Meeting_Body
AD HOC BOARD COMPOSITION COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 23, 2026
Subject
SUBJECT: METRO’S GOVERNANCE HISTORY AND FOUNDATION OF THE CURRENT BOARD COMPOSITION
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE report on Metro’s Governance History and Foundation of the current Board Composition.
Issue
ISSUE
AB 152 enacted Public Utilities Code §130051, which established Metro’s current governing Board and defined its composition and appointment structure. AB 152 also set forth statutory mechanisms for reconsidering Board composition in response to population changes or modifications to the size of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
In November 2024, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure G, a charter amendment that expands the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to nine members and implements related county governance reforms, including the election of a countywide Chief Executive Officer. Measure G does not amend the statutory governance structure of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), however its passage has prompted discussion at the State level regarding whether Metro’s Board composition should be changed to accommodate the impending change in county governance.
An Ad Hoc Committee of the Board was established by Chair Dutra in January 2026 to focus on potential governance considerations arising from Measure G. Motion 33.1 (Attachment A) by Directors Dutra, Barger, Horvath, Padilla, Najarian, and Dupont-Walker directs that the Ad Hoc Committee’s deliberations and recommendations be informed by relevant demographic, historical, and comparative context. The purpose of this report is to provide background material to support the Ad Hoc Committee’s review and deliberations.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro’s Governance History
Metro’s governance has evolved periodically since it was first established.
1957-1964: Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LAMTA)
LAMTA operated bus and streetcar transit services, pursuant to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, which established LAMTA with a seven-member board appointed by the Governor. Board members were required to be residents and registered voters of Los Angeles County. This structure reflected a model of strong state oversight and appointed governance for a regional transit entity.
At the time of LAMTA’s establishment in 1957, Los Angeles County’s population was roughly in the mid-4 million and had grown into the mid-to-high 6 million range by 1964 as part of the broader postwar expansion of Southern California.
1964-1992: Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD)
The Southern California Rapid Transit District was responsible for operating buses and rail transit services throughout Los Angeles County, pursuant to the Southern California Rapid Transit District Act, which replaced LAMTA with an appointed board structure that introduced county and municipal appointment authority. The newly created SCRTD was governed by an 11-member board representing the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and other municipalities within the district. This structure emphasized geographic balance and regional representation.
The SCRTD Board of Directors was comprised of: (1) five members appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (one resident from each supervisorial district), (2) two members appointed by the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles (subject to City Council confirmation), and (3) four members appointed by the countywide City Selection Committee-each an elected city official from a different non-City of Los Angeles city (later organized into four “corridors” tied to transit lines). Starting January 1, 1977, the City Selection Committee’s four seats were to be filled via corridor subcommittees representing the cities in the corridor of the departing director (subject to the City Selection Committee override of the subcommittee determination).
1976-1993: Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC)
Beginning in 1976, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission was the county agency responsible for planning transportation policy and funding major transit and highway projects using dedicated tax revenues until 1993. The County Transportation Commissions Act established the LACTC with an eleven-member board composed entirely of elected officials: five Los Angeles County Supervisors, the Mayor of Los Angeles and two City Council appointees, the Mayor of Long Beach, and two appointees from the City Selection Committee. This marked a shift toward elected-official governance and direct electoral accountability for countywide transportation funding decisions.
Between 1964 and 1992, Los Angeles County’s population grew from roughly the mid-to-high 6 million range to approximately 9.1 million, reflecting several decades of sustained growth before leveling off in the early 1990s.
1993-Present: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)
AB 152 (Katz) merged SCRTD and LACTC to form Metro, effective February 1, 1993, as a countywide agency that plans, funds, builds, and operates bus and rail transit services throughout Los Angeles County. Under AB 152, the Metro board composition largely followed the LACTC elected-official model, with adjustments including removal of the Mayor of Long Beach, an additional City of Los Angeles public appointee, and expanded representation from the City Selection Committee. The Board increased from eleven to thirteen members, with a non-voting member appointed by the Governor*.
*In 1997, AB 1143 (Murray) made targeted governance and management refinements regarding Metro’s board structure and operations by eliminating statutory authority for alternate board members, thereby reinforcing direct accountability of appointed directors. It established a fixed four-year term for the Chief Executive Officer and required a supermajority board vote for removal. AB 1143 also more clearly delineated the respective roles of the Board and the CEO, reserving key policy, budgetary, labor, debt, and major capital decisions to the Board while delegating contract award authority and operational execution to the CEO.
This is codified in Public Utilities Code §130051, which also set forth statutory mechanisms for reconsidering Board composition in response to population changes or modifications to the size of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors:
• If the population of the City of Los Angeles at any time becomes less than 35 percent of the combined population of all cities in Los Angeles County, then one of the two public member seats appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles would be vacated. That seat would then be filled by an appointment by the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee from a city not already represented among the City Selection Committee appointees.
• If the number of members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is increased, Metro must submit a plan to the Legislature within 60 days of when the increase goes into effect, proposing how the authority’s composition should be revised in light of the change. This does not by itself automatically increase or adjust any seat counts
Since 1993, Los Angeles County’s population has grown from about 9.07 million to peaking above 10 million in the 2010s, before declining somewhat in the early 2020s to roughly 9.8-9.9 million.
Attachment B provides information regarding the population of the cities across Los Angeles County and unincorporated areas from the time LAMTA was established to present day.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Since Metro’s formation in 1993, multiple proposals have been considered to revisit board composition. Most efforts focused on adding representation for specific geographies; none have advanced.
In 1995, LA City Mayor Richard Riordan proposed a nine-member board composed of appointments by the Mayor of Los Angeles, the County Board of Supervisors, and the California League of Cities.
AB 1941 (Holden, 2014) proposed adding two state-legislature-appointed voting seats.
SB 1379 (Mendoza, 2016), proposed cutting the County Supervisors’ representation from five seats to two and reshuffling seats among cities/other appointers.
SB 268 (Mendoza, 2017-2018), proposed expanding the board to 22 members (including additional LA City Council representation) unless local entities agreed to an alternative governance plan.
More recently, SB 220 (Allen, 2025-2026) proposed expanding the board to 22 members (including every member of the County Board of Supervisors (9) and the County Chief Executive plus their three appointees).
Metro Board Composition
The Metro Board is comprised of the following:
• LA County Board of Supervisors: All five members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, each serving ex officio and representing their respective Supervisorial Districts. Because Supervisorial Districts span both incorporated and unincorporated areas, these members collectively represent large portions of the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Gateway Cities, South Bay, Westside, North County, and unincorporated communities.
• City of Los Angeles: The Mayor of the City of Los Angeles serves as an ex officio voting member of the Board and appoints three additional Metro Board members, at least one of whom must be a member of the Los Angeles City Council. These mayoral appointees are subject to confirmation by the Los Angeles City Council (no term limits).
• Los Angeles County Cities: Four members of the Board represent the remaining 87 cities (excluding the City of Los Angeles) and are appointed by the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee.
The Los Angeles County City Selection Committee is comprised of the mayor or another representative from each city in Los Angeles County’s legislative body. The Los Angeles County City Selection Committee has four Sector Subcommittees (North County/San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Southeast Long Beach and Southwest Corridor), with each city in Los Angeles County assigned to one of these four regional Sector Subcommittees.
Sector Subcommittees nominate potential Metro Board members to represent their region; successful candidates must have a majority weighted vote from their respective Sector Subcommittee. If a candidate is successful in securing this vote, the Sector Subcommittee forwards this recommendation to the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee for ratification. The Metro Board term is four years, with no term limits.
• Governor Appointee: One non-voting Caltrans representative is appointed by the Governor. That non-voting gubernatorial appointee has traditionally been filled by the Caltrans District 7 Director.
Board members serve four-year terms and may continue to serve so long as they hold the office or appointment that qualifies them for the Metro seat.
Demographic Overview of the County
The Metro Board composition is intended to reflect the County’s population and demographic distribution. This section provides a high-level overview of the demographic, geographic, and jurisdictional characteristics of Los Angeles County.
Countywide Overview
Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the United States, with an estimated population of approximately 10 million residents. The County spans roughly 4,000 square miles, encompassing dense urban cores, suburban communities, industrial and port areas, mountain regions, and coastal zones. Travel patterns, employment centers, and transportation needs routinely cross municipal and subregional boundaries, reinforcing the regional nature of Metro’s mission.
Incorporated Cities and Unincorporated Areas
Los Angeles County includes 88 incorporated cities as well as unincorporated areas governed directly by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
• Approximately 90 percent of County residents live in incorporated cities.
• Approximately 10 percent reside in unincorporated communities.
The City of Los Angeles accounts for roughly 40 percent of the County’s total population, making it larger than any other municipality in the region. The remaining incorporated cities vary widely in size, from cities with populations exceeding 400,000 residents to small cities with fewer than 10,000 residents. Unincorporated communities also vary substantially, ranging from dense urban neighborhoods to lower-density suburban and rural areas.
Relationship Between Councils of Governments, City Selection Committees, and Metro
Councils of Governments (COGs) and City Selection Committees play complementary but distinct roles in shaping how cities participate in regional transportation decision-making.
COGs serve as subregional coordination bodies through which cities collaborate on transportation priorities, infrastructure planning, and policy positions relevant to Metro programs and investments. While COGs do not have statutory authority to appoint Metro Board members, they provide an important forum for cities to identify shared interests, develop common positions, and coordinate perspectives related to Metro initiatives. As a practical matter, COGs often function as the primary venue where cities discuss regional representation issues and assess potential candidates for regional boards. They also provide recommendations to Metro on how subregional transportation program funds should be allocated.
Metro Board members, or their staff, participate in each of the subregion’s meetings. This includes COG Board of Directors meetings and transportation committees/working groups in the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, Westside Cities, Gateway Cities, North County, and Las Virgenes-Malibu subregions. There is also Metro Board participation in the Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority and the Northern Corridor Cities meeting.
City Selection Committees are the formal statutory mechanism through which cities other than the City of Los Angeles appoint their representatives to the Metro Board. In Los Angeles County, the City Selection Committee is composed of city elected officials and operates pursuant to state law, with voting weighted by population.
In practice, the interaction between COGs and the City Selection Committee shapes how subregional perspectives are translated into Metro Board appointments. Cities within a given COG frequently coordinate informally prior to City Selection Committee meetings, using the COG structure to align around candidates who reflect subregional priorities or geographic balance. These informal coordination practices help manage the complexity of countywide city representation and provide continuity across appointment cycles, even though appointment authority remains solely with the City Selection Committee.
City-appointed Board members are representatives of specific COGs and subregions, and their selection is often influenced by subregional coordination through COGs. Attachment C summarizes the subregions size, share of ridership, demographic profile and current representation on the Metro Board.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
This item is informational and does not propose changes to Metro governance, policies, or programs. Providing contextual information regarding County governance reforms supports informed and transparent decision-making, which aligns with Metro’s equity principles.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled_Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
As part of these ongoing efforts, this item is not expected to contribute to further reductions in VMT. Because the Metro Board has adopted an agency-wide VMT Reduction Target, and this item supports the overall function of the agency, this item is consistent with the goals of reducing VMT.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Approval of this recommendation supports Metro Strategic Plan goal #5 to provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization by establishing organizational excellence, transparency, and accountable governance.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon receiving and filing this report, staff will incorporate the Committee’s feedback and direction, refine the proposed approach as appropriate, and return with any additional analysis or materials requested to support the Ad Hoc Board Composition Committee’s continued deliberations.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 33.1 by Directors Dutra, Barger, Horvath, Padilla, Najarian, and Dupont-Walker
Attachment B - Population of Los Angeles County and Cities Since 1950 (Census Data)
Attachment C - Population and Demographic Overview by Subregion
Prepared by: Madeleine Moore, Deputy Executive Officer, Government
Relations, 213 922-4604
Marisa Perez, Deputy Chief, Community Relations
213-922-3808
Reviewed by: Nicole Englund, Chief of Staff, 213-922-7950
