Staff
Helen Kerstein
(916) 319-8364
Air Quality, Energy, Climate Change, and High-Speed Rail
Luke Koushmaro
(916) 319-8355
Mass Transportation, Traffic Enforcement, Statewide Planning and Infrastructure
Frank Jimenez
(916) 319-8324
Highways and Roads, Recycling, and Toxics
Rachel Ehlers
(916) 319-8330
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Environment and Transportation


Publications

Transportation

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.



Post

The 2019-20 Budget: California Spending Plan—Transportation

October 17, 2019 - This post discusses the major budget actions approved in the 2019-20 budget related to transportation.


Handout

Item 2740-001-0044 REAL ID and DMV Operational Improvements

June 3, 2019 - Presented to: Budget Conference Committee


Handout

Review of High-Speed Rail 2019 Project Update Report

May 9, 2019 - Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation


Handout

DMV Field Office Wait Times and Operational Improvements

April 22, 2019 - Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review


Handout

High-Speed Rail Update

March 26, 2019 - Senate Transportation Committee and Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation


Handout

Update on REAL ID Implementation and DMV Operations

March 12, 2019 - Senate Committee on Transportation


Report

A Review of the State's Active Transportation Program

March 1, 2019 - The state’s Active Transportation Program (ATP)—administered by the California Transportation Commission (CTC), in coordination with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)—provides funding to infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects that facilitate travelers being physically active through biking and walking. Some of the primary goals of the program include increasing the number of walking and biking trips, increasing safety and mobility, and enhancing public health. In approving the 2018-19 budget package, the Legislature directed our office to review certain aspects of the program.


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The 2019-20 Budget: Transportation Proposals

February 26, 2019 - The Governor's budget provides a total of $23.5 billion from various fund sources for all transportation departments and programs in 2019-20. This is a net increase of $1.4 billion, or 6 percent, over estimated current-year expenditures. In this report, we (1) review the Governor's 2019-20 transportation proposals, including those for the Motor Vehicle Account (MVA), the implementation of REAL ID, and the high-speed rail project, and (2) identify issues for legislative consideration.


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The 2019-20 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

January 14, 2019 - This report presents our office’s initial assessment of the Governor’s Budget. The budget’s position continues to be positive. With $20.6 billion in discretionary resources available, the Governor’s budget proposal reflects a budget situation that is even better than the one our office estimated in the November Fiscal Outlook. The Governor’s Budget allocates nearly half of these discretionary resources to repaying state liabilities. Then, the Governor allocates $5.1 billion to one-time programmatic spending, $3 billion to reserves, and $2.7 billion to ongoing spending. Although the Governor’s allocation to discretionary reserves represents a smaller share of resources than recent budgets, the Governor’s decision to use a significant share of resources to pay down state debts is prudent. The Governor’s ongoing spending proposal is roughly in line with our November estimate of the ongoing capacity of the budget under an economic growth scenario. This was just one scenario, however. Recent financial market volatility indicates revenues could be somewhat lower than either we or the administration estimated.


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Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Transportation

December 21, 2018 - Chapter 135 of 2017 (AB 398, E. Garcia) requires our office to annually report on the economic impacts and benefits of California’s statutory greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals—statewide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. This report provides our assessment of the effects, of major policies in the transportation sector intended to help meet these goals, as well as identifies some key issues for the Legislature to consider as it makes future policy and budget decisions. In a companion report, Assessing California’s Climate Policies—An Overview, we describe the general types of economic effects of state climate policies, key challenges in measuring these effects, and broad issues for the Legislature to consider when designing and evaluating its climate policies.


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Cal Facts 2018

December 6, 2018 - With a state as big, as populous, and as complex as California, quickly summarizing how its economy or state budget works is impossible. Instead, Cal Facts is a visual guide—using a variety of different charts—to the state's economy, revenues, and major program trends.


Handout

Initiative Constitutional Amendment: Fuel and Vehicle Taxes

June 18, 2018 - Presented to: Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing Assembly Committee on Transportation Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation


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California's Transportation System

June 7, 2018 - The state’s transportation system helps to move people and goods around and through the state. The aim of this primer is to provide policymakers and the public with key information about this system. The primer begins with a chapter describing transportation governance. The subsequent five chapters consist of visual charts that provide information about the following:

  • Driving. Provides information on drivers, vehicles, state highways, and local streets and roads.
  • Mass Transportation. Describes modes of transportation that move large numbers of people at once, such as transit and commercial aviation.
  • Active Transportation. Provides information on bicycling and walking trips.
  • Freight Movement. Discusses the movement of goods through air travel, rail, seaports, and highways and roads.
  • Funding. Describes the revenue sources supporting California’s transportation programs and infrastructure.


Handout

Resources and Transportation Overview

May 31, 2018 - To be presented to: 2018-19 Budget Conference Committee.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Governor’s May Revision Proposal for Caltrans’ Capital Outlay Support Program

May 13, 2018 - The Governor’s 2018-19 May Revision proposes 872 additional full-time equivalent staff resources for Caltrans’ capital outlay support program in order to accommodate increased workload resulting from Chapter 5 of 2017 (SB 1, Beall). In this post, we review the Governor’s proposal and identify issues for legislative consideration.