Executive Director’s Monthly Report, March 2025
Surface Transportation Block Grant and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program Guidelines Now Available
On March 6, the SCAG Regional Council approved the federal fiscal year 2026-27 and federal fiscal year 2027-28 Surface Transportation Block Grant program (STBG) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program (CMAQ) Program Guidelines. The upcoming call for project nominations will make an estimated $1.2 billion available for eligible transportation projects in the SCAG region in federal fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28.
The new program guidelines incorporate learnings from the previous call for project nominations, streamline the application process, and establish project categories that reflect goals and strategies from the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and the 2024-25 SCAG presidential and Regional Council priorities and objectives. These updated guidelines also prioritize federal performance management areas, consider presidential executive orders and U.S. Department of Transportation policy changes, prioritize projects that reduce particulate matter 2.5 air pollution (in alignment with federal guidance), and ensure timely information about the funding opportunity and related requirements for eligible applicants. SCAG developed the program guidelines in coordination with county transportation commissions, outlining SCAG’s project selection process for federal STBG and CMAQ funding.
These Federal Highway Administration programs fund transportation projects and programs based on unique eligibility criteria. The STBG program funds transportation projects to preserve and improve conditions and performance of highways, bridges, and public roads; pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure; and transit capital projects. The CMAQ program funds transportation projects and programs that reduce congestion and improve air quality for areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, or particulate matter (i.e., nonattainment areas) and for former nonattainment areas that are now in compliance (i.e., maintenance areas).
SCAG will host virtual program workshops on March 12 and 18 to engage with interested applicants. County transportation commissions will also host their own workshops. Applicants should coordinate with their county transportation commissions to ensure their project applications align with county priorities.
The online application will be available from March 31 through May 16. Award recommendations will be presented to the SCAG Regional Council by December 2025.
For additional information on these programs and the upcoming call for projects, please see the SCAG STBG/CMAQ webpage.
Regional Council Approves Draft Comprehensive Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26
At its March 2025 meeting, SCAG’s Regional Council approved SCAG’s Draft Comprehensive Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26, including the Draft Overall Work Program (OWP). The framework for developing the fiscal year 2025-26 Draft Comprehensive Budget is SCAG’s multi-year Strategic Plan, which documents the agency’s vision for improving the organization and its operations.
The Regional Council’s vote authorized the release of the Draft OWP for a 30-day period of public review from March 6 to April 7. Comments may be submitted to nguyenk@scag.ca.gov or via the online comment form.
At the close of the public comment period, the Final OWP will be submitted to the Regional Council for approval on May 1. The General Fund Budget and the Membership Assessment will also be submitted to the General Assembly for approval in May.
Register Today for the 2025 Regional Conference and General Assembly
Join SCAG for the 2025 Regional Conference and General Assembly, May 1-2 at the JW Marriott in Palm Desert. This year, SCAG will celebrate its 60th anniversary. SCAG has worked with the region’s leaders to plan for a brighter future for Southern California since 1965.
Attend the 2025 Regional Conference and General Assembly and join regional leaders from the public and private sectors to share best practices and lessons learned and work toward common goals. At the event, SCAG members can access all the benefits of membership while networking with panelists and SCAG staff to learn about resources and tools available to support the region’s collective success. The Regional Conference and General Assembly also offers an annual opportunity to represent local causes at the regional scale, including voting on SCAG’s new leadership and budget for the coming fiscal year.
Register online today to join SCAG in celebrating the 60th anniversary of regional planning in Southern California while looking to the next 60 years and beyond.
Calexico Intermodal Transportation Breaks Ground with SCAG REAP Funding Support
The Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC) held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction of the long-awaited Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC). The Calexico ITC will provide a needed multimodal mobility hub in downtown Calexico, improving transit service and pedestrian safety near one of the busiest transit lines and international ports of entry in the state and creating opportunities for economic development.
The total project cost is approximately $19 million. SCAG funded approximately $1 million for the project through the County Transportation Commission Partnership Program—a program included in SCAG’s Regional Early Action Planning Grants program, also known as REAP 2.0. Earlier in 2014, SCAG funded the feasibility study that resulted in the project. Additionally, ICTC was awarded $1.1 million through the state’s Active Transportation Program.
SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise spoke at the groundbreaking on the importance of regional collaboration and leveraging creative fund sources to support important projects in underserved communities throughout the region. Other speakers included Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert), ICTC Executive Director David Aguirre, and representatives from the offices of State Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) and State Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez (R-Indio). The project is scheduled for completion in early 2026 and will serve numerous public transit routes, taxi services, microtransit, Greyhound buses, and farm labor buses to support downtown growth, safety, and economic vitality.
Regional Recovery and Resilience Policy Committee Conversations
In February, after the Eaton and Pacific Palisades Wildfires, SCAG held a Joint Policy Committee to discuss rebuilding, recovery, and resilience from a regional perspective. This meeting featured rich discussion on a range of issues and considerations important to regional recovery and long-term resilience. In response, each policy committee brought forth resilience topics for further discussion in March, including a speaker panel on Climate Resilient Districts, an item on Community Development Financial Institutions, learnings from Sonoma County’s rebuilding and mutual aid support efforts, and items on Ventura County and Caltrans plans for emergency preparedness and operations from a transportation perspective. Each of these shared angles on how jurisdictions can increase their resilience to wildfires and related hazards through planning and implementing various strategies and tools. Resilience will continue to be a core topic of each committee over the coming months to lift up best practices for increased resilience throughout the region.
SCAG Economic Roundtable Publishes Quarterly Report on the Regional Economy
SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its third 2024 quarterly discussion on Feb. 20 to discuss trends, data, and current events impacting the region’s economy. The new U.S. presidential administration and the Southern California wildfires dominated the discussion.
While the effects of the wildfires have been severe and devastating, the size, diversity, and vigor of the county and regional economies provide additional economic incentives to rebuild and will likely accelerate the process. Policy uncertainties stemming from the first month of the new federal administration create challenges for setting expectations for future policies, programs, funding, and investments at this time.
More detail on each of the major themes identified by the Economic Roundtable can be found in the complete Quarterly Report.
Connect SoCal Program Environmental Impact Review Receives National Award
SCAG will receive an award for “Outstanding Environmental Analysis Document” from the Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) for the Program Environmental Impact Report for the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). The AEP is one of the largest and most well-respected organizations for public- and private-sector environmental planners and California Environmental Quality Act practitioners in the State of California. The AEP comprises nine local chapters and over 2,000 members throughout the state, publishing the “CEQA Statute and Guidelines” each year.
This is the first time SCAG has received state recognition for its environmental analyses for an RTP/SCS. SCAG staff will attend the AEP Conference in Oxnard on April 7 to receive the award. SCAG won a 2023 AEP award for its Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 1.0 Development Streamlining project, which developed a series of guidance materials on streamlining options or exemptions under CEQA and other state laws as part of SCAG’s efforts to accelerate housing production.
SCAG Go Human Receives CALCOG’s Eureka! Award for Regional Excellence
On March 5, 2025, in Sacramento, the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG) recognized SCAG’s active transportation safety and engagement program, Go Human, with the Eureka! Award for Regional Excellence. The award recognizes Go Human’s creative leadership and thinking needed to develop and implement new ideas that serve as best practices for others to follow.
The award celebrates Go Human for crafting resources to address regional priorities by amplifying locally-identified solutions, creating unique, innovative offerings, representing a model of success for effective community engagement strategies, and supporting hyper-local community challenges and needs as a regional convener. Go Human is a multi‐pronged active transportation safety and community engagement program that implements critical safety targets related to more sustainable transportation as outlined SCAG’s Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy.
SCAG and Go Human are honored to receive the Eureka! Award.
SCAG Welcomes New Regional Council Members
On Feb. 26, President Curt Hagman, Executive Director Kome Ajise, and executive staff welcomed new members to SCAG at the New Member Orientation. Joined by current regional council and policy committee members and former SCAG presidents, nearly 30 new members and supporting staff learned about SCAG’s history, work, and projects. Workshop attendees heard from former Regional Council members about their experiences at SCAG in a special mentoring session.
SCAG Go Human, Riverside University Health System-Public Health Team Up for Traffic Safety Campaign
Riverside University Health System-Public Health collaborated with SCAG to pool resources to create a three-month pedestrian safety advertising campaign focused on trips to and from school during back-to-school season. The campaign featured bilingual traffic safety advertisements that ran in movie theaters ahead of the featured shows in San Jacinto, Hemet, and Coachella Valley between November 2024 and January 2025. SCAG provided Go Human creative to Riverside University Health System-Public Health, which created video advertisements with tips for student safety and reminding drivers to watch for people walking near schools–which, through the donated media space in theatres, received 500,000 impressions.
SCAG Attends California Transportation Foundation Forum
SCAG Hosts UC Institute of Transportation Studies Board of Advisors Meeting
In February, SCAG hosted an annual gathering of University of California Institute of Transportation Studies (UC-ITS) Advisory Board Members to share UC-ITS accomplishments from the past year as well as strategic directions to guide the program’s direction as UC-ITS drives innovation in transportation through research and collaboration with policymakers and practitioners.
Participating members included SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise, Director of Center for Urban Infrastructure Sarah Catz, Richard France from Estolano Advisors, Fran Inman from Majestic Realty Co., Stephanie Wiggins from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Ramin Massoumi from Arcadis. Areas of interest discussed included reducing vehicle miles traveled as a cornerstone of state transportation planning strategy and ongoing efforts to increase post-pandemic transit ridership.
SCAG Attends NARC Conference of Regions
The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) hosted its annual “Conference of Regions” from Feb. 9 through Feb. 12. The conference gathers metropolitan planning organizations from across the country to access information and facilitate discussion on current and potential impacts of federal action.
Representing SCAG were Executive Director Kome Ajise, Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer Javiera Cartagena, and SCAG legislative team staff. In addition to participating in the conference, which provided valuable insights into ongoing federal reconciliation and budget negotiations and Surface Transportation Reauthorization updates, SCAG met with staff from various members of the SCAG Congressional delegation, including the offices of Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), both of whom sit on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; congressmembers Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), both of whom sit on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; as well as minority staff for the Senate Environment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure committees and Intergovernmental Relations staff from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
SCAG Joins Mobility21’s Sacramento Delegation Trip
SCAG’s Chief Operating Officer Darin Chidsey participated in Mobility 21’s Sacramento Delegation Trip, where he and his fellow regional leaders met with state elected officials, department secretaries, and staff to discuss the region’s transportation priorities. During the trip, Chidsey met with Toks Omishakin, secretary for the California State Transportation Agency; Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee; Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), chair of the Senate Budget Committee; and several other assemblymembers and senators.
SCAG staff emphasized SCAG-region priorities during the trip, including the extension of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program, solutions for meeting the region’s transportation safety targets, and the protection of vital transportation funding in the upcoming state budget. The trip concluded with a legislative reception featuring members of SCAG’s state legislative delegation, including Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), Senator Rosilicie Ochoa-Bogh (R-Yucaipa), Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), and others.
SCAG Attends ZM Trucks Opening Event
On Feb. 28, SCAG Regional Council President Curt Hagman, Regional Council Member Acquanetta Warren (Fontana), Executive Director Kome Ajise, Chief Planning Officer Sarah Jepson, and government affairs staff attended the ZM Trucks Opening Ceremony of the North American Plant and Headquarters. ZM Trucks, North America’s newest zero-emission commercial truck brand, is locating its first North American manufacturing plant in the city of Fontana. The company will manufacture a diverse portfolio of zero-emission products including electric commercial trucks, terminal tractors, and airport ground service equipment. President Hagman and Mayor Warren spoke to the importance of having businesses like ZM Trucks in the region and the impact zero-emission goods movement transportation equipment will have in meeting emissions reduction goals in the SCAG region.
SCAG Presents to Graduate Students at the University of Southern California
On Feb. 20, Executive Director Kome Ajise gave a lecture to a “Collaborative Governance” graduate-level class at the University of Southern California. The presentation provided an overview of SCAG’s governing structure and core responsibilities, the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, and other key issues in the region.
