Transit Bill Offers $249 Million for State

When the good times roll, they really roll.

A $55-billion transportation spending bill approved by the House on Friday would fund a wide range of California projects, from $9 million to help relieve crowding on Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses to $5.4 million to turn the Kelso railroad depot into a visitor center for the Mojave National Preserve.

Fueled by a surge in gas tax revenues, the bill would provide $1.9 billion more than was available for the current year for highway projects, $2.5 billion more for aviation programs and $486 million more for public transit.

The measure was approved 395 to 13, a margin demonstrating the eagerness of lawmakers to tout local projects to voters back home. The measure still must go to the Senate for consideration.

A Senate committee is due early next month to take up a measure calling for spending about $1.5 billion less than the House version.

Clinton administration officials objected that the bill again contains a provision to prohibit federal regulators from considering tougher fuel-economy standards for popular sport utility vehicles. A White House statement called the provision, which Republicans have added to the measure since taking control of Congress in 1995, a “misguided prohibition” that would increase fuel consumption.

Auto industry officials contend that tougher standards would increase vehicle costs and limit consumer choices.

But Rep. Pete Stark (D-Hayward) blasted Republicans for persisting in pushing the provision. He said it represents “a step backward in combating the threat of global warming.”

Stark cast one of the 13 votes against the overall bill.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) was the only other California House member to vote against the bill. Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for Royce, said the lawmaker objected that California sends more gas tax money to Washington than it gets back in direct transportation benefits.

“Californians are paying for bridges in Massachusetts and roads in Idaho,” Wilkes said. “California pretty much gets the short end of the stick.”

The House bill would increase money for programs to reduce accidents at railroad crossings. Included is $250,000 to eliminate railroad crossing hazards in the east San Fernando Valley.

The bill also provides funds for a “covert operation” to crack down on unsafe truckers. And it would pay for research into ways to combat aggressive driving.

For California, the bill includes about $249 million for public transit projects, including $50 million to help pay for completion of the Hollywood-to-North Hollywood subway extension that opens June 24 and $80 million for extending the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to San Francisco International Airport.

Although the amount for MTA bus purchases was far less than the $50 million recommended by Clinton, local transit officials noted that the $9 million would be triple the sum allocated this year.

MTA chief executive Julian Burke said he was “gratified” by the House action.

For the second consecutive year, the bill includes an amendment by Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) to bar federal spending in fiscal 2001 for the long-stalled extension of the Long Beach Freeway.

The measure also calls for $3 million for safety and station improvements on the Los Angeles-to-San Diego rail corridor, $10 million for the Oceanside-Escondido light rail project, and $3 million for continued study of an Orange County transitway project.

The bill would provide $2 million to help Metrolink improve its San Bernardino-to-Los Angeles commuter rail line.