Legislation
The Southern California Association of Governments maintains a State and Federal Legislative Program, which consists of the Regional Council’s positions on policies and legislative initiatives related to SCAG’s core planning and policy areas—transportation, air quality, freight/goods movement, housing, environmental impact, sustainability, and economic recovery and job creation—that need the leadership and support of Congress and the California State legislature to resolve challenges facing the SCAG region.
SCAG’s legislative efforts are the product of a bottoms-up process whereby the Legislative/Communications & Membership Committee, comprised of elected officials from throughout the region, identifies and recommends specific legislative action for consideration by the Regional Council with respect to state and federal legislation affecting the SCAG region. The Regional Council takes formal legislative positions and directs the agency’s advocacy efforts on all legislative matters.
Contact
If you any questions, comments, or need more information on federal & state legislative issues, please contact:
Kevin Gilhooley
Manager, Legislation
(213) 236-1878
gilhooley@scag.ca.gov
Advocacy
Federal
In federal legislative matters, SCAG provides regional input to Congressional lawmakers, the Administration, and federal agency officials concerning the broad spectrum of issues encompassing SCAG’s core jurisdictions: transportation, land-use, environment, climate change, energy, sustainability, and water. As the nation’s largest Metropolitan Planning Organization serving over 18.9 million residents of Southern California, SCAG seeks to both apprise and advocate for its 191 member cities, 6 member counties, and other stakeholders/members on legislative actions in Washington DC that affect the region in these areas.
SCAG was integrally involved with its partner organizations throughout the region, state, and nation to pass the surface transportation authorization law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015, or FAST Act, which in part authorized for the first time in U.S. history funding for a national freight program to more efficiently move freight throughout the country and enhance our nation’s competitiveness vis-à-vis the rest of the world. SCAG will continue its work to help develop and pass needed implementing legislation and regulatory/rulemaking authority to ensure a seamless integration of FAST Act policies into the existing transportation programs and architecture.
State
In state legislative matters, SCAG’s efforts are focused on stabilizing and enhancing transportation funding while preserving the authority and flexibility of local government and transportation entities to best utilize available resources to meet the needs of an ever-growing region. SCAG seeks to implement its Regional Council-adopted legislative priorities to advance policies beneficial to the region in areas such as project acceleration and streamlining, economic development and community reinvestment, Cap-and-Trade revenue allocation, surface transportation authorization implementation, climate change/greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and housing/affordable housing expansion.
SCAG also pursues legislation consistent with the agency’s economic and growth strategy objectives to spur economic recovery by supporting measures such as the extension of the state’s successful film tax credit program and targeted tax incentives and beneficial regulatory treatment in the green technology industries. In all such legislative efforts, SCAG endeavors to create a collaborative, “bottom-up” approach with its constituent members and local stakeholder partners to achieve legislative policy results that are comprehensive and beneficial to the entire region.
Contact
If you any questions, comments, or need more information on federal & state legislative issues, please contact:
Kevin Gilhooley
Manager, Legislation
(213) 236-1878
gilhooley@scag.ca.gov
