"Senate Bill 105, which added fresh provisions to a state-wide budget bill signed by Governor Newsom in June, was approved unanimously by the Senate this afternoon. Besides solidifying the state's spending for the next calendar year, it also gives the state Department of Finance a few months to come up with a deal to supply transit agencies with "hundreds of millions of dollars," as Newsom described in a press release, to avoid a "financial cliff" after years of low revenue from ridership."
"The legislation, approved today by a 29-0 vote on the Senate floor with 11 abstentions, now requires the Department of Finance, with support from the state's Transportation Agency, to look for "loan or other financing options that might be used to provide sufficient short-term state financial assistance for local transit agencies." The deadline to complete that process is January 10, 2026."
"Newsom, in a statement, acknowledged that "transit is a lifeline to millions of Californians" and said his office will work on "aligning flexible financing tools to their timelines - so we can deliver a sustainable, rider-first transit system together.""
Senate Bill 105 amended the state budget to secure short-term financing options for local transit agencies and was approved unanimously by the Senate. The bill gives the Department of Finance several months to craft a financing deal — described by Governor Newsom as potentially 'hundreds of millions of dollars' — to prevent a post-pandemic 'financial cliff' after years of low ridership revenue. The bill preserves a path for BART loan approval and removes a specific $750 million loan figure from the June budget. The Department of Finance, with the Transportation Agency, must identify loan or other financing options by January 10, 2026. Pressure from national and local officials helped spur the measure.
Read at The Oaklandside
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]