Securing New Revenue
State Revenue
We are fighting to ensure that additional state transportation funds are available and that Los Angeles receives a “fair share” of revenue and that our priorities are reflected. Mayor Villaraigosa successfully lobbied for the inclusion of $4 billion in transit funding in the $20 billion Proposition 1B approved on November 7, 2006. The County of Los Angeles is expected to receive over $1 billion in public transit funds.
Mayor Villaraigosa has already successfully lobbied for Prop 1B state highway funds and we are continuing to work with the Governor, Legislature, and California Transportation Commission to secure Prop 1B funds in other categories.
Federal Revenue
As a board member of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and chair from 2005-2006, Mayor Villaraigosa has pushed to expand transit service and helped secure $4.5 billion in federal transportation funds for Los Angeles County through the Safety Accountability Fairness Efficiency Transportation Equity Act of 2005.
On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed the H.R. 2764 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law No. 110-161) that included Congressman Henry Waxman’s bill to repeal the ban on federal funding for a Wilshire extension of the Purple Line.
Subway to the Sea
The Wilshire Subway is part of an overall long-term strategy to address transportation alternatives for the citizens of Los Angeles. The Mayor’s efforts ensured that a ban on Federal funding for this project was removed last year. His goal is to have the Wilshire Subway included as a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, an environmental review initiated, and the project included in the updated Long Range Transportation Plan by December 2008.