Newsom Signs Bill to Better Align California Transportation Spending With Climate Goals
Caltrans will have to measure its highway projects against regional climate goals, and the state’s metropolitan planning agencies will update those plans every eight years instead of four, under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last month.
Senate Bill 1087, authored by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), updates the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008, better known as SB 375. The new law requires each region to plan housing, transportation and land use together to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks. It also extends the law’s emissions targets through 2045 and changes the conditions some regions must meet to receive state transportation funds. The bill passed the Senate 31 to 9. Supporters, including regional planning agencies and environmental groups, say it will shift the focus from planning to building projects.
Senate Bill 1087, authored by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), updates the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008, better known as SB 375. The new law streamlines regional planning requirements, extends greenhouse gas reduction targets through 2045, and strengthens the connection between state transportation funding and regional climate plans.
The legislation was sponsored by a coalition of regional planning agencies and environmental groups, with support from more than 80 organizations, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional planning agency for the nine-county Bay Area.
“We’re proud to have supported SB 1087. SB 375 established the idea that California needs to plan for housing, transportation, and land conservation together to meet its climate goals. Nearly 20 years later, SB 1087 starts to move that framework beyond planning by pushing the state to align its transportation investments with regional plans and putting more focus on getting the right projects built,” said Lesley Beatty of Climate Plan, a sponsor of the bill.
That shift from planning to implementation is central to the new law.
From regional plans to projects
SB 375 requires California’s metropolitan planning organizations to develop Sustainable Communities Strategies as part of their regional transportation plans. These strategies coordinate land use, housing and transportation investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks.
Under SB 1087, metropolitan planning organizations will prepare their strategies every eight years instead of every four, with a progress report after four years. The change is intended to reduce duplicative work and administrative costs while maintaining accountability for progress toward emissions-reduction goals.
The legislation also extends the framework’s greenhouse gas reduction targets through 2045, bringing regional planning into closer alignment with the state’s long-term climate goals. It increases transparency around the California Air Resources Board’s process for setting emissions-reduction targets and reviewing regional strategies.
The Southern California Association of Governments, which develops regional transportation and land-use plans for six counties, said the changes will give regional agencies and local governments more flexibility and certainty while helping them focus on implementation.
“SB 1087 refocuses the sustainable communities strategy on its core purpose to align housing, transportation, and climate,” said SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise. “We believe these reforms will give regional agencies and local governments more certainty, flexibility, and tools to turn planning into real action.”
For Southern California, the changes could free up resources to advance projects included in its regional plan, Connect SoCal. The law does not guarantee funding for any particular project, but it changes how regional plans are developed and connected to implementation.
Opposition from Business Groups
The Orange County Business Council (OCBC) was one of the leading groups opposed to the legislation. In a statement released while the legislation was moving through committee, the group said it supported modernizing SB 375 but objected to CARB’s expanded role in reviewing regional strategies, warning that the changes could limit regional flexibility and raise concerns about regulatory transparency and stakeholder participation.
While debates over regional autonomy and state oversight are legitimate, SB 1087 does not give CARB control over local zoning or housing approvals. Instead, it strengthens coordination between regional climate plans and state transportation investments while reducing the administrative burden of planning. That balance is central to the law’s effort to turn California’s climate goals into real-world results.
Caltrans must better align with regional goals
One of SB 1087’s biggest changes is that it makes it easier for California to ensure state transportation spending supports regional climate goals.
The law requires Caltrans to consider measures of success that help advance the goals of the California Transportation Plan. It also changes the rules for some state transportation funding programs to better connect which projects get money with the goals in regional plans.
The changes are especially important in regions whose plans fall short of state greenhouse gas reduction targets. In those areas, projects seeking money through programs such as the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program and the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program must meet additional requirements tied to reducing emissions or addressing barriers to meeting regional targets.
The goal is to reduce the chances that state money goes to transportation projects that undermine regional climate plans, while still allowing projects that meet the law’s requirements to move forward.
The law does not prohibit highway projects outright. Its impact will depend on how state agencies apply the new requirements and select future transportation investments. But it creates a stronger statutory link between regional climate goals and decisions about which projects receive state support.
“For the first time, SB 1087 also requires Caltrans to better align state planning with regional goals—which should yield fewer highway boondoggles and more safe streets on which people of all ages and abilities can travel,” said Zak Accuardi of the Natural Resources Defense Council, another sponsor of the legislation.
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