Hundreds rally at Sacramento State Capitol to protect billions in transit, housing, and climate funding currently in jeopardy

On Monday, August 10th, Transbay Coalition and Seamless Bay Area, along with over 30 co-sponsors and 200 attendees from across the state, rallied and lobbied for transit, affordable housing, clean air, and clean water. This is a historic achievement; to our knowledge, this is the largest Transit lobby day ever organized in Sacramento.

In May, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved changes to defund transit, affordable housing, clean air and water programs, all which work to make California a more accessible, equitable, environmentally friendly, and affordable place to live.

The changes are anticipated to reduce annual revenue available for those investments by approximately $2 billion, jeopardizing key transit and affordable housing projects, as well as tens of thousands of jobs statewide. Meanwhile, the action by the CARB board provides an additional $4 billion in subsidies and free emissions allowances to refineries and other polluting industries.

To combat these cuts, Seamless Bay Area and Transbay Coalition organized a rally, along with Streets For All, Housing California, Move California, SPUR, Communities for a Better Environment, Climate Plan as primary hosts. 

We were also joined by SD350, Move LA, Friends of Caltrain, Transform, California Transit Association, Davis College Democrats, Voices for Public Transportation, California Bicycle Coalition, East Bay Housing Organizations, SF Transit Riders, Enterprise Community Partners, Sacramento DSA, East Bay Young Democrats, Senior Disability Action, the Sierra Club, Davis College Democrats, Sacramento DSA, The Climate Center, Public Advocates, YIMBY Action, Kennedy Commission, NextGen California, Natural Resources Defense Council, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.

At the Rally, we were joined by numerous legislators, including State Senators Jesse Arregun, Dave Cortese, Catherine Blakespear, Sen. Scott Wiener, and Gomez-Reyes, and Assembly Members Damon Connolly and Mark Gonzalez. You can watch the rally on Instagram. 

Their words make it clear that we have allies in the legislature on the side of transit, and that we are not alone in the fight to ensure that all Californians have access to mobility so they can get to the places that they need to go.  

Following the rally, we had meetings with over 40 Assemblymembers from across the state. We were noticed throughout the swing space for our bright green buttons, reading “Transit, Clean Air & Water, Housing.” 

From those meetings, we now have over 15 sign-ons to a letter authored by Asm. Connolly, calling for the Assembly to stop the cuts that the California Air Resources Board made to these invaluable resources that California communities thrive on. 

Our efforts at the Capitol were noticed not only by the legislature, but also by the press. We have been featured in four different publications, including SF Gate, Streetsblog SF, the Contra Costa Pulse, and Local News Matters.

Check out this blog post to learn more about the cuts. 

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