Legislative Affairs
The Legislative Affairs Team oversees the District’s advocacy efforts at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. This includes development of the District’s annual federal and state legislative programs which guide our advocacy efforts in Washington, DC and Sacramento. Team members work closely with state and federal policymakers to influence transit legislation, appropriations, and administrative matters that impact AC Transit’s operations. At the regional and local levels the team tracks and influences proposed transportation policies and funding measures, in addition to managing public education efforts for ballot measures designed to increase or augment AC Transit’s operating and capital revenues.
Please e-mail any questions or concerns to Claudia Burgos, Director of Legislative Affairs and Community Relations.
Thank you.
At AC Transit, we are always working hard to provide high quality and reliable service to our riders. Each year, we are busy rolling out a variety of initiatives to keep us at our best. Our annual reports are intended to let you know what we have been up to and how we continue to improve service for our riders.
Each year AC Transit’s Board of Directors adopts both a state advocacy and a federal advocacy program. The District tracks relevant legislation and issues at the state and federal levels and keeps a record of its positions on each bill or issue. This board direction guides the agency's advocacy efforts to ensure that its interests are represented throughout the process.
2021: Federal and State Legislative Program
2020: Federal and State Legislative Program
2019: Federal and State Legislative Program
2018: Federal and State Legislative Program
2017: Federal and State Legislative Program
2016: Federal and State Legislative Program
The AC Transit Board of Directors routinely evaluates bills that affect public transit and decides whether it will take a position on them or not. These positions demonstrate support or they may be used to advocate for change in the bill that might better serve the interests of public transit agencies. Below are the current positions take by the AC Transit Board of Director during this legislative session.
State Legislative Positions
| Bill Number | Bill Description | Board Position Taken | Date Position Taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB 476: Department of Transportation: state highways: transit bus pilot program | AB476 would authorize Caltrans to expand its bus-on-shoulder pilot program to eight total projects. Existing law allows two agencies to conduct a transit bus-only program using the shoulders of certain state highways. | Support | 4/28/21 |
| SB 437: Local publicly owned electric utilities: integrated resource planning: transportation electrification. | SB 437 would require that utilities include details of an electricity rate design for heavy-duty vehicles, which would support zero emission bus rollout. | Support | 4/28/21 |
| AB 629: San Francisco Bay area: public transportation. | AB 629 aims to improve transit coordination in the Bay Area and calls for the institutionalization of transit system network management that takes into consideration the Transit Recovery Task Force recommendations. | Watch | 4/28/21 |
| AB 917 Vehicles: video imaging of parking violations | AB 917 would allow California transit agencies to use cameras, like those installed on Tempo BRT coaches, to discourage illegal parking in transit-only lanes and at transit stops and stations. AC Transit is co-sponsoring this bill with LA Metro and the California Transit Association. | Support | 3/24/2021 |
| AB 455: Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program | AB 455 aims to enhance transit service into and out of San Francisco. Phase 1 the bill focuses on improving the approaches to the Bay Bridge. Phase 2 would allow the creation of a transit only lane on the Bay Bridge | Support | 3/24/2021 |
| AB 1157 Controller: transportation funds: distribution and reporting requirements | AB 1157 would require local transportation planning agencies to report to the Controller within 7 months after the end of each fiscal year the public transportation operators within its jurisdiction that are eligible to claim specified local transportation funds. Current law requires local transportation planning agencies to report this information by June 15 of each year. | Support | 3/24/2021 |
| ACA 1: Local government financing: affordable housing and public infrastructure | ACA 1 would lower the voter threshold for property tax increases, parcel taxes and sales taxes to 55% if the funds are used for affordable housing and infrastructure projects, including capital improvements to transit and streets and highways. | Support | 2/24/2021 |
| SB 44: California Environmental Quality Act: streamlined judicial review: environmental leadership transit projects | SB 44 would make zero-emission, fixed guideway transit projects eligible for expedited CEQA administrative and judicial review procedures established by the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act | Support | 2/24/2021 |
Federal Legislative Positions
| Bill Number | Bill Description | Board Position Taken | Date Position Taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| BUILD GREEN Infrastructure & Jobs Act | The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) GREEN Act would invest $500 billion over ten years to electrify public transit systems and help modernize the nation’s infrastructure by covering up to 85% of costs for eligible projects. The Act would also dedicate at least 40% of all funding to projects in disadvantaged communities. | Support | 4/28/2021 |
| HR 535: Special Districts Provide Essential Services Act | HR 535 would require states to allocate at least 5 percent of their total federal COVID relief funds allocation to special districts and do so within 60 days of receiving a disbursement from the U.S. Treasury. The bill would also provide other tools for districts to access capital during the economic downturn. | Support | 3/24/2021 |
| The Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidity for Infrastructure (LOCAL Infrastructure) Act | The LOCAL Infrastructure Act would amend the federal tax code to restore state and local governments’ ability to use advance refunding to manage bond debt and reduce borrowing costs for public projects. | Support | 3/24/2021 |
| H.R. 7389, the Freedom to Move Act | Directs the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service and efforts to improve public transportation, particularly in underserved communities. | Support | 1/13/2021 |