News

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) received various program and project modifications to the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP), summarized as proposed Amendment #23-37, from the county transportation commissions representing the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Various and Ventura. The public review period starts on Oct. 17 and will conclude at 5 p.m. on Oct. 28. 

A copy of the project listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website. 

The Draft 2025 Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (FSTIP) is now available for public review at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) website.

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) recently awarded Digital Equity Leadership Grants of $20,000 to 15 jurisdictions in the SCAG region. The grant awardees will participate in CETF’s “Local Government Best Practices Check List Project” to accelerate the adoption of policies and practices that close the digital divide in California.

On Sept. 5, the SCAG Regional Council adopted the 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) and Connect SoCal 2024 Amendment 1, including the associated transportation conformity analyses. The Regional Council action was based on the SCAG Transportation Committee’s recommended adoption of the 2025 FTIP and Connect SoCal 2024 Amendment 1 and the SCAG Energy and Environment Committee recommending adoption of the transportation conformity analyses. 

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: 

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.

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 https://scag.ca.gov/2023-proposed-amendments.

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. 

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:  

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 Transporta

On March 28, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15—the policy directive that establishes rules for maintaining, collecting and presenting race and ethnicity data for federal agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau—for the first time since 1997.  

The revised Statistical Policy Directive requires federal, state and local agencies (including the U.S. Census Bureau) to: 

Executive Director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Kome Ajise released the following statement regarding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May Budget revision, announced today, which cuts funding for the Regional Early Action Planning Grants (REAP 2.0) program:

Governor Newsom’s proposed draft fiscal year 2025 state budget could reduce SCAG’s $246 million Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 allocation by 50 percent. SCAG staff have already allocated $192 million through formula-based and competitive programs. SCAG, with strong support from state leadership, is advocating for the governor to reconsider these cuts.

Seven innovative projects across the six-county region were honored by SCAG at the 2024 Sustainability Awards ceremonies at the 2024 Regional Conference and General Assembly on May 2 in Palm Desert. These projects are integral to accomplishing the goals of the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and promoting a more mobile, sustainable and prosperous region.   

More than 800 local and regional leaders from across Southern California gathered in Palm Desert this week to discuss challenges and opportunities facing one of the nation’s largest economic and population centers. 

Hosted by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the 59th Annual Regional Conference and General Assembly focused on the housing crisis, retaining and attracting more high-quality jobs and the future of transportation. 

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-27 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura  and Various Counties. The Public Review period starts on April 9, 2024 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on April 18, 2024.

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

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its first 2024 quarterly discussion on the state of the regional economy. The Roundtable discussion focused on the state budget deficit and its potential impacts on the SCAG region, the updated employment situation and tools for building resilience in SCAG’s cities. The following overarching themes emerged from the conversation:  

Kome Ajise, Executive Director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), released the following statement regarding proposed budget cuts to the Regional Early Action Planning Grants (REAP 2.0) and Infill Infrastructure Grants programs: 

SCAG is now accepting project nominations for Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) funding. This funding solicitation has an estimated combined budget of $278 million across all three funding sources.    

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-20 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on December 14, 2023 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on December 26, 2023.

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

Nearly 400 attendees joined SCAG for the 14th Annual Southern California Economic Summit on Dec. 7, 2023, to discuss connections between regional planning and the long-term health of the Southern California economy. 

Southern California will ride the wave of strong economic growth entering 2024, buoyed by a healthy labor market, new development, tourism and increased foreign trade, the region’s leading economists said Thursday, Nov. 7. 

Economists from across the six-county region offered a mostly optimistic forecast for the coming year, in a report released at the 14th Annual Southern California Economic Summit, though they cautioned that continued inflation and high interest rates will likely slow the rate of growth during the second half of 2024. 

On Oct. 5, SCAG’s Regional Council approved the allocation of $12.3 million to 22 projects across the six-county region that support increased housing production, sustainable land-use strategies and multimodal communities.

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its quarterly discussion on the current state of the regional economy. The region’s employment situation, the logistics sector, and labor market conditions were the focus, and several overarching themes emerged from the conversation:

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-14 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on August 2, 2023 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on August 11, 2023.

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

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-11 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Various, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on June 15, 2023 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on June 26, 2023.

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