AB 6 – Transportation Planning
Summary:
AB 6 makes technical good governance changes in the SB
375 process to help our regions and the state meet its GHG reduction targets under existing law . AB 6 additionally requires each project nomination, in the Solution for
Congested Corridors Program, to demonstrate how the
project would contribute to achi eving the state’s GHG
emission reduction targets.
Background:
SB 375 (Steinberg) Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008), the
Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of
2008, was a first-of-its kind law to recognize the critical role of integrated transportation, land use, and housing decisions to meet state climate goals. SB 375 requires
each of California’s 18 regional Metropolitan Planning
Organizations (MPOs) to include a new element in their
long-range regional transportation plans – a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The SCS identifies
strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
from driving, which can foster healthier and more
equitable and sustainable communities. Under SB 375,
MPOs have spent over 10 years planning and developing
SCSs tailored to each region that outline multiple benefits for public health, the environment, social justice, and access to opportunities, if implemented.
SB 150 (Allen), Chapter 646, Statutes of 2017 required
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to prepare a
report to assess progress made toward meeting the
regional SB 375 GHG emissions reduction targets. A key
finding of this report is that California is not on track to meet the GHG reductions expected under SB 375 for
2020, with emissions from statewide passenger vehicle
travel per capita increasing and going in the wrong
direction. In the SB 150 report, CARB concluded that, “so far, all – acting rationally within the state’s current structure of incentives, political forces, and policy
restrictions – have not been able to enact the magnitude of change needed.” AB 285 (Friedman), Chapter 605,
Statutes of 2019 required the Strategic Growth Council
(SGC) to assess how the state’s transportation
investments were helping the state meet its climate goals and found that ~2% of California’s transportation funding programs align with the state’s climate goals.
Why Planning for and Funding Transportation
Investments that Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled is
Needed:
While California is working hard to reduce emissions
from the transportation sector , it has struggled to reduce the amount of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) overall.
Efforts to reduce VMT are exacerbated by high h ousing
costs that push people farther away from their workplace.
Failing to reduce VMT is resulting in congestion, reduced quality of life, and GHGs from the transportation section not being reduced.
Recent reports from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the SGC, and University of California , Institute for
Transportation Studies, all conclude that legislative action is necessary to continue moving away from how we have
traditionally funded our transportation infrastructure.
Including CARB’s latest scoping plan which cites a
dramatic need to change our transportation system if we are to meet our goals.
AB 6: As Amended 3/16/2023
Add 2045 target year
Require timeline for submitting Technical
Methodology (TM) and SCSs to CARB
Require Technical Methodology approval by
CARB
Require SCS submission deadline
Able to go beyond acceptance/ rejection and "if
implemented
Extend 60-day review timeline
Requires each project nomination, in the Solution
for Congested Corridors Program, to
demonstrate how the project would contribute to
achieving the state’s GHG emission reduction
targets.
Support:
Contact:
Isiah King
Office of Assemblymember Laura Friedman
916.319.2044
[email protected]