(a) Notwithstanding any other law, moneys appropriated to the Transportation Agency in the annual Budget Act from the General Fund for purposes of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program shall not be distributed pursuant to a program of projects adopted pursuant to Section 75222 and approved by the California Transportation Commission pursuant to Section 75220.

(b) The moneys described in subdivision (a) shall instead be distributed to regional transportation planning agencies pursuant to § 99313 of the Public Utilities Code and the distribution of those moneys shall be subject to the requirements of § 13987 of the Government Code and the guidelines adopted pursuant to that section.

(c) Subject to compliance with § 13987 of the Government Code, a regional transportation planning agency may use moneys described in subdivision (a) to fund transit operating expenses within its jurisdiction consistent with an approved regional short-term financial plan or a long-term financial plan, as applicable, or for transformative capital improvements described in Sections 75220 and 75221, or for both of these purposes.

(d) In allowing the funds described in subdivision (a) to be available for operating costs, it is the intent of the Legislature for those expenditures to do all of the following:

(1) Provide one-time multiyear bridge funding for transit operators to address operational costs until long-term transit sustainability solutions are identified.

(2) Assist transit operators in preventing service cuts and increasing ridership.

(3) Prioritize the availability of transit for riders who are transit dependent.

(4) Prioritize transit agencies representing a significant percentage of the region’s ridership.

(e) For purposes of this section, “regional transportation planning agency” means a recipient of funding described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of § 99312.1 of the Public Utilities Code.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 54, Sec. 5. (SB 125) Effective July 10, 2023.)