With the enactment of Senate Bill 1 (Beall), also known as the Road Maintenance and Accountability Act, the Transportation Agency will have an opportunity to access much-needed funding to address multimodal priorities.  The following is a summary of the new funding programs created under Senate Bill 1 and projects that the Transportation Agency could potentially fund from each: 

Active Transportation Program

Senate Bill 1 provides an increase of $100 million annually for the Active Transportation Program. This represents an increase in the size of this on-going program by more than 80% (funding prior to Senate Bill 1 was $125 million).  The California Transportation Commission will have a call for projects that covers fiscal years 2017/18 and 2018/19 for the new funding, however they are seeking to first fund projects that submitted applications for the Active Transportation Program Cycle 3.  New projects will be able to submit applications for Cycle 4 in 2018.  Under this program, the Transportation Agency could potentially seek funding for the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway project and the Wayfinding program. The timeline for the 2018 Active Transportation Program is as follows:

• Applications due – August 2017
• Program adoption, statewide and small urban & rural components – October 18-19, 2017

State-Local Partnership Program (SLPP)

Funding from this program, $200 million per year, is for counties that have received voter approval of taxes or that have imposed fees, including development impact fees. Funds are appropriated “for allocation to each eligible county and city in the county for road maintenance and rehabilitation purposes."  The California Transportation Commission is proposing to adopt a 50/50 split between competitive grants and formula-based shares. Currently, it is uncertain how much revenue the Transportation Agency would receive from its formula share due to Measure X, given that there are now 24 self-help counties and many other counties with developer fees.  However, the Agency could potentially seek funding from this program for the State Route 156 and/or the Hwy 68 Corridor projects. The timeline for program adoption is as follows:

• Applications due – March 2018
• Adopt Program – June 2018

Local Streets and Roads

Senate Bill 1 provides an increase of $1.5 billion annually, beginning in November 2017, for local streets and road rehabilitation. The fiscal year 2017/18 budget allocates $445.4 million to the program, and this funding is provided directly to local jurisdictions. The California Transportation Commission now has new responsibilities relative to this funding, including development of guidelines, review of project lists submitted by cities and counties, reporting to the State Controller, and receiving reports on completed projects. The timeline for program adoption is as follows:

• Adoption of guidelines – August 2017
• Cities / Counties submit project lists - October 16, 2017
• Adoption of list of eligible cities and counties – December 2017

Solutions for Congested Corridors

Senate Bill 1 creates this new $250 million per year program beginning in fiscal year 2017/18. Funds will be allocated by the California Transportation Commission to projects designed to achieve a balanced set of transportation, environmental, and community access improvements within highly congested travel corridors. Project elements may include improvements to state highways, local streets and roads, transit facilities, bike/ped facilities, and protection of local habitat or open space. Projects may be nominated by the state or regional or county transportation agencies. To qualify for funding a project must be included in a “comprehensive corridor plan designed to reduce congestion in highly traveled corridors by providing more transportation choices for residents, commuters and visitors to the area of the corridor while preserving the character of the local community and creating opportunities for neighborhood enhancement projects.”  The Transportation Agency could potentially seek funding for the State Route 68, State Route 156, or US 101 corridors from this program.  The timeline for program adoption is as follows:

• Applications due –February 2018
• Program adoption – May 2018  

State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) 

Senate Bill 1 stabilizes funding for the State Transportation Improvement Program, with the initial draft fund estimate showing an additional $30.947 million for Monterey County. The Transportation Agency is coordinating with Caltrans to develop a funding plan that maximizes STIP funds with Measure X revenues to advance regional projects from the Measure X program.  The California Transportation Commission has the following timeline for the 2018 STIP: 

•  Adoption of guidelines and fund estimate – August 16-17, 2017
• Submittal of draft Interregional Transportation Improvement Program – October 15, 2017  
• Interregional Transportation Improvement Program Hearings – November 2017 Submittal of
• Regional Transportation Improvement Programs and the final Interregional Transportation
• Improvement Programs – December 15, 2017  STIP Hearings – January-February 2018  
• Program adoption – March 2018 

Trade Corridor Enhancement Account

Senate Bill 1 creates this new $300 million per year account to fund corridor-based freight projects nominated by local agencies and the state. The fiscal year 2017/18 budget allocates $199.8 million to the program. The Transportation Agency could potentially seek funding for the State Route 156 project, and/or projects along the US 101 corridor. The timeline for program adoption is as follows :

• Applications due – February 2018
• Program adoption – May 2018

Meanwhile, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) is also developing guidelines for the rail and transit funding programs, which have both cap and trade funding as well as new funding from Senate Bill 1. For these programs, CalSTA is aiming to adopt final guidelines in September 2017:

Transit & Intercity Rail Program

The fiscal year 2017/18 budget allocates $323 million to this program. The next program will cover 5 years of funding, estimated to be in the range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. This is a competitive program to fund a small number of transformative projects that improve the statewide network and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The primary evaluation criteria are emissions reduction, ridership growth, achievement of integrated service, and safety benefit. The secondary evaluation criteria are co-benefits of broader sustainable community goals, disadvantaged community benefits, and geographic balance. Awards will be made in early spring 2018.

State Transit Assistance

SB 1 directs approximately $105 million annually for state-of-good-repair investments. The fiscal year 2017/18 budget allocates $280 million to the program. Revenue is allocated according to the State Transit Assistance formula based on population and transit agency revenue. Upon certification of project eligibility, funds will be allocated quarterly by the Controller, starting in early 2018.

Commuter Rail and Intercity Rail funding

Senate Bill 1 directs a 0.5% portion of new diesel sales tax revenue for allocation: half to the five commuter rail providers and half to the three intercity rail corridors. The average annual total statewide annual allocation will be approximately $4.4 million. Revenue is allocated to intercity rail corridors such that each existing corridor receives at least 25% of the intercity rail share. The Transportation Agency is working with CalSTA regarding the remaining 25% share that is expected to go to emerging corridors, such as the Salinas Rail Extension and Coast Passenger Rail. The fiscal year 2017/18 budget allocates $25 million to the program.