Cap-and-Trade Archives

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Transform’s Legislative Priorities for 2025

March 19, 2025/in Blog, Policy/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

This year marks the beginning of a new two-year legislative session with a number of new legislators in the California Assembly and Senate. That has led to a bumper crop of bills relating to transportation, housing, and climate. Transform is supporting several bills, opposing one, and watching many others to see how they develop through the legislative process.

Top-priority bills

Transform’s top priorities this year are Bay Area transit funding, Cap-and-Trade reauthorization, an equitable road charge, an affordable housing bond, and preventing an environmentally fraught highway widening.

Regional transportation funding measure

Senators Scott Weiner and Jesse Arreguín are leading the campaign to shore up the finances of the Bay Area’s transit providers with SB 63. The bill is on our watch list because it contains only intent language for now. Transform, as part of the Voices for Public Transportation coalition, is carefully watching for what funding source will be selected, how the revenue will be spent, and what accountability mechanism will be required.

Cap-and-Trade reauthorization

California’s Cap-and-Trade Program is up for reauthorization this year, though the new terms won’t take effect until 2030. AB 1207, introduced by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, and SB 840, introduced by Senators Monique Limón and Mike McGuire, will be the legislative vehicles for reauthorization. Both bills state their intent to reauthorize the Cap-and-Trade Program but don’t specify the terms under which it will operate, as those details will be hashed out through the committee process and legislative working groups.

Transform is leading a coalition of advocacy organizations working to make the program more equitable and more effective at reducing carbon emissions and pollution in environmental justice communities. For now, these measures are on our watch list; we hope they will become bills we can wholeheartedly support.

State housing bond

A pair of measures, AB 736, introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and SB 417, introduced by Senator Christopher Cabaldon, prep the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 for a statewide ballot in the June 2026 primary.

California is facing a housing crisis, with only 17% of households able to afford the median-priced home, less than half the national average. Over half of renters, including 65% of low-income renters, are “rent burdened,” spending over 30% of their income on housing, leaving less for essentials like food, transportation, and healthcare. This measure authorizes $10 billion in general obligation bond funds to support the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing.

Road usage charge study

In 2014, California passed a law to study road usage fees as an alternative to the gas tax. As more drivers switch to EVs and fuel-efficient vehicles, gas tax revenue will continue to decline, threatening needed investments in transit, walking, biking, and roadway maintenance. A road usage fee would charge all drivers based on the number of miles driven and ultimately could replace the gas tax entirely. The Road Usage Charge Study Bill, AB 1421, introduced by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, adds another eight years to the study period to continue to study and pilot the best way to implement a road usage fee, including ways to mitigate its impact on low-income and rural drivers. Transform strongly supports road user fees if they are designed to advance equity and climate by incentivizing drivers to use alternate transportation and providing funding for transit and active transportation infrastructure and programs. We want to see an income-based road user charge evaluated in future pilots.

Two bills Transform is opposing

Transform doesn’t oppose many bills. But there are two bills this year that champion policies we have to take a stand against: making housing more expensive and fast-tracking an ill-advised highway widening.

Forcing Californians to pay for unwanted parking

A few years ago, as part of a legislative push to update California’s building codes with the goal of reducing building costs and making housing more affordable, the legislature passed AB 1317 (W. Carrillo), unbundling parking from housing. Before that measure, a parking spot might be included in the cost of a rental or condo, whether the resident needed it or not. Car-free renters, who are overwhelmingly low-income, should not be forced to pay, on average, 17% higher rent for an amenity that they do not use. Unbundling also encourages better use of parking spaces and, in the long term, can reduce the cost of building housing as developers build additional units instead of parking spots, which can cost $19,000 or more.

Senator Aisha Wahab’s SB 381 reverses this excellent policy. It will lead to more money wasted on empty parking spaces instead of affordable housing and encourage more driving.

No highway expansion through protected habitats

Transform opposes the planned widening of Highway 37 for many reasons: highway widening is not a long-term solution to congestion and increases GHG emissions; more affordable housing in Napa and Marin Counties is the true solution to congestion on this highway; and the area in question will be underwater due to sea level rise within about a decade and will need to be raised. Adding to the many reasons this highway widening is a terrible solution to transportation problems in this area is the fact that the road runs through a sensitive habitat with many endangered species. The Highway Through Sensitive Habitat Bill, AB 697, is a free pass to ignore threatened species, such as the California clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse, as road construction intrudes on sensitive ecosystems. Transform is opposing this bill on principle and for the dangerous precedent it sets.

Bills Transform supports

We have a long list of excellent bills we are supporting this legislative session. Some watch list bills may move to the support column as they make their way through the legislative process.

Slow School Zones (AB 382, Berman): This bill would change the way communities can institute slow zones around schools and improve safety for students.
Transit Passes for LA Community College Students (AB 861, Solache): A measure enabling LA Metro to work with the LA Community College District to give free passes to students and create a student ambassador program on LA transit. Versions of transit passes for students have been floated before and haven’t passed; we hope this one does.
Caltrans Quick-Build Pilot (AB 891, Zbur): This bill would introduce a pilot at Caltrans to use quick-build to move active transportation and transit improvements through the agency’s pipeline at an accelerated rate. Considering the years it normally takes to get a Caltrans project from planning to groundbreaking, this is a welcome initiative.
Bicycle Highways (AB 954, Bennett): The bicycle highways pilot would provide funding to create connected, off-road bikeways through two major California cities. It’s an excellent way to make bike travel safer, more appealing to a wider range of riders, and also faster.
Lower Speed Limits on State Roadways (AB 1014, Rogers): A few years ago, AB 43 gave local jurisdictions greater ability to lower speed limits, but the same rules did not apply to state routes, many of which serve as local streets. This bill applies similar speed limit rules to streets controlled by Caltrans, bringing greater safety to those streets too.
Transit Board Members Ride the Bus (AB 1070, Ward): This bill would prohibit transit boards from providing compensation to any member who couldn’t prove they used the transit system at least a minimum amount during the prior month. It’s a welcome change that ensures the people making decisions about transit agencies have experience riding their systems.
Transportation Resilience Assessment (AB 1132, Schiavo): This bill would require California’s Department of Transportation to assess and report on the vulnerability of community access to our transit systems, in addition to assessing risks to infrastructure and disruptions due to climate change.
CEQA Exemption for Transit, Bike, and Pedestrian Projects (SB 71, Wiener): The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires environmental review of certain types of construction projects. A few years ago, Senator Wiener passed a bill to exempt active transportation planning and construction from CEQA until 2030 because these types of projects have a built-in positive environmental impact. This bill would extend the exemption indefinitely.
The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act (SB 222, Wiener): This bill will create a private right of action for individuals injured by climate disasters and extreme weather events to recover their losses from the oil and gas companies that misled the public about the harm their products would cause.
Rent Control Preservation Act (SB 522, Wahab): California law prohibits local rent control ordinances from applying to buildings built after 1995, which makes existing rent-controlled units a precious commodity. When rent-controlled units are destroyed due to disaster, this bill extends rent controls to the units built to replace them. While California voters have rejected past attempts to revise California’s outdated rent control regulations, we think this is a reasonable step to stem the loss of affordable housing in our state.

Legislative watch list

At this stage in the legislative session, many bills are placeholders with language to be developed through committee hearings and negotiations. Transform is watching a number of bills to see how they develop.

Just because we’re monitoring rather than supporting these bills doesn’t mean they aren’t significant. For example, we’re closely watching the Safe, Sustainable, Traffic-Reducing Transportation Bond Act of 2026, AB 939, which would put a $20 billion transit and rail bond on the statewide ballot in 2026.

AB 36 (Soria) Housing elements: prohousing designation
AB 314 (Arambula) California Environmental Quality Act: major transit stop
AB 394 (Wilson, D) Crimes: public transportation providers
AB 590 (Lee) Social Housing Bond Act of 2026
AB 609 (Wicks) Housing Accountability Act
AB 939 (Schultz) The Safe, Sustainable, Traffic-Reducing Transportation Bond Act of 2026
AB 1223 (Nguyen) Local Transportation Authority and Improvement Act: Sacramento Transportation Authority
AB 1244 (Wicks) Multifamily Housing Program: definitions
AB 1275 (Elhawary) Regional housing needs: regional transportation plan
AB 1340 (Wicks) Metropolitan Transportation Commission: duties
ACA 4 (Jackson) Homelessness and affordable housing
SB 73 (Cervantes) California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions
SB 79 (Wiener) Planning and zoning: housing development: transit-oriented development
SB 262 (Wahab) Housing element: prohousing designations: prohousing local policies
SB 358 (Becker) Mitigation Fee Act: mitigating vehicular traffic impacts
SB 445 (Wiener) Sustainable Transportation Project Permits and Cooperative Agreements
SB 492 (Menjivar) Youth Housing Bond Act of 2025
SB 607 (Wiener) California Environmental Quality Act: categorical exemptions: infill projects
SB 772 (Cabaldon) Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019: applications: eligibility

We’ll provide periodic updates as these measures move through the legislature. And we’ll work with our allies, in the legislature and out, to advocate for stronger bills that preserve transit operations, expand housing opportunities, and reduce climate-killing carbon emissions.

Advocates Demand Housing, Transportation, Environmental Justice in Cap-and-Trade Reauthorization

March 10, 2025/in Blog, Climate Change, Housing, Policy, Transportation/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

Transform is leading a coalition of over 50 advocacy groups in housing, transportation, climate, and equity to urge California’s legislature to improve the state’s landmark Cap-and-Trade Program, closing loopholes that subsidize our most polluting industries and reinvesting additional revenue in sustainable transportation and affordable housing programs that center frontline communities.

What is Cap-and-Trade?

California’s Cap-and-Trade Program puts a limit on overall carbon emissions each year by charging large polluters based on their emissions. The allowed emissions limit, or cap, lowers over time and the price of carbon emissions, at least in theory, increases.

This incentivizes polluters to reduce their emissions via a market trading system. The program generates $4 billion a year that is reinvested in programs that further reduce emissions, such as new affordable housing near transit and sustainable transportation options.

With the program set to expire in 2030, a diverse movement of organizations spanning issues of housing, transportation, climate, and environmental justice are uniting against the interests of extractive carbon-spewing industries. The carbon lobby is strong and well-funded after decades of profiting from lax regulation and externalized harms, so the voices advocating for a cleaner, greener, more equitable Cap-and-Trade Program must be loud.

Current status of Cap-and-Trade

California’s Cap-and-Trade carbon market has provided funding for many worthy projects. For example, the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program, which provides grants for infill housing and sustainable transportation, is a smart way to reduce vehicle miles traveled by providing affordable housing close to transit and amenities. Cap-and-Trade also funds vital transit through the Transit and Intercity Rail Corridor Enhancement Program (TIRCP) and the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP), as well as California High-Speed Rail.

However, from the start, the carbon lobby has gotten loopholes in Cap-and-Trade. Over 50% of all pollution allowances are given free to utilities and carbon-intensive industries like oil, gas, and cement production. While these free allowances are intended to protect Californians from price hikes, they are effectively massive subsidies for polluting industries. In fact, a Pro Publica investigation showed that, in the initial years of the program, emissions from the oil and gas industry rose rather than declined.

Astroturf “green” groups are already lobbying in Sacramento for a “clean” reauthorization that would continue billions of dollars of oil and gas subsidies via these free pollution allowances.

Full funding for frontline communities

The lack of affordable housing and sustainable transportation options in California are major contributors to the climate crisis and increasing unaffordability, and significant investment is needed. At the same time, frontline communities have seen very few greenhouse gas emissions reductions or air quality improvements since the advent of Cap-and-Trade, and many of our top priorities, like Transformative Climate Communities and Equitable Building Decarbonization, remain underfunded.

Rather than fighting over scraps of the revenue from Cap-and-Trade, Transform and our allies have come together around a set of recommendations rooted in shared solidarity across different funding areas. By removing free allowances and offsets, another subsidy that allows polluters to keep polluting, we can not only achieve additional reductions in pollution that damages climate and health, but we can also increase the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, adding revenue to support existing and additional expenditures that prioritize frontline communities, affordable housing, and sustainable transportation.

A better Cap-and-Trade Program

The reauthorization of the Cap-and-Trade Program is a critical opportunity to enhance its structure. Transform will continue to campaign for a more effective program that truly reduces carbon emissions, reduces the pollution burden on environmental justice communities, and advances California’s sustainable transportation and affordable housing goals.

Read the full letter.

Housing and Transportation Shared Priorities for Cap and Trade Download

We Won’t Be Divided: Transform Keeps Fighting for Sustainability and Justice

February 26, 2025/in Blog, Climate Change/by Transform Staff

The second Trump administration is here, already emboldening hate, stripping protections from vulnerable communities, and unraveling decades of progress on climate and equity. These senseless and destructive actions are designed to divide and disorient us and to erode the very systems that allow people to build power together and speak up for change.

Trump and his enablers are dismantling climate policies, attacking sustainable transportation, and erasing equity as a guiding principle. They are gutting EV funding, defunding equity-centered infrastructure, and stripping vital clean transportation investments from the communities that need them most. They’re investigating California High-Speed Rail and illegally interfering with NYC congestion pricing. His DOT plans to eliminate all funding for climate action, racial and gender equity, and environmental justice.

Public transit, safe streets, and walkable communities bring people together — but under Trump, these spaces are under attack. His administration’s deportation crackdowns and assaults on trans rights are making public spaces unsafe — turning even schools, workplaces, and public restrooms into sites of fear.

But here’s what they don’t understand: We are not easily divided. We are not easily deterred. And we are certainly not giving up. Here in the Bay Area and in California, our movement is fighting for communities that are just, sustainable, and connected. For three decades, Transform has been at the forefront of that fight, and now, we’re doubling down.

Transform’s work: A beacon in the storm

Transform has always built power from the ground up — because real democracy starts in our communities. Democracy is built through engaging, educating, and empowering people by listening to and lifting up the voices of communities that have borne the brunt of racist planning and underinvestment over the course of decades. And now is the time to double down on that work.

Here’s how we’re fighting back:

Protecting essential infrastructure investments: We’re fighting Trump’s attempts to claw back critical IIJA/IRA investments in sustainable, equitable mobility.
Pushing California to keep leading the way: We are making sure that California continues to lead the nation in investing in transit, biking, and walking instead of freeway expansion — holding Caltrans and our elected officials accountable.
Defending investments in transit-oriented, affordable housing: We are partnering with environmental justice organizations to ensure that California’s Cap-and-Trade Program truly benefits the communities most impacted by climate change.
Empowering communities: We are listening, learning, and partnering with people on the ground — because those most affected by these policies should be the ones shaping solutions. We’re partnering with city staff and elected officials to develop mobility plans that foster inclusivity and safety.
Promoting truly safe transit for everyone: We promote safety solutions that do not rely on policing but instead prioritize community-based strategies. Our 2023 safety report lays out a vision for making transit and public spaces safe for everyone.
Walking in solidarity with vulnerable immigrant families by helping their kids get to school safely in walking school buses.

This is the moment to act

Now is not the time to retreat. Now is the time to organize, to push harder, to demand the just and sustainable communities we all deserve.

We need you in this fight. Here’s how you can take action:

Tell Governor Newsom to take bold action by stopping highway expansion and investing in California’s clean transportation future.
Support our work: Your financial support of Transform helps us fight for safe, equitable, and sustainable mobility solutions. Chip in now.
Educate yourself and others: Learn how to support vulnerable communities in public spaces.

Transform has always been about building the world we want to see — one rooted in connection, community, and democracy. That work has never been more urgent. But we are not in this struggle alone: our supporters, community partners, fellow advocates — YOU — are vital to our success. We won’t be divided. Together, we can stand against hate, against fear, and against the destruction of our planet and our communities.

Transit-Oriented Developments Championed by Transform Move Forward

October 28, 2024/in Blog, Housing/by Stuart Cohen

Transform has long championed transit-oriented development (TOD). Adding new housing near transit hubs addresses the Bay Area’s housing crisis while enabling residents to choose transit, walking, and biking over driving. Infill housing, especially when it is affordable, is also a powerful and durable way to address the climate crisis. Recently, two projects Transform worked on took significant steps — breaking ground in Oakland’s Chinatown and securing funding at El Cerrito Plaza BART.

Creating a funding pipeline for affordable infill development

A decade ago, Transform and Housing California conceived and led a statewide campaign to have polluters pay for affordable TOD through the Cap-and-Trade Program. When state leaders said they wouldn’t be able to quantify the climate benefits of TOD, Transform co-authored a report that developed a methodology that proved it was possible, and the next week the program was adopted, getting 20% of cap-and-trade funds. The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program has now funded over 15,000 homes, with 70% in disadvantaged communities.

The AHSC program’s upcoming TODs at two BART stations — with early engagement in planning at the local level and funding from the AHSC program — reflect the sweep of Transform’s impact to create and shape housing that allows people to reduce their carbon footprints while increasing access to jobs, education, and other opportunities.

Breaking ground on TOD in Oakland Chinatown

On October 17, the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a cornerstone project in the plan: Chinatown TOD Senior Housing. The project received $16.5 million from the AHSC program. This new development will ensure more seniors can age in place in the neighborhood and help mitigate a severe shortage of affordable senior housing.

From 2012 to 2014, Transform was deeply engaged in planning for this area by the Lake Merritt BART Plaza. The vision was to create a more active, vibrant, and safe district that would be economically inclusive and historically and culturally restorative.

To shape the specific projects to be built, Transform partnered with EBALDC and BART in 2019 and 2020 to hold three workshops, facilitate ten stakeholder conversations, and conduct community surveys. Transform also provided technical analysis: a white paper on multifamily parking, a GreenTRIP Certification evaluation of ways to reduce driving and minimize parking supply, and a matrix of funding sources for transportation infrastructure.

The groundbreaking was a momentous step toward realizing the vision of affordable TOD developments above BART stations. Our engagement won’t stop when the building is complete; Transform will be working with EBALDC to bring our Know How to Go programming to future residents. Our staff will offer age-appropriate education and encouragement activities tailored to the community’s specific needs. We’ll help residents understand nearby walking, rolling, and transit options to get where they need to go — for work, healthcare, shopping, and social time. And we’ll make sure residents know how to access discounted transit fares and transportation services.

El Cerrito Plaza TOD Gets State Funding

Planning is underway to transform the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station from a collection of parking lots to a place for people that includes homes, public open space, and community uses. It will also help connect the station to the downtown and economic core of the city.

About half of the 743 housing units will be affordable to low-income residents. And the first 70 units just received $39 million in funding from the AHSC program.

But it wasn’t easy to get this plan accepted by the community. Many, especially those who drive from the Hills, were concerned that they’d no longer be able to easily access BART. And in 2019, they were vocal about it.

BART and Transform facilitated several community engagement efforts supported by a state grant. Efforts included:

BART passenger survey about how people access the station
In-station outreach events
An open house
Individual stakeholder interviews.

Ultimately, a plan was developed to provide between 100 and 150 garage spaces for BART riders. Future TOD residents will have access to about 260 dedicated vehicle parking spaces and 1,100 secure bike parking spaces, including spaces for cargo/family bikes. Additionally, the City of El Cerrito is working on a parking management plan that may allow BART riders who drive to pay to park on-street.

Getting the parking right doesn’t usually mean zero parking, but it is imperative to minimize parking by pricing it appropriately, identifying existing parking that can be better used, and, of course, providing great alternatives to driving.

The Chinatown and El Cerrito projects vividly illustrate the sweep of Transform’s work at the intersection of housing and transportation. From helping lay the groundwork for affordable TOD to helping win key funding to helping future residents get around safely and sustainably, Transform’s work fosters more equitable, climate-friendly communities.

Legislature’s Landmark Budget Agreement on Cap-and-Trade

June 13, 2014/in Blog/by Nicolay Kreidler