News

Third Quarter, 2024

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its third 2024 quarterly discussion on the state of the regional economy.  Supporting data are available from SCAG’s Economic Trends Tool.  

The following overarching themes emerged from the conversation: 

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2024 Southern California Demographics Workshop Registration Open, Keynote Announced

Registration is now open for the 2024 Southern California De

The SCAG-funded expert panel study “Induced Travel Estimation Revisited,” authored by Professor Michael Manville and published this week by the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA is an early examination of how changing environmental regulations apply to new express lanes, also known as priced managed lanes.

The 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop will feature noted author and planning thought leader Bill Fulton, FAICP, as keynote speaker. Fulton’s keynote will respond to recent population projections for the region and state based on his perspective as a former mayor, planning director, and influential author. Taking lessons from other states, Fulton will discuss how Southern California can adjust to an era in which prosperity is no longer—and need not be—determined by the pace of population growth.   

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) published a joint statement on Monday committing to a sustained collaboration across local, state, and federal levels to reduce emissions from all sources. This shared effort includes withdrawal of the AQMD’s 2019 Contingency Measure Plan, which the U.S. EPA proposed disapproving in February 2024.

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The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) will receive $50 million for clean technology improvements as part of a nearly $500 million grant for Southern California within $4.3 billion in investments to reduce pollution across the nation announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).

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Registration is now open for the 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop, presented by SCAG and the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California at SCAG’s main office in Downtown Los Angeles with an online option for attendance on Sept. 24. 

Notice of Availability and Public Hearings

The draft 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) and draft Amendment 1 to the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy are available for public review and comment.

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-30 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on July 1, 2024 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on July 11, 2024.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at /2023-proposed-amendments.

Please note that some of the changes or project additions may be for projects funded with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 funds. This public involvement opportunity is provided to meet the public involvement requirements for the program of projects.

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Final State Budget Secures $480 Million for REAP 2.0 Program; Restores More Funding

The California State Legislature has approved the

Proposed Amendment #23-30

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-30 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on July 1, 2024 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on July 11, 2024.

SCAG is releasing the Sustainable Communities Program – Active Transportation and Safety call for projects on July 8. The call for projects will provide $10.4 million in funding from state Active Transportation Program Cycle 7 regional funds and a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant.

Governor Newsom’s office and state legislative leaders announced an agreement on the state budget that retains $480 million for the Regional Early Action Planning 2021 (REAP 2.0) program, a significant success achieved by the collective advocacy efforts of SCAG and our partners.    

SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise released the following statement regarding the REAP 2.0 funding included in the budget deal:  

The state has taken a major step forward in addressing the housing crisis by restoring funding to the Regional Early Action Planning Grants (REAP 2.0) program under the Budget Act of 2024, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on June 29, Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Executive Director Kome Ajise said. 

SCAG has conditionally approved $460,000 for 16 community-based organizations to implement equity-centered traffic safety and community engagement projects through the SCAG Go Human Community Streets Grant Program. Community Streets Program awardees will implement a wide variety of safety projects to increase the safety of people most harmed by traffic injuries and fatalities, particularly those walking and biking.  

Today, the SCAG Regional Council approved a project award list of 62 projects totaling $279.7 million for Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) funding. Collectively, the STBG/CMAQ/CRP programs will fund diverse multimodal transportation projects throughout the region to implement the mobility and sustainability goals from the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy.

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Regional Early Action Planning Program Update 

On May 30, the legislative leadership in the State Assembly and State Senate announced the Joint Legislative Budget Plan.

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Quality jobs provide a foundation for economic growth and resilience against economic downturns. However, like many regions, Southern California has traditionally lacked data or frameworks to measure the quality of jobs in its large, complex economy. There are a wide range of approaches for measuring job quality overall—a task that becomes even more difficult when considering the nuances and limited data availability in a single region such as Southern California.  

Yesterday, the Legislative Leadership in the Assembly and Senate announced the Joint Legislative Budget Plan. Thanks to the collective advocacy efforts of SCAG and its partners, the Joint Legislative Budget Plan restores funding for several programs cut under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January Budget proposal and May Revision.