Equity & Environmental Justice

On March 23rd, the California Air Resources Board held a board meeting in the City of Riverside. A key agenda item was a vote on setting regional goals for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets as mandated by SB 375. Advocates hoped that SB 375 would encourage regional governments to coordinate land use and transportation planning efforts to curb GHG emission from driving. The board heard testimonial presentations from all Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), who must implement the targets at the regional level.

On February 21st, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)  released a draft of their Public Participation Plan and is currently soliciting feedback until April 21st. SCAG is responsible for developing plans like the Regional Transportation Plan Sustainable Communities Strategies and the Public Participation Plan is a critical guide for how SCAG will interact and gather input from public stakeholders The updated plan includes practices and methods fo

Last fall, equity and environmental justice advocates were pleased at the passage of AB 179. The legislation mandated reform of the California Transportation Commission (CTC) board and placed requirements to ensure diverse representation, including experience working in disadvantaged communities. Despite the promising requirements written into AB 179, Governor Brown just re-appointed two incumbents who do not meet the criteria of equity or climate justice champions.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) held the final public workshop for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program on March 1, releasing the latest draft applications the night before. While we had initially pushed to retain standalone questions on public health, we had agreed to a compromise to have public health addressed in the Statement of Need question. We were heartened to see much of our compromise language for those questions adopted, even though our suggestions for questions pertaining to addressing the need were apparently not included this round.

In late February, we joined our partners in the Sustainable Communities for All (SC4A) Coalition for a lobby day at the State Capitol, meeting with staff in the Governor’s Office, State Senate and State Assembly to discuss how to spend revenues from California’s Cap and Trade program.

The Safe Routes Partnership facilitates regional active transportation networks (ATNs) in several locations throughout California with quarterly meetings. These ATNs serve as an informational hub for community based organizations and public agencies to share information on best practices and upcoming funding competitions and to engage in increasing active transportation investments and policy.  

In January, the Alliance for Healthy Orange County held a convening on SB 1000, the law requiring that general plans include an environmental justice (EJ) element. The convening brought together over 60 planners and community-based representatives to discuss and gather input on what environmental justice means in Orange County and how to move forward to ensure the region develops strong plans.

Congratulations to all recipients of Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) 

Governor Brown released his proposed expenditure plan for Cap and Trade proceeds (the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund). We were disappointed to see funds prioritized for Zero Emission Vehicles, which do not reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled or facilitate alternative modes of transportation, while programs such as TCC were sharply reduced.