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Billions could go back to transit: State Supreme Court upholds ruling
San Jose Mercury News
Beleaguered transit agencies across the state have received a dose of good news, as the California Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling that raids on funding for bus and train service are illegal. The court late Wednesday turned away an appeal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration, which was seeking the right to divert $3.4 billion in transit funds to the general fund to ease the state budget deficit. That left intact the ruling of the 3rd District Court of Appeal this summer that recent funding diversions violated a series of voter measures supporting transit taxes.
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Sacramento RT cheers ruling to stop state raids on transit funds
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Regional Transit officials said they feel vindicated and relieved after the state Supreme Court put an end last week to years of state raids on local transit district funds. The Supreme Court declined to hear the Schwarzenegger administration's challenge of a lower court ruling that the state had illegally siphoned transit funds to balance the state budget. For RT, the money can't come too soon...The agency has cut bus service and raised fares several times in the past few years, including last month, as it struggled to compensate for the state raids and a drop in local sales tax revenue. RT officials are using $10 million in one-time funds - including $6 million in federal economic stimulus money - to balance this year's $140 million budget.
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AC Transit to Request Use of BRT Funds to Stave Off Service Cuts
Berkeley Daily PLanet
The AC Transit Board of Directors took a step back from its signature Bus Rapid Transit project last week. But just how big a step back is yet to be determined. At an unusual and hastily scheduled Friday night meeting, the board unanimously approved General Manager Rick Fernandez’s proposal to request a shift of funds from the BRT project to AC Transit’s operating budget. The funds—already authorized for BRT by the Metropolitan Transporta-tion Commission—would be used to stave off a portion of AC Transit’s pending personnel layoffs and service cuts.
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Our future rides on public transportation
Welcome to the Fast Lane: Official blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Yesterday, I talked transit with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). I wanted everyone in the room to know this: The Obama Administration understands that effective transit is absolutely critical to the success of our cities, our metropolitan regions, and our rural communities... In my first 9 months at DOT, I have already visited 30 states and 54 cities, and I have seen some impressive projects. It's been fascinating; more importantly, it's been a lesson in what is possible. The reality is that in the future, as we cut back the miles we drive in our personal vehicles, transit must provide an even greater share of American mobility.
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