Statement on Bay Area Public Transit Funding Authorizing Legislation (SB 1031)

SACRAMENTO – Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward) — along with bill sponsor Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) —announced they will pause SB 1031 and introduce new legislation in 2025. Senators Wiener and Wahab introduced SB 1031 in March to authorize a Bay Area regional ballot measure to fund public transportation, safe streets and mobility improvements. The measure would stabilize our transit systems in the short term, make these systems financially sustainable in the long term, invest in the capital needs of both transit and roads, and enact reforms that make our transit systems more seamless and integrated, and study consolidation and enhanced coordination of the Bay Area’s 27 transit agencies. Last week, SB 1031 passed the Senate with 26 votes and the support of 8 of the 9 Bay Area Senators. 

Due to the need for more time to work through various regional differences, Senators Wiener and Wahab—with support of bill sponsor Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) —have decided a reset is needed to allow further stakeholder engagement to occur this summer and early fall. The goal is to determine what kind of authorizing legislation will obtain broad enough regional support to pass the Legislature next year and pave the way for a successful ballot measure in 2026. 

Senators Wiener and Wahab, joined by MTC Chair and Vice Chair Alfredo Pedroza and Nick Josefowitz, issued the following statement:

”Public transportation is part of the Bay Area’s lifeblood, and well-funded, reliable, safe, seamless transit systems are essential for our region’s future. We are deeply committed to ensuring the sustainability of the Bay Area’s public transportation systems, modernizing, improving, and better integrating those systems to improve the rider experience, and investing in broader sustainable transportation infrastructure needs. While we worked very hard to advance SB 1031 in order to empower the Bay Area to chart a sustainable transportation future, it has become clear to us that we need more time to build a consensus on how to structure a regional measure that protects Bay Area transit service into the future. At the request of Senator Wiener and Senator Wahab, MTC looks forward to convening key parties over the summer and into the fall to create regional consensus for 2025 legislation. We are fully committed to that work.”