Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 17, 2026
Subject
SUBJECT: FEDERAL AND STATE REPORT
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE September 2026 Federal and State Legislative Report.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Executive Management Committee
Remarks Prepared by Raffi Haig Hamparian
Government Relations, Executive Officer: Federal Affairs
Chair Bass and members of the Executive Management Committee, I am pleased to provide an update on several key federal matters of interest to the agency. This report was prepared on September 1, 2026, and will be updated, as appropriate, at the Executive Management Committee meeting on September 17, 2026. The status of relevant pending legislation is monitored on the Metro Government Relations Legislative Matrix, which is updated monthly.
USDOT Approves TIFIA Loan for I-105 ExpressLanes Project
On July 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) gave final approval to a loan in the amount of $844 million for our I-105 ExpressLanes Project.? The Build America Bureau’s Council on Credit and Finance recommended approving this loan to Metro in early July.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wiggins addressed the status of this TIFIA loan with USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy during his visit to our Emergency Security Operations Center on June 11, 2026. Previously, at the request of Metro’s Government Relations team, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla posed a question on the I-105 ExpressLanes TIFIA loan to Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster at a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 3, 2026.
The agency very much appreciates the USDOT action in approving this TIFIA loan. Metro welcomes the opportunity to advance this project with a low interest TIFIA loan provided by the USDOT’s Build America Bureau.
FTA Provides $149.9 Million Grant for the Vermont Avenue BRT Project
Last week, the Federal Transit Administ...
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