August 27, 2026 · Transportation · 1,168 words · 13 speakers · 47 segments
Thank you. Thank you. housekeeping items. We will be allowing for two primary witnesses each for support and opposition. Those witnesses will have up to two minutes each and any additional witnesses will ask to limit yourselves to name affiliation and position on the bill. We will entertain a motion on the bill at the appropriate time once the quorum is established. It looks like we'll be working on that. So we're not going to be able to establish that at the moment, but we are going to hear SB 741, so we'll go ahead and have the author present the bill whenever she is ready. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. I am. Thank you to the Chair and committee staff, and thank you to the member who's here for working on this bill. SB 741 streamlines the administration of the state's low-carbon transit operations program. This is known as LCTOP. LCTOP has improved transit services by funding local programs like discounted transit passes for youth and students. SB 741 removes LCTOP's costly modeling requirements intended to show what we already know. Investments in transit clean our air and improve our quality of life. By streamlining these requirements, SB 741 leverages limited state funding to address transit challenges like service delays and low ridership. With me today in support, I have Michael Pimentel on behalf of the California Transit Association and Shane Guzman on behalf of the California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union. a mouthful of a title. Okay. Witnesses may proceed when ready.
Yeah, Mr. Chair and members, Michael Pimentel here. I'm a half of the California Transit Association. Given the late hour, I'll be very brief and just note, a vote for this bill is a vote for improving government efficiency, maximizing investment in our projects and services in the public transit space, and creating funding flexibility for transit agencies. We encourage your aye vote. Thank you. All right. Your brevity got my vote.
Mr. Chair, I remember Shane Gussman on behalf of the ATU in strong support of this bill.
Our members provide transit services up and down the state. The transit's critical to achieving our climate goals, getting people back and forth, providing them transportation options and reducing congestion. We're at a time when we need to get all the funding we can and flexibility and streamlining we can to adequately fund transit, and so we strongly support this bill because that's what it does.
All right. Thank you for your testimony. Is there anyone else here in the committee room who would like to come up and indicate name, affiliation, and support?
Mr. Chair, Brendan Urbicki on behalf of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, the San Mateo County Transit District, and Caltrain in support.
Thank you Anyone else All right Seeing none do we have opposition testimony Seeing no one come forward Any opposition witnesses at all No me-tos. All right, we will come back to the committee itself. Sure. Yes, sir. My interest in transportation, of course, the rail system is so very vital to Southern California. I know, Senator, you've been so involved. And I know this bill looks at the low carbon, but it also looks at transit ridership. Tell me how you're coming together with this bill and how it's important for your constituents primarily, and of course everyone up and down the state. If you don't mind, I'll ask my sponsors to answer that. Sure thing, Senator. I think what I would highlight with this bill is one of the chief things it does is create the flexibility for transit agencies to use the money from the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program to maintain service in addition to expand service. So as you likely have seen, many agencies in a period of retreat, given the very difficult financial landscape that they're facing, Metrolin, for example, in your neck of the woods on the precipice of a fiscal cliff, what we'd be doing in this bill is giving them the flexibility to take the money that they're already receiving to preserve critical service. And so that is in service of increasing ridership or maintaining ridership in some cases. And so with this bill, our hope is that we can provide the agencies with the flexibility they need to address any number of situations they may be facing. And with that, Mr. Chair, I'll move in at the appropriate time. Okay. Before we do that or hear anyone else from the committee, we're in a subsocrum. Senators Cortese?
Here. Cortese here.
Strickland? Here.
Strickland here. Archuleta?
Here.
Archuleta here.
Aregine? Blakespear?
Here. Blakespear here.
Dally? Here.
Dally here.
Gonzalez?
Grayson? Menjivar? Here.
Menjivar here.
Richardson? Ciarto? Yeah. Ciarto here. Valideras? Wiener? Yeah. Wiener here. Great. We do have a quorum. Anybody else from the committee wish to comment or ask any questions at this time? I'm seeing none. I do want to acknowledge the author and also the committee staff. We're moving a little quickly today. We have one item. We had a session going on today, but a lot of work has been done here, And I know that as the chair of the committee, and I think most of our members know that as well. So I just wanted to make sure to acknowledge the sort of brief hearing that we're having today is not a reflection on the bill itself. It has a lot of gravitas to it. So with that, I'm certainly prepared to support it. Senator Archuleta has offered a motion, so why don't we take it up on roll call? But before we do that, let me let the author have the last word. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. It's a good last word. The motion is that the Assembly Amendments be concurred in. Senators Cortese?
Aye. Cortese, aye.
Strickland? Aye.
Strickland, aye. Archuleta?
Aye. Archuleta, aye.
Aragene?
Blakespeare? Aye.
Blakespeare, aye. Dally?
Aye.
Dally, aye. Gonzalez? Grayson? Menjivar?
Aye.
Menjivar, aye. Richardson? Sayarto?
Aye.
Sayarto, aye. Valadez? Wiener?
Aye.
Wiener, aye. Public safety awaits. All right. We are at 8-0. We'll leave the roll open for absent members. I am going to go over to public safety to vote, and I'm wondering if the vice chair is able to preside. Okay, good. Sure. Thank you. I'm just going over to vote. Thank you.
You can use money more flexible Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Oh, yeah, they do. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.
Madam Secretary, please call the roll, not the roll, the vote again.
5-1-SB-741 by Blake Spear.
The motion is that the assembly amendments be concurred in.
The current vote is 9-0 with the chair and vice chair voting aye.
Senators Gonzalez?
Aye.
Gonzalez, aye. Grayson? Richardson?
Aye.
Richardson, aye. Valaduras?
Aye.
Valaduras, aye. That bill has 12-0. So that bill has 12-0 and the bill is out. We are now adjourned and we're adjourned.