Equity advisory committee approves three ad hoc subcommittees to advise state transportation agencies

The Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee (EAC) voted unanimously May 14 to form three ad hoc subcommittees to provide time‑bound advisory input to the California Transportation Commission (CTC), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

The committee approved a staff proposal to create subcommittees focused on (1) community engagement policies and practices, (2) transportation planning and program guidance and (3) data implementation. Member Michelle Rousey moved the motion; Carrie Hakimi Hernandez seconded, and the motion passed without opposition.

The subcommittees are ad hoc, staff said, with the option to extend or recommend making them permanent later. Carolyn Abrams, a staff presenter, said advisory work will “always start and end with the full committee,” and that subcommittee work and outcomes will be reported at full EAC meetings.

Why it matters: the committees are intended to give EAC members more capacity to respond to multiple overlapping statewide planning processes that require equity review and comment. Staff and members identified several projects that the subcommittees will be positioned to advise on, including the California Transportation Plan, the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure, the Caltrans director’s policies (on external engagement and public transit), the draft Transit Transformation Task Force report, a district community advisory committee framework and an equity index use‑case development project.

Members raised procedural and practical concerns during the discussion. Several members urged clearer timelines and status markers for the statewide planning efforts so subcommittees can intervene at the appropriate stage. Chair Martha Armas Kelly and staff emphasized that subcommittee meetings will be publicly noticed and that non‑subcommittee EAC members may attend but will not have a vote in subcommittee proceedings. Staff also said subcommittees will determine their own chairs at their first meetings.

Staff proposed a timeline for subcommittee work that would begin in June with initial organization and hold periodic subcommittee meetings in summer and fall, timed between full EAC business meetings. The 2025 full‑committee calendar was adjusted so there will be no July business meeting and additional time during summer for subcommittee work; the next full business meeting after May will be in September (virtual), with meetings also planned for October and December.

Members volunteered interest in participating. Staff documented members who indicated interest in one or more subcommittees during the roll call; volunteers included Carrie Hakimi Hernandez, Lisa Marie Alvarado, Abameo/Abimael Chavez Hernandez, Anna Gonzales (vice chair), Naomi Iwasaki, Peggy Martinez, Andres Ramirez, Michelle Rousey, Randy Torres Van Bleck, Howard Wong, Florence Simons and others. Staff will follow up to schedule the first subcommittee meetings and to collect availability.

Formal actions taken at the meeting also included approval of the March 11–12, 2025 EAC meeting minutes; that motion was moved and seconded and approved unanimously earlier in the session.

What’s next: staff said they will post meeting notices and calendar invites for subcommittee meetings, provide a more detailed table mapping advisory opportunities to subcommittee purview and timeline (status of each statewide planning process), and brief members when the governor’s May revision to the state budget is released. Subcommittees will report back to the full EAC on progress and any tangible deliverables. No substantive policy changes were adopted at the May 14 meeting; the vote created advisory working groups to develop recommendations for the three agencies.