CalBike Response to Governor’s 2024 Budget
For Immediate Release: 1/10/24
Contact: Jared Sanchez, Policy Director, CalBike, (714) 262-0921, Jared@CalBike.org
Governor’s Budget Steals from California’s Future
SACRAMENTO – The California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) released the following response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget, which fills a $200 million shortfall in the transportation budget by cutting $200 million from the Active Transportation Program (ATP).
Statement from Jared Sanchez, CalBike Policy Director:
“For the second year in a row, Governor Newsom is proposing to strip funding from one of the most cost-effective transportation programs in California. The ATP needs more money, not less, to fund dozens of worthwhile, shovel-ready projects that don’t make the cut each cycle because of inadequate funding. This is absolutely the wrong place to make cuts.
“The governor should pull funding from the State Highway Account to cover shortfalls rather than stretching climate funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) even thinner. We need to stop spending on freeway expansion and double down on climate mitigation projects, like those funded by the ATP.”
From the Governor’s Budget Summary:
There is a $200 million hole in the transportation budget:
“The Budget proposes adjustments to transportation infrastructure to account for a reduction in forecasted General Fund revenue. The Budget includes a reduction of $1.1 billion General Fund, partially offset by $791 million of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, for a net reduction of $200 million.” (Source: Governor’s Budget Summary, p. 109)
The proposed budget fills this shortfall by taking $200 million from the ATP:
“Active Transportation—A reduction of $200 million to the Active Transportation Program (ATP). This will leave the Active Transportation Program with $850 million in one-time funding. To ensure no impact to previously-awarded projects, the $200 million reduction will be backfilled from ATP funding that was anticipated to be available for allocation in future cycles.” (ibid, p. 35)
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