordable transit-oriented housing, transit expansion, and CA High-Speed Rail. Unlike the Governor's plan for this year's budget, Senate Bill 1156 also proposes investments in "complete streets" and transit operations.

For social media coverage focused on statewide issues, follow Melanie @currymel on Twitter or like our Facebook page here.

For social media coverage of California's statewide transportation issues, follow Melanie @currymel on Twitter or like the Streetsblog California Facebook page.