SCAG Bill Could Cause Loss of Transit Funds

Federal funding for Orange County transportation projects could be jeopardized if a bill approved by the Legislature this week is signed by Gov. Gray Davis.

The bill, written by Assemblyman George Nakano (D-Torrance), requires Southern California’s regional planning agency to provide a “fair-share distribution” of the burdens of airport growth among Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Imperial counties.

Counties must comply with regional transportation plans approved by the Southern California Assn. of Governments or risk losing federal funds. Counties also could lose federal funds if their actions are found to create excessive air pollution in other areas.

Nakano’s bill originally was a challenge to Orange County to provide more airport space for its business and leisure travelers. John Wayne Airport is capped at 8.4 million passengers a year through 2005; county supervisors have voted to increase that to 9.8 million through 2015.

If SCAG plans to seek a larger airport at John Wayne than county officials want, Orange County could have trouble getting federal funds for some transportation projects.

Association officials said they hope to better define what constitutes a county’s “fair share” of airport demand if the bill, AB 2333, is signed by Davis.

The bill passed 47 to 30 in the Assembly and 22 to 17 in the Senate; the Assembly this week concurred with amendments added by the Senate.