Caltrain passengers are seen at the San Mateo Station.
Caltrain is throwing support behind two bills that would extend regulatory exemptions and expand security protections for transit workers.
Senate Bill 71, sponsored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would extend exemptions for agencies like Caltrain from the California Environmental Quality Act for a myriad of projects. CEQA typically necessitates detailed, often time-consuming, environmental reviews and impact reports. The current exemption is set to sunset in 2030.
“The main interest we have in this bill is that it would remove the current sunset date ... for a host of CEQA exemptions for transit projects,” Devon Ryan, officer of government and community affairs at Caltrain, said. “That does implicate a lot of things on the Caltrain-owned corridor, and we would be supportive of the continuation of this exemption.”
With the new legislation, CEQA exemptions would also expand to ferry terminals, operating facilities and bus stops and shelters.
Assembly Bill 394, sponsored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, would expand protections for transit workers.
“There are already penalties and rules that are dedicated to assaults on transit drivers and operators, but this bill would expand that to also include things like ambassadors and customer service people and other folks who might not be driving the train but still could face these situations, and we want to create that deterrent,” Ryan said.
The agency is also keeping an eye on the Legislature, as it hopes efforts by Wiener and state Sen. Jesse Arreguin, D-Berkeley, will secure $2 billion for transit. If approved, the funding would be disbursed statewide but could still help Caltrain and other Bay Area agencies narrow their steep shortfalls. Caltrain faces an average $75 million annual deficit for nearly a decade starting fiscal year 2027, about 30% of its operating budget.
“$2 billion would buy us time,” Government Affairs Director Jason Baker said. “There are discussions in the Legislature about cap-and-trade extensions and trying to build some additional support to have it extended longer … and make sure public transit will be supported in that program. I’m not sure that will solve our problems either, but I certainly think it’s one piece of the puzzle.”
Recent polling by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission showed there is some support by San Mateo County voters for a regional transit ballot measure in 2026 — which would not only help fund Caltrain but BART and other regional operators — but it wouldn’t be enough to clear the necessary two-thirds majority. More recently, some leaders have floated the prospect of a citizen’s ballot initiative, which would just need a majority.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
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(1) comment
Ah yes, CEQA good for thee but not for the government “me.” Now we wante even more good for thee but not for more of government “me.” Why don’t we have new legislation that rescinds CEQA for everyone? Let’s DOGE California. I’m sure we’d find more than $2 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse at Caltrain and other transit agencies. As for any regional transit ballot measures, vote NO because the money will go towards paying ever increasing pensions and benefits.
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