News

As Southern California addresses the destruction caused by wildfires around the region, SCAG is committed to supporting local agencies in the collective work of recovery and resilience.  

Every level of government, from local to federal, has mobilized to ease the recovery work of communities affected by the wildfires. SCAG’s Legislative Affairs team has been monitoring these developments to inform local agencies in Southern California about the recovery effort, compiling the following list of recovery actions at the federal, state, and city level:

The fires in Southern California that erupted earlier this month continue to threaten communities in the region—but recovery work is already aimed at reducing the disruption and displacement of residents and businesses affected by the fires. 

SCAG continues to collaborate toward a brighter future for Southern California. Here are a few highlights from the first half of fiscal year 2024-25.

SCAG is pleased to announce that the 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) has received official federal approval from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. This approval marks a significant step forward for transportation projects across the SCAG region.

On Dec. 5, the Regional Council approved the 2024 Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) – Active Transportation and Safety “Project List and Contingency Project List,” a major milestone for a call for applications process opened in July.

The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) awarded $2.28 million in grant funding to SCAG to improve transportation safety, including funding for a new regional safety data analysis and modeling platform and continued work on the Go Human regional traffic safety and community engagement program. 

Since 2019, SCAG has been partnering with local jurisdictions to support the planning and development of housing through the Regional Early Action Planning program. With two unprecedented waves of funding, in 2019 and again in 2021, SCAG quickly allocated money to local and sub-regional partners, successfully advocated for maintaining the funding through the budget uncertainty of the past year, and negotiated administrative flexibility from the state to support local project delivery.  

On Nov. 7, the SCAG Regional Council approved project nominations for Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) funding. As the region’s metropolitan planning organization, SCAG is tasked with submitting project nominations from regional agencies to the California Transportation Commission.  

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) received various program and project modifications to the 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP), summarized as proposed Amendment #25-01, from the county transportation commissions representing Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Various and Ventura counties. The public review period starts on Oct. 14 and will conclude at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31. 

A copy of the project listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website. 

On Sept. 5, the SCAG Regional Council adopted the “Amended 2025 Active Transportation Program Regional Guidelines” and the “Amended Connect SoCal 2024 Sustainable Communities Program – Active Transportation and Safety Guidelines,” a necessary step to align regional guidelines with recently amended guidelines for the state’s Active Transportation Program (ATP) and to secure funding for the ongoing 2024 Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) – Active Transportation and Safety call for applications. 

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) received various program and project modifications to the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP), summarized as proposed Amendment #23-33, from the county transportation commissions representing the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino. The public review period starts on Aug. 8 and will conclude at 5 p.m. on Aug. 19.

A copy of the project listing is located on the SCAG website.

The SCAG-funded expert panel study “Induced Travel Estimation Revisited,” authored by Professor Michael Manville and published this week by the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA is an early examination of how changing environmental regulations apply to new express lanes, also known as priced managed lanes.

Notice of Availability and Public Hearings

The draft 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) and draft Amendment 1 to the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy are available for public review and comment.

SCAG is releasing the Sustainable Communities Program – Active Transportation and Safety call for projects on July 8. The call for projects will provide $10.4 million in funding from state Active Transportation Program Cycle 7 regional funds and a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant.

Yesterday, the Legislative Leadership in the Assembly and Senate announced the Joint Legislative Budget Plan. Thanks to the collective advocacy efforts of SCAG and its partners, the Joint Legislative Budget Plan restores funding for several programs cut under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January Budget proposal and May Revision. 

SCAG is thrilled to announce its partnership with Cal Poly Pomona’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning to provide the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Training Program, tailored for planning professionals in each of the six SCAG counties. Developed from insights from the Regional Data and Services Experience Survey, this two-and-a-half-day program will equip attendees with GIS skills to effectively tackle real-world planning challenges.

WTS International honored SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise with the 2024 WTS Recognition Award–Honorable Ray LaHood Award. This award honors male leaders in transportation for outstanding commitments to the advancement of gender and diversity in the field and elevating the reputation of professionals in transportation. WTS International specifically recognized Kome’s leadership and vision during SCAG’s Connect SoCal 2024 planning process. 

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its second 2024 quarterly discussion on the state of the regional economy. In addition to discussing employment, the labor market and the macro-economy, economists discussed the causes and implications of challenges in the California insurance market and the outlook for the region’s logistics industry. The following overarching themes emerged from the conversation:

Student showcase winners were invited to attend SCAG’s Regional Conference & General Assembly in Palm Desert as SCAG conference fellows. The “Student Showcase” poster and StoryMap competition challenged students to think innovatively and meaningfully to tell a story, provide insight, showcase plans and projects, engage supporters and stakeholders, illustrate the possibilities of data and highlight the usefulness of open data at the regional level.  

SCAG announced the awardees of its 14th annual scholarship program, helping to inspire and support the next generation of public servants. SCAG received a record total of 115 applications from throughout the SCAG region.   

2023-24 Regional Council President Art Brown closed out his term at the 2024 Regional Conference and General Assembly by sharing the “2023-24 President’s Report,” a detailed report of SCAG’s accomplishments since the beginning of his term at last year’s General Assembly in May 2023.

SCAG is pleased to announce the Keynote Speaker for the 59th Annual Regional Conference and General Assembly, May 2-3 in Palm Desert. 

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Council on Thursday formally adopted the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, a long-term vision to balance future mobility and housing needs with economic and environmental goals over the next 25 years.

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), as the lead agency pursuant to  California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), has prepared a 2024 proposed Final Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) (State Clearinghouse No.: 2022100337) for the proposed 2024-2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), also referred to as “Connect SoCal 2024,”, “2024 RTP/SCS,”, “Plan”, or “Project.” The 2024 PEIR is a programmatic document that presents a region‐wide assessment of potential environmental effects of Connect SoCal 2024.   

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-23 for Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. The Public Review period starts on February 2, 2024 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on February 12, 2024.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at https://scag.ca.gov/2023-proposed-amendments.

The “Student Showcase” poster and StoryMap competition challenges students to think innovatively and meaningfully to tell a story, provide insight, showcase plans and projects, engage supporters and stakeholders, illustrate the possibilities of data and highlight the usefulness of open data at the regional level. SCAG is proud to invite student participants to conceptualize, create and submit posters and ArcGIS StoryMaps.    

SCAG is proud to collaborate across the region to plan for a brighter future for Southern California. Here are a few highlights from the fiscal year so far!