Transportation Accountability Act

AB 2086, the Transportation Accountability Act, authored by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, will require Caltrans to report where our transportation dollars are going.

We need to follow the money to ensure our transportation spending matches our priorities.

California spends over $30 billion annually on transportation, but emissions from transportation are increasing, constituting around 50% of total GHG emissions in the state. If California is serious about meeting its climate and equity goals, we need greater transparency in how our transportation dollars are spent.

The Transportation Accountability Act, AB 2086, will require Caltrans, the state’s department of transportation, to publish how its annual transportation spending is advancing the vision and goals of the California Transportation Plan. This will ensure that the public can easily access and understand whether each of our transportation investments is benefiting or harming their communities and upholding the state’s goals.

The Transportation Accountability Act found rare bipartisan support in the California legislature. Transform was a sponsor of this law, which passed in 2024 and will bring greater accountability to Caltrans.

Transform Applauds the Signing of the Transportation Accountability Bill

For immediate release: September 27, 2024

Contact: Jeanie Ward-Waller, legislative advocate for Transform, [email protected]. 401-241-8559

SACRAMENTO: Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Transportation Accountability Act, AB 2086, authored by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo and co-sponsored by Transform and the Greenlining Institute. The bill will bring much-needed transparency to Caltrans spending and require Caltrans to provide a financial analysis of the California Transportation Plan. It will also require Caltrans to expand the project information publicly available through its online dashboard to relate spending to performance metrics.

“The Transportation Accountability Act is critical to ensuring that California’s transportation dollars are spent on projects that enhance mobility options while mitigating the climate crisis, especially for our most transportation-burdened communities. Decision makers can’t shift investment priorities without data on how those investments are benefiting or harming communities today,” says Jeanie Ward-Waller, legislative advocate for Transform and director of transportation advocacy at Fearless Advocacy.

California has an excellent framework for reducing emissions from transportation in the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI). However, our state transportation budget is incredibly complex, making it hard to understand how priorities influence spending. This enables Caltrans to make decisions with little public oversight and advance climate-killing highway projects. As Transform pointed out in a recent op-ed, the projects our state is funding with money from the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) will have a net negative effect on climate change. AB 2086 will provide much-needed sunlight into transportation funding decisions and the benefits that result from those investments.

The California Air Resources Board estimates that 50% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, and we must reduce driving by 25% by 2030 to be on track to meet our climate goals. The enhanced Caltrans dashboard mandated by this bill will allow advocates like Transform to connect California’s transportation expenditures to its climate goals and assess whether Caltrans is living up to its duty to serve all Californians and protect our communities.

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Creating a sustainable transportation system for California’s future

We need bike lanes, not highway lanes. Let’s build sidewalks and crosswalks and protected intersections that allow young people to walk or bike safely to school. Let’s prioritize bus-only lanes, so taking public transit is a convenient and relaxing alternative to driving in traffic. The Transportation Accountability Act is a significant step toward Transform’s vision for a future where everyone has the transportation options they need to thrive.

California’s clean transportation revolution needs you!

Transform’s dedicated staff work hard every day to build coalitions, connect with legislators, and craft policies that support equitable transportation choice. But we can’t do it without your support.

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Saving the Bus is Cheaper than Letting Transit Fail

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