Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 24, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: STATE AND FEDERAL REPORT
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE October 2024 State and Federal Legislative Report.
Issue
ISSUE
This report was prepared on October 8, 2024, and will be updated, as appropriate, at the Executive Management Committee meeting on October 24, 2024. The status of relevant pending legislation is monitored on the Metro Government Relations Legislative Matrix <https://libraryarchives.metro.net/DB_Attachments/241018%20-%20October%202024%20-%20LA%20Metro%20Legislative%20Matrix.pdf>, which is updated monthly.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Executive Management Committee
Remarks Prepared by Raffi Haig Hamparian
Government Relations, Deputy Executive Officer: Federal Affairs
Chair Hahn and members of the Executive Management Committee, I am pleased to provide an update on several key federal matters of interest to our agency.
Metro Board Chair Southeast Gateway Line Advocacy Trip to Washington, DC - Included Meetings at the White House, USDOT and the U.S. Capitol
Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn led a delegation of officials from the Gateway Council of Governments on an ambitious trip to Washington, DC to advocate for the Southeast Gateway Line. Specifically, Chair Hahn’s trip focused on ensuring that the Southeast Gateway Line - Metro’s #1 priority for the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant Program - is included in the FTA’s Fiscal Year 2026 New Starts Report. The delegation led by Chair Hahn held high-level meetings with White House infrastructure officials, with senior aides for Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and with federal elected officials including U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA), U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Congressmembers Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Robert Garcia (D-CA). Participants in the delegation led by Chair Hahn also had an opportunity to discuss the status of the Southeast Gateway Line with senior aides for both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee - both of which have jurisdiction over transit related matters in Congress.
U.S. Department of Transportation - Status of Federal Government Spending Bills
On September 26, 2024, President Biden signed into law a continuing resolution (H.R. 9747 - Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025) that was earlier adopted by both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The continuing resolution signed into law by the President will keep federal agencies - like the U.S. Department of Transportation - funded through December 20, 2024. Metro’s Government Relations team will remain in close communication with professional staffers working for members of the Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation to ensure that any final spending bill for the balance of federal fiscal year 2025 will ensure the free flow of federal transportation dollars to our agency, in amounts consistent with the levels authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (P.L. 117-58).
East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Project - Full Funding Grant Agreement Event
Metro’s Government Relations worked closely with key federal stakeholders, including Acting FTA Administrator Veronica Vanterpool, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Congressman Tony Cardenas (D-CA) to ensure the success of an event held on September 6, 2024, to mark the signing of a $893 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the East San Fernando Valley (ESFV) Light Rail Transit Project. This FFGA was unique in that LA Metro is the only transit agency in the nation to conclude such an agreement under the FTA’s Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program.
Federal Transit Administration - Tour Provided for FTA Deputy Administrator
Metro was pleased to host FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool on Saturday - September 7, 2024, for a tour of several major capital projects, including the Metro Airport Connector Project, the Westside Purple Line Extension (Section 3), and a visit to Exposition Park - where Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins and her staff outlined our mobility plans for the upcoming 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Transit Operator Safety
As we have consistently reported to the Board, Metro maintains open lines of communication with the Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation on federal initiatives to enhance transit operator safety. The current surface transportation authorization measure - the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - will be expiring in late 2026. This will provide Metro with an opportunity to work with a variety of stakeholders to authorize federal programs to further enhance transit operator safety.
On September 25, 2024, the FTA provided a notice through the Federal Register that it will be “issuing a General Directive to address the significant and continuing national-level safety risk related to assaults on transit workers.” According to the FTA, “the General Directive requires each transit agency subject to FTA's Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Final Rule to conduct a safety risk assessment, identify safety risk mitigations or strategies, and provide information to FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, and monitoring the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers. Each transit agency serving a large urbanized area must involve the joint labor-management Safety Committee when identifying safety risk mitigations.”
Metro looks forward to providing our feedback with respect to the FTA’s General Directive, including information related to safety risk assessments, identifying safety risk mitigation and strategies, and detailed information on how the FTA should assess, mitigate, and monitor the safety risk associated with assaults on transit workers. Metro’s response will be provided to the FTA prior to December 26, 2024, which is the formal deadline for responses.
U.S. Department of Transportation/2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Metro is working with a diverse number of partners to secure financial support from the federal government for our agency’s efforts related to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This effort is outlined and informed by our Board-approved 2024 Federal Legislative Program. In 2024, we have been working with the appropriate congressional committees to explore how the Fiscal Year 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill might include funding for mobility related projects and initiatives tied to the upcoming 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are pleased that the U.S. Senate’s Fiscal Year 2025 THUD bill included $200 million for Olympics-related mobility projects. Likewise, we are encouraged that Congressman Robert Garcia circulated a letter - signed by 17 members of the House - urging House leaders to include a similar amount of funding in their Fiscal Year 2025 THUD spending measure. We are also continuing to work with the Biden-Harris Administration - including the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) - to discuss how funding for mobility-related projects and initiatives tied to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games might be included in the Fiscal Year 2026 White House Budget that will be released in early 2025.
Federal Transportation Grants
As we near both the end of the federal fiscal year and the calendar year, Metro will be mindful to aggressively find federal grant opportunities to fund Metro projects and initiatives. As we always do with our federal grant requests, we will work closely with members of the LA County Congressional Delegation and other key stakeholders to solicit their support for our future grant applications.
Executive Management Committee
Remarks Prepared by Madeleine Moore
Government Relations, Deputy Executive Officer: State Affairs
Chair Hahn and members of the Board, I am pleased to provide an update on several state matters of interest to our agency.
Legislative Update
The 2023-24 regular legislative session in Sacramento ended on August 31st. Governor Newsom had until September 30th to act on every bill that the legislature passed. Overall, this was a typical session year in terms of number of bills introduced, which was 2,159. Of those, 56% were sent to the Governor, and 84% of those bills sent to the Governor were signed. Metro’s sponsored ethics legislation, AB 3123 by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D - Los Angeles) was signed on September 27. Metro-supported AB 761 by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D - Glendale) was signed on September 22. This bill will allow an enhanced infrastructure financing district (EIFD) enacted primarily to develop and construct passenger rail projects in Los Angeles County to last 75 years instead of 45 years, to align it with Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan terms. Finally, Metro-supported SB 1297 by Senator Ben Allen (D - Santa Monica) was also signed by the Governor. This bill which would authorize, until January 1, 2032, the City of Malibu to establish a speed safety pilot program for speed enforcement that utilizes up to 5 speed safety systems on Pacific Coast Highway. All three of these bills will take effect on January 1, 2025.
Special Legislative Session
Following the conclusion of the regular legislative session, Governor Newsom called for a special legislative session to address oil and gas price spikes. The purpose of this special session is primarily to consider the Governor’s proposal to prevent price spikes by authorizing the California Energy Commission (CEC) to require refineries to maintain a minimum inventory of refined fuel throughout the distribution chain to avoid supply shortages. The proposal would also authorize the CEC to require refiners to plan for resupply during scheduled maintenance. The first hearings of the legislature’s special session began in mid-September in the Assembly. The Assembly passed the Governor’s proposal, ABX2-1, on October 1, and the Senate is due to vote on this bill on October 11.
LA County Legislative Delegation Coordination
Following the November election, the LA County Legislative Delegation in the Senate and Assembly will undergo a number of changes to its membership. LA Metro is pleased to welcome these new members to the Delegation and will be coordinating with the staff of these new members to meet with CEO Wiggins. At these meetings, members are introduced to key projects in their districts and the overall structure of the operations of transportation in the County, along with information about the funding and Board structure of the agency. These meetings ensure that we are establishing good working relationships with everyone who represents a portion of the County, along with any new members of legislative leadership.
State Equity Analysis
Government Relations will continue to work with the Office of Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Inclusion in reviewing legislation introduced in Sacramento to address any equity issues in proposed bills and the budget process. In the most recent month, staff has coordinated legislative efforts related to the Olympics, as well as through the solicitation of legislative ideas for our 2025 legislative program.
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Michael Turner, Executive Officer, Government Relations, (213) 922-2122
Madeleine Moore, Deputy Executive Officer, Government Relations, (213) 922-4604
Raffi Hamparian, Deputy Executive Officer, Government Relations, (213) 922-3769
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Nicole Englund, Chief of Staff, (213) 922-7950
