San Francisco Transportation Authority hears update on Cap-and-Invest extension and SB 63 regional transit measure

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority board received an update Sept. 9 on state efforts to extend California's Cap-and-Invest program (formerly Cap-and-Trade) and on Senate Bill 63, the proposed multiyear regional transit funding measure often called the Connect Bay Area Act. Staff said both efforts could substantially increase funding for high-priority transit projects but that outcomes remained uncertain with legislative deadlines approaching.

Amber Crabbe, the Authority's legislative lead, told commissioners that the Cap-and-Invest program raises roughly $4 billion annually today and that extension legislation and related expenditure plans were changing "hour by hour" as the Sept. 12 bill deadline approached. Crabbe said proposed extensions seek to secure long-term continuous appropriations for transit programs and to reserve $1 billion for high-speed rail bookend projects.

Jesse Kahler, the Authority's rail program manager, described the latest amendments to SB 63. In its most recent…