Assembly panel examines patchwork plan to cover motor vehicle account shortfall

Assemblymember Steve Bennett, chairing a California State Assembly informational hearing on transportation funding, opened the meeting by placing one item at the center of the day’s discussion: the motor vehicle account (MVA) shortfall and the administration’s proposal for a one‑time transfer.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office told the committee the administration’s one‑time solution is “not unreasonable but it does have trade offs associated.” Rachel Ehlers of the LAO said the proposal relies in part on shifting funds that have been used for clean energy (including Proposition 4/GGRF‑related transfers) and warned that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s receipts have been tracking below prior projections. “Fundamentally this represents a one time solution to an ongoing problem,” Ehlers said, adding that expenditures are growing faster than revenues and that “eventually this is going…