State Sen. Appropriations Cmte approves #SB1031, by Sens. Wiener and Wahab, which would pave the way for tax measure to support Bay Area #transit & other transportation. Amendments require Metropolitan Transportation Commission to develop spending plans subject to approval by county transportation authorities.

A second amendment exempts "northern counties"—not specified in committee—from a vote on the regional tax measure until at least 2028. Presumably, that's to avoid a conflict with a North Bay vote to extend the SMART sales tax. Amended #SB1031 may be published tonight/early tomorrow.

Full Senate must act on bill by the end of next week.

#transit #bayarea

There’s been a lot of discussion about #SB1031, and we’re glad to see improvements to governance and return to source in the latest amendments.

#VTA and #Caltrain took “oppose unless amended” positions because they have valid issues with the bill. The goal is to get the authors to listen to rider concerns and make changes so that more stakeholders can ultimately support the measure.

#PublicTransit #SantaClaraCounty