California SB 1087 — Transportation planning: sustainable communities strategies: transportation funding programs.

California, 20252026. SB 1087: Transportation planning: sustainable communities strategies: transportation funding programs.

Plural source record ↗

Official legislative source ↗

Latest action

September 30, 2026 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 1005, Statutes of 2026.

Summary

(1) Existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt regional transportation plans directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. Existing law requires a regional transportation plan to include a policy element, a sustainable communities strategy prepared by a metropolitan planning organization, an action element, and a financial element, as provided. Existing law requires those transportation planning agencies to adopt and submit every 4 years, except as provided, an updated regional transportation plan to the California Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation. Existing law requires a sustainable communities strategy to achieve regional targets set by the State Air Resources Board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the automobile and light truck sector in the region for 2020 and 2035, respectively, and requires the state board to update those targets every 8 years, consistent with each metropolitan planning organization's timeframe for updating its regional transportation plan, as specified. Existing law establishes certain procedural requirements for setting and updating those targets and authorizes the state board to revise the targets every 4 years based on changes in specified factors. Existing law, to the extent the sustainable communities strategy is unable to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, requires a metropolitan planning organization to prepare an alternative planning strategy to the sustainable communities strategy showing how the targets would be achieved through alternative development patterns, infrastructure, or additional transportation measures or policies. Existing law requires the state board to review each metropolitan planning organization's sustainable communities strategy and alternative planning strategy to determine whether the strategy, if implemented, would achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This bill would revise and recast the requirements for a sustainable communities strategy, including, among other things, (A) requiring a sustainable communities strategy every 8 years with a progress report after 4 years instead of requiring a sustainable communities strategy every 4 years, (B) requiring the state board to provide each region with greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2035 and 2045, and (C) requiring the state board to hold technical workshops before providing those targets. The bill would also revise the state board's process for reviewing sustainable communities strategies and alternative planning strategies, as specified. Because the bill would expand duties of local agencies, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires, commencing January 1, 2020, the San Diego Association of Governments to begin developing an implementation report that tracks the implementation of its most recently adopted sustainable communities strategy, as provided. Existing law requires the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to report on the regional implementation of its most recently adopted sustainable communities strategy, as provided. This bill would repeal those provisions. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare the California Transportation Plan for submission to the Governor and the Legislature as a long-range planning document that incorporates various elements and is consistent with specified expressions of legislative intent. Existing law requires the plan to identify the statewide integrated multimodal transportation system needed to achieve statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and to attain state and national air quality standards. This bill would also require the plan to, among other things, incorporate performance measures into planning that informs delivery of transportation capital projects to help achieve the goals of the plan. The bill would, commencing with the 3rd update to the plan, revise the information that the department is required to include in the plan to include, among others, relevant performance measures within each district of the department. (4) Existing law requires certain funds appropriated by the Legislature from the Public Transportation Account to be made available for specified purposes, including, among other purposes, for the department's planning activities, mass transportation responsibilities, and assistance in regional transportation planning, as specified. This bill, for any activities within the region of a metropolitan planning organization, would require the department to limit funding to activities that are consistent with an applicable sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy, as specified. (5) Existing law creates the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. Existing law provides for the deposit of various moneys for the program into the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. Existing law requires funds in the account to be allocated for various purposes, including, among others, $25,000,000, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for local planning grants to encourage local and regional planning that furthers state goals, as provided. Existing law requires the department to develop a grant guide for the allocation of these grants. This bill, for areas within a metropolitan planning organization, would require the grant guide to encourage planning that furthers the goals of a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy. (6) Existing law requires the commission, under a program commonly known as the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, to allocate certain state and federal funds to infrastructure projects located on or along specified transportation corridors. Existing law establishes the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program and requires the commission to allocate state funds made available to the program to projects designed to achieve a balanced set of transportation, environmental, and community access improvements within highly congested travel corridors throughout the state. Under both programs, existing law requires projects within the boundaries of a metropolitan planning organization to be included in an adopted regional transportation plan that includes a sustainable communities strategy determined by the state board to achieve the region's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. For purposes of those programs, this bill would instead require, if the metropolitan planning organization has adopted an alternative planning strategy, the projects to meet prescribed requirements, including that the predominant purpose of the project is to implement a specific greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy or addresses an impediment to achieving an applicable greenhouse gas emission reduction target identified in the alternative planning strategy. (7) Existing law requires funding to be available under the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program for projects that make specific performance improvements and are part of a comprehensive corridor plan designed to reduce congestion in highly traveled corridors. Existing law authorizes the department and certain regional transportation planning agencies to nominate projects for funding through the program. This bill would require funding to be available under the program for projects that, among other things, make specific performance improvements and support the implementation of a regional transportation plan. The bill would revise the requirements applicable to a project nomination under the program. The bill would require the commission to allocate program funds to projects that, among other things, are included in an adopted regional transportation plan, as specified. (8) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Sponsors

• Cabaldon — primary sponsor

Bill text

SB1087 Read version ↗

02/13/26 - Introduced Read version ↗

03/25/26 - Amended Senate Read version ↗

04/09/26 - Amended Senate Read version ↗

06/25/26 - Amended Assembly Read version ↗

08/21/26 - Amended Assembly Read version ↗

09/08/26 - Enrolled Read version ↗

09/30/26 - Chaptered Read version ↗

Recorded votes

Legislative history

1. September 30, 2026Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 1005, Statutes of 2026.
2. September 30, 2026Approved by the Governor.
3. September 10, 2026Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
4. August 31, 2026Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 31. Noes 9.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
5. August 30, 2026In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
6. August 30, 2026Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 46. Noes 19. Page 6904.) Ordered to the Senate.
7. August 21, 2026Ordered to third reading.
8. August 21, 2026Read third time and amended.
9. August 21, 2026Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended. (Ayes 55. Noes 17. Page 6296.)
10. August 13, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
11. August 13, 2026From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (August 13).
12. August 13, 2026Assembly Rule 63 suspended.
13. August 5, 2026August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
14. June 30, 2026From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
15. June 25, 2026From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.
16. June 22, 2026June 22 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.
17. June 22, 2026Assembly Rule 56 suspended.
18. June 4, 2026Referred to Coms. on TRANS. and NAT. RES.
19. May 27, 2026In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
20. May 27, 2026Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 31. Noes 3. Page 4486.) Ordered to the Assembly.
21. May 14, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
22. May 14, 2026From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 4264.) (May 14).
23. May 8, 2026Set for hearing May 14.
24. May 4, 2026May 4 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
25. April 24, 2026Set for hearing May 4.
26. April 22, 2026From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 1. Page 3985.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
27. April 14, 2026Set for hearing April 21.
28. April 9, 2026Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.
29. April 8, 2026From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 3792.) (April 8).
30. March 25, 2026From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.
31. March 10, 2026Set for hearing April 8.
32. February 26, 2026Referred to Coms. on E.Q. and TRANS.
33. February 17, 2026From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 16.
34. February 13, 2026Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

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