Legislative Advocacy
The Napa Valley Transportation Authority advocates for transportation and transit legislation at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. Staff work closely with policymakers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. to influence legislation, appropriations, and other matters that will impact transit and transportation in Napa Valley and the North Bay. NVTA also monitors, analyzes, and responds to state and local legislation to ensure that transportation receives funding, projects, and programs to serve the needs of the public.
NVTA produces an annual Legislative Priorities Platform to respond quickly to legislative needs and advocate for policies and programs that keep Napa Valley moving.
Agency Partners
The Napa Valley Transportation Authority partners with many different public agencies to bring transportation projects, programs and funding to Napa County. NVTA couldn’t complete this valuable work without its many partnerships with the local jurisdictions, and regional entities and state entities like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the State Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
For questions about our legislative advocacy, please contact:
Antonio Onorato
Director of Administration, Finance, and Policy
aonorato@nvta.ca.gov
(707) 259-8779
Legislative Priorities
Legislation Watch List
| Bill Number | Subject | Status | NVTA Board of Directors Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB 16 (Dixon R) Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law: adjustment suspension | Existing law requires the state to annually adjust the tax rate on fuel based on the Consumer Price Index. This adjustment is determined in January, and the adjustment takes effect on July 1st of each year. This annual adjustment was a key change made by SB 1. AB 16 would, starting on July 1, 2024, authorize the Governor to suspend this adjustment based on a determination that the adjustment would impose an undue burden on low-income and middle-class families. AB 16 would impose the following requirements: AB 16 was not heard by the Assembly Transportation Committee before the April 27th deadline for policy committee to act on bills with a fiscal impact. | Assembly Transportation Two-Year Bill | Watch |
| AB 463 (Hart D) Electricity: prioritization of service: public transit vehicles | The goal of AB 463 is to ensure utilities take into consideration the electricity needs to charge electric buses when planning for power shutoffs. This measure would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to consider the economic, social equity, and mobility impacts of a temporary power discontinuance to customers that rely on electrical service to operate public transit vehicles. In addition, AB 463 would require electric utilities to include in their public safety power shutoff plans protocols related to mitigating those public safety impacts on public transit vehicle charging infrastructure. Due to the costs this bill would impose on the CPUC, AB 463 was placed on the Suspense File. The CPUC estimated it would cost $210,000 annually, and a one-time cost of $500,000 to hire a consultant to determine how to rank public transit charging stations. | Assembly Appropriations Held on Suspense File Two-Year Bill | Support |
| AB 540 (Wicks D) Social Service Transportation Improvement Act: coordinated transportation services agencies | Assemblywoman Wicks has decided to make AB 540 a two-year bill, meaning it will not move forward this year. The author’s office will continue to work with interested parties in an effort to build consensus on addressing paratransit service needs. This bill would amend the Social Services Transportation Improvement Act and impose a $10 vehicle registration fee. Specifically, the bill would require the coordination, rather than the consolidation, of social service transportation services under the act and would recharacterize consolidated transportation service agencies in the act as coordinated transportation service agencies. The $10 vehicle fee proposed in the bill would be allocated to each county based on population. | Assembly Transportation Two-Year Bill | Oppose Unless Amended |
| AB 557 (Hart D) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences | This bill would extend indefinitely the existing authorization for local legislative bodies with a majority vote to hold remote meetings if a proclaimed state of emergency exists. AB 557 would also change the requirement to reauthorize the use of remote meetings from every 30 days to every 45 days. | Senate Floor | Support |
| AB 610 (Holden D) Youth Transit Pass Pilot Program: free youth transit passes | AB 610 would create a pilot program that would only take effect if funds are appropriated in the budget. The bill would allow a transit operator to partner with a school district to apply for funds to offset the cost of providing and administering free youth transit passes. The funding program would award funds based on an applicant’s proportional share of the funds available. Further, AB 610 includes language that would prohibit a school from receiving funding through this program if these funds would invalidate an existing agreement with a transit agency for free youth transit passes entered before the operative date of this bill. | Senate Transportation | Support if Amended |
| AB 817 (Pacheco D) Open meetings: teleconferencing: subsidiary body | The Assembly Local Government Committee hearing on AB 817 was postponed. The bill must be heard before the May 5th hearing deadline for policy committees to remain active. AB 817 would authorize a “subsidiary body” to remotely hold a public meeting if specified conditions are met. The bill defines a subsidiary body to include: • certain types of commissions, committees, or other body as defined in paragraph (b) of Government Code Section 54952, • a body that serves exclusively as an advisory body, • a body that is not authorized to take final action on any contract, legislation, regulation, or permit. AB 817 would also require the members of the body to participate through both audio and visual technology. The public must be able to participate in the body’s proceedings either by phone line or through an internet-based platform. | Assembly Local Government Two-Year Bill | Support |
| AB 1377 (Friedman D) Interagency Council on Homelessness | Under the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program, applicants of funds beginning with Round 3 are required to provide data and other information on progress toward meeting the goals of the program. As amended, AB 1377 would add to these reporting requirements data and a narrative of specific and quantifiable steps that the applicant has taken to improve the delivery of housing and services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, on transit properties that operate in their jurisdiction. | Senate Housing | Support |
| AB 1379 (Papan D) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences | The Assembly Local Government Committee hearing on AB 1379 was cancelled. Since this bill is “keyed” fiscal it becomes a two-year bill and will not move until January 2024. The reason for this action was likely due to concerns expressed by the committee staff and chair. AB 1379 would amend the Brown Act to allow a legislative body to hold meetings in any combination of in person or remote participation. The bill specifies a quorum can be established by any of the following: • Consisting of members participating remotely. • Consisting of members participating at a designated location. • Consisting of members participating remotely and at a designated location. AB 1379 specifies that the “singular designated physical meeting location” must be open to the public and located within the legislative body’s jurisdiction. | Assembly Local Government Two-Year Bill | Watch |
| ACA 1 (Aguiar-Curry D) Local government financing: affordable housing and public infrastructure: voter approval | Identical to last session’s proposal, ACA 1 would lower the voter threshold for property tax increases, parcel taxes and sales taxes to 55% if the funds are used for affordable housing and infrastructure projects. Infrastructure project is defined to include capital improvements to transit and streets and highways. ACA 1 was amended to expand the definition of a special district to include a regional transportation commission and an association of governments. ACA 1 does not allow for the 55% local measure to use the tax revenue for transit operations. | Assembly Local Government | Oppose |
| SB 5 (Nguyen R) Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law: limitation on adjustment | Existing law requires the state to annually adjust the tax rate on fuel based on the Consumer Price Index. This adjustment is determined in January, and the adjustment takes effect on July 1st of each year. This annual adjustment was a key change made by SB 1. Under SB 5 any adjustment shall not exceed 2 percent. Limiting the adjustment will impact the ability for transportation programs to keep pace with inflation. | Senate Governance & Finance | Oppose |
| SB 411 (Portantino D) Open meetings: teleconferences: bodies with appointed membership | SB 411 was approved by the Senate and is now pending in the Assembly. As introduced SB 411 would add additional flexibility by authorizing a legislative body to use alternate teleconferencing provisions similar to the emergency provisions indefinitely and without regard to a state of emergency. SB 411 was substantively amended in the Senate Committee on Governance & Finance. As amended, SB 411 would only allow neighborhood advisory councils located within the City of Los Angeles to conduct meetings remotely. | Assembly Local Government | Watch |
| SB 537 (Becker D) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences | SB 537 allows for remote participation for legislative bodies that are a board, commission, or advisory body of a “multijurisdictional,” cross county agency, the membership of which board, commission, or advisory body is appointed. Additional restrictions were added to the bill when the Senate Governance & Finance Committee heard it. The new restrictions include: • The legislative body adopts a resolution authorizing the use of teleconferencing at regular meetings. • At least a quorum of the legislative body shall participate from “locations” within the local agency’s jurisdiction. • A member shall not participate remotely unless both the following are met: o The remote location must be more than 40 miles away from the in-person meeting location, and: o The member participates from their office or a location in a publicly accessible building. | Senate Appropriations Held on Suspense File Two-Year Bill | Watch |
| SB 670 (Allen D) Transportation: vehicle miles traveled; maps | As amended, SB 670 directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB), in consultation with Caltrans and Office of Planning and Research (OPR), to develop maps of average vehicle miles traveled (VMT) at the local, regional, and statewide levels, and provides direction to how those maps should be reconciled with existing ones. | Senate Appropriations Held on Suspense File Two-Year Bill | Watch |
| SB 769 (Gonzalez D) Local government: fiscal and financial training | SB 769 would require, if a local agency provides any type of compensation, or expense reimbursement to members of its legislative body, to provide the members of the legislative body at least two hours of fiscal and financial training at least once every two years. Fiscal and financial training is defined to include the following: • Laws and principles relating to financial administration and short-and long-term fiscal management, • Laws and principles relating to capital financing and debt management, pensions and other postemployment benefits, and cash management and investments. • General fiscal and financial planning principles and any pertinent laws relevant to the local agency official’s public service and role in overseeing the local agency’s operations. | Assembly Appropriations | Watch |