California

Transformative Climate Communities Call for Proposals Out Tomorrow

The Strategic Growth Council announced the release of their final guidelines for the Transformative Climate Communities program on August 24, 2017 following a council meeting Thursday morning, in which they voted to adopt the final guidelines for the program. The final guidelines incorporate feedback from groups like ours on the past four rounds of draft guidelines. Most notably, the final revision includes technical assistance to applicants and a scoring criteria rubric.

Advocates Call for Stricter Change on Department of Pesticide Regulation's Policy for Schools

Safe Routes Partnership and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability (Leadership Counsel) commented on the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)’s policy for pesticide application near schools. DPR’s new draft regulation would require that agriculture growers notify schools and day care centers when companies plan to spray pesticides in the area and prohibit the application during schools site sessions. The policy also would create 1/4 mile protection zone during school hours and also includes provisions on application methods.

California State Budget and the Active Transportation Program

The Governor Jerry Brown administration released its May Revision to the State budget on May 11. The May Revise does not include major changes to transportation funding, as that was handled in a major transportation deal that resulted in the the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, SB 1. SB 1 provides ten years’ worth of funding for transportation improvements across the state, including $100 million a year in new funding for the Active Transportation Program (ATP).