State transportation agencies presented a set of near‑term advisory opportunities for the Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee at the March 12 meeting, asking members where and how they want to provide input for programs and funding guidance.

Allison Jo, Deputy Secretary for Equity and Workforce at the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), and staff from the California Transportation Commission (CTC) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) summarized several items where committee expertise can be useful, including the Transit Transformation Task Force, an update to the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), the Port and Freight Infrastructure Program, development of the Caltrans community engagement playbook, and review of community engagement narratives for SB1 project selection.

Allison Jo described the EAC’s role in advising state agencies: “This committee is incredibly important because the role that you play in being able to advise and provide recommendations to the three agencies here on things that are impacting community driven efforts on the ground in our transportation systems is incredibly important,” she said. Staff noted these advisory opportunities are at different stages of work and have different timelines.

Key items and near‑term windows for engagement cited by staff:
- Transit Transformation Task Force (SB 125): CalSTA convened the task force to set a statewide agenda for transit transformation; staff reported the task force’s final report is due in September 2025 and indicated opportunities for EAC members to contribute through technical working groups or public comment windows.
- CAPTI update: The Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure is in a review phase; the EAC previously provided recommendations and staff indicated follow‑on opportunities for member input.
- Port and Freight Infrastructure Program: staff invited committee input on equity considerations for port and freight investments.
- Caltrans community engagement playbook and public engagement processes: staff said the playbook is in development and that committee members could contribute to outreach guidance.
- Senate Bill 1 (SB1) program/project review: the CTC noted an ongoing selection process and asked members to consider volunteering to review applicant community engagement narratives; staff provided procedural timelines.

Staff also cited recent program context: at the federal and state level agencies are managing program guidance and funding flows (staff noted the Federal Transit Administration 5310 program awarded about $51.7 million and referenced SB1 program awards that staff summarized as more than $1.7 billion to projects as context for statewide investments).

Ending
Staff asked members to indicate areas of interest and availability; members and staff agreed to circulate schedules and relevant materials, and to include status updates on agency priorities at future meetings so EAC members can plan participation in technical reviews and public comment windows.