Mike Feuer Introduces Legislation to Expedite L.A. Transit Projects

Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, introduced two bills Wednesday that he said would accelerate funding and construction of Los Angeles County public transportation projects, including the Westside Subway Extension. 

One bill introduced by Feuer would allow L.A. County voters the chance to extend the length of the Measure R sales tax. Voters approved the half-cent sales tax increase for 30 years in November 2008 to fund 12 major transportation projects. The proposed expansion of the Purple Line subway from downtown L.A. through  and  to Westwood—referred to as the Westside Subway Extension—is one of those projects. It is currently slated for completion in 2036 at a cost of $4.2 billion.

Feuer said that an extension of Measure R would allow the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which handles county transportation projects, to issue bonds now against the future tax revenues. He also said the move would prevent Metro from having to rely on state or federal funding to accelerate transit projects that would otherwise take the full 30-year length of the original Measure R to complete. 

“This bill would address three major problems in Los Angeles County by creating thousands of desperately needed jobs, reducing traffic congestion that chokes our region and decreasing pollution from private vehicle trips,” Feuer said. 

A second bill Feuer presented would add urban rail transit projects to the list of development projects eligible to receive special legal protection from state environmental review challenges. 

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law last year that requires lawsuits challenging a qualified project’s environmental impact review (EIR) to be settled within 175 days of a municipal body’s approval of the review. These legal challenges also bypass the Los Angeles County Superior Court system, where lawsuits would otherwise originate, and instead go straight to the 2nd District Court of Appeal. To qualify, the projects must meet a number of criteria, including LEED silver or better certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, and must be built on unoccupied land and improve transportation efficiency.

This report was compiled with information from City News Service.