Executive Director’s Monthly Report, February 2025
Joint Policy Committee Holds Panel Discussion on Regional Resilience
As Southern California grapples with the destruction caused by January wildfires, SCAG is committed to supporting local agencies in the collective work of recovery and resilience.
The recent disasters require regional collaboration on how to build resilient communities that prevent and mitigate negative impacts from extreme weather and natural disasters. As a first step in an ongoing process, the SCAG Joint Policy Committee (JPC) convened a panel with leading resilience and planning experts on Feb. 6. The panel discussed resilient recovery and long-term planning for creating more equitable and resilient communities.
The panel discussion included a presentation by Dr. Lucy Jones—renowned seismologist, author, and former seismic risk advisor for the city of Los Angeles—on important considerations during and after disasters. Dr. Jones’ presentation was followed by a moderated panel discussion with:
- Amy Bodek, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning
- Vince Bertoni, Director, Los Angeles City Planning
- Steve Soboroff, Chief Recovery Officer, City of Los Angeles
- Nuin-Tara Key, Executive Director of Programs, California Forward
A video of the Joint Policy Committee meeting, including the resilience presentations and panel, will be published on the SCAG website. A SCAG staff report provides more background on the JPC discussion.
Following the Joint Policy Committee, each policy committee is expected to have additional discussions in the coming months to identify recommendations for SCAG to support equitable recovery and long-term resilience. Additional information about resources for fire victims, resilience planning, and government actions are available on SCAG News.
Update on the Mojave Desert Highway Sanction Clock
The SCAG region has been impacted by multiple highway sanction clocks imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) following disapproval of local air quality plans and rules. SCAG staff has worked extensively with local air districts and the U.S. EPA to address and remove highway sanction clocks, enabling critical transportation projects in the region to continue with planning and construction.
However, one highway sanction clock—resulting from the U.S. EPA’s disapproval of the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District’s (MDAQMD) local rule in their stationary source review and permitting program—has been particularly challenging to resolve. If the underlying issue facing the MDAQMD is not resolved, the highway sanction in the Mojave Desert will start on July 31.
The highway sanction could result in significant impacts to transportation projects in the SCAG region. To better understand the impacts, staff will work with federal and local transportation agencies to develop a project list to identify which projects in the Mojave Desert area can move forward during the sanction and which projects can be obligated before July 2025 to minimize the impacts.
The federal air plan, developed by the U.S. EPA for the Mojave Desert area, is already in place and will be effective on Feb. 28, 2025. The federal air plan includes measures for stationary sources but no measures related to transportation. SCAG staff has met with MDAQMD staff, who confirmed a plan to resolve the issues through litigation against the U.S. EPA. SCAG will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with the MDAQMD and all involved parties to prevent the sanction.
2025 SCAG Scholarship Program: Applications Open
Applications for the 2025 SCAG Scholarship Program are now open. In partnership with the California Transportation Foundation, the program provides nine $4,000 scholarship awards for high school or community college students from the SCAG region. Students in any field of study are invited to apply; however, preference is given to applications that demonstrate a commitment to community planning, regional planning, urban planning, civil engineering, political science, public administration, sustainable development, or other related fields. Applications are due electronically on March 21. More information is available on the SCAG website.
2025 SCAG Student Showcase Now Open for Submissions
The 2025 SCAG Student Showcase is now open for submissions. Apply online by March 13 at 10 a.m.
The SCAG Student Showcase challenges students to create posters and StoryMaps that tell a story, provide insight, showcase plans and projects, engage stakeholders, and illustrate the possibilities of open data at the regional level. By submitting, Student Showcase participants compete to receive cash prizes.
Competition finalists will be invited to attend SCAG’s Regional Conference and General Assembly in Palm Desert on May 1-2—complimentary event admission and hotel accommodation included—to present their posters and StoryMaps to elected officials and industry leaders from across Southern California.
A panel of judges will select one poster and one StoryMap for the “Best in Show” award. Conference attendees will vote for their favorite poster and StoryMap to be recognized with an “Audience Award.” All four awards, each worth $1,500, will be announced at the end of the conference.
To download Student Showcase guidelines and to apply online, visit the SCAG website.
Regional Council Adopts 2025 State Legislative Platform
In February, the Regional Council adopted SCAG’s 2025 State Legislative Platform.
The 2025 platform updates the adopted 2024 platform, streamlining language and aligning with the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities strategy, newly implemented laws, and other changes to the political landscape. SCAG’s 2025 State Legislative Platform is available online.
SCAG staff will present a separate 2025 Federal Legislative Platform at the Legislative/Communications and Membership Committee, Executive/Administration Committee, and Regional Council meetings in the coming months.
Regional Council Adopts Regional Traffic Safety Targets
At the February Regional Council meeting, the SCAG Regional Council adopted regional safety targets for calendar year 2025, in accordance with a 2016 Federal Highway Administration rule requiring statewide departments of transportation, in coordination with metropolitan planning organizations, to improve safety on all public roads.
The transportation safety performance targets facilitate statewide and regional transportation investments toward the greatest possible reduction in fatalities and serious injuries resulting from multimodal collisions.
For calendar year 2025, SCAG recommends maintaining a long-term aspirational focus on regional transportation safety, while adopting evidence-based near-term targets. The modeled safety targets for the SCAG region forecast a two percent increase in fatalities, a four percent increase in serious injuries, and a 2.8 percent increase in non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries. SCAG updates the regional safety targets each calendar year.
In addition to the adoption of regional safety targets, staff highlighted the SCAG Transportation Safety Predictive Modeling Platform, which will be available soon for local agencies to use while planning to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. SCAG’s Toolbox Tuesday series recently featured a two-part demonstration of the forthcoming platform. Part 1 and Part 2 of the series are available on YouTube. More details on SCAG’s methodology and the regional traffic safety targets can be found in the SCAG staff report.
Updated Housing, Environment, and Land Use Parcel Tool Update Now Available
SCAG’s Housing, Environment, and Land Use Parcel Tool (HELPR) 3.0 is now available online, offering a site-specific interactive mapping tool for land use, environmental planning, and sustainable development. Built on SCAG’s Regional Data Platform, HELPR 3.0 provides the latest parcel-level data from Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, enabling cities, planners, and stakeholders to make better-informed decisions about housing site selection and land use planning.
Key features include a housing statistics dashboard for quick insights, wildfire risk screening using CalFire data, and tools to align local plans with regional policies. HELPR 3.0 allows users to download datasets for further analysis but does not assess development capacity or suitability.
To learn more about applications and maps included in HELPR 3.0 to assist with regional and local planning activities, visit SCAG News.
SCAG Awarded ‘Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection’ Grant
The Federal Highway Administration awarded SCAG a federal Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection grant to test how a mileage-based user fee can work in tandem with existing revenue collection mechanisms, including tolling. While the growing adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) advances regional air quality and climate goals, the transition to ZEVs is rapidly diminishing traditional gas tax revenue as a source for transportation funding. The Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy addresses the urgency of this transition by supporting a road user charge to maintain a state of good repair for the transportation system while establishing a more sustainable and equitable funding model to support the region’s growing needs.
With this grant, SCAG, in partnership with NextMove by Cintra, will test a concept for transportation revenue collection technology to capture the full picture of drivers’ transportation fees while evaluating policy parameters to holistically address inequity in transportation. This project will help determine viability of a mileage-based user fee at the regional level and uncover how a user-based mechanism can coexist with existing tolling infrastructure.
Toolbox Tuesday: January Sessions
In January, SCAG hosted a two-part Toolbox Tuesday series featuring the SCAG Transportation Safety Predictive Modeling Platform. The platform is based on the CRASH traffic safety data platform developed and customized for the SCAG region by the Citian consultant team. The Jan. 14 session introduced the platform, with SCAG staff presenting background on the platform’s development and Citian sharing an overview of the platform, reviewing the datasets featured in the platform, and demonstrating how to do some basic and common analyses. The Jan. 21 session focused on the more advanced functionalities of the platform, including an overview of customized and prebuilt dashboards and collision diagrams, as well as real-world usage case studies.
Videos for Part 1 and Part 2 are available on YouTube.
SCAG Hosts 17th Annual LA Biz Fed Board of Directors Meeting
SCAG hosted partners from the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed) for its 17th Anniversary Board meeting and Officer Installation and Swearing in Ceremony on Jan. 21. SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise delivered welcoming remarks, describing SCAG’s long-standing partnership with the private sector. Kome Ajise thanked BizFed for its advocacy on behalf of the region’s businesses and affirmed SCAG’s commitment to further improve the regional economy by working with partners, identifying solutions, and advocating for a more sustainable business climate. SCAG Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer Javiera Cartagena was formally sworn in as the newest BizFed co-chair of the Goods Movement, Mobility, and Transportation Committee for the 2025 term.
SCAG Attends Long Beach State of the Port Event
SCAG staff joined city and business leaders at the 2025 State of the Port in Long Beach on Jan. 14. Speaking to more than 800 industry partners and community members at the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Port Chief Executive Officer Mario Cordero highlighted the Port of Long Beach’s record-breaking 2024 year, including 9.6 million cargo containers moved without disruptions or backlogs, and progress in transitioning operations to zero emissions while marking dramatic air quality and environmental improvements. Cordero also thanked the community for its role 20 years ago in demanding action that resulted in the Green Port Policy, which is a range of sustainability initiatives that resulted in a cleaner harbor, industry-leading green building practices, and, most notably, air quality improvements. The Port of Long Beach has set a new goal to move half of all container cargo by rail.
SCAG Attends Los Angeles State of the Port Event
SCAG Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer Javiera Cartagena joined port officials and industry leaders at the 2025 annual State of the Port of Los Angeles, hosted by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association on Jan. 23. Port Executive Director Gene Seroka outlined the Port of Los Angeles’ priorities for 2025, including sustainability and the environment, investment in the community, workforce development, cargo efficiency, and supply chain digitization. Scott Kelly, vice president of ocean services for the Americas at Expeditors International, joined Seroka to discuss tariffs, East Coast and Gulf labor issues, and the role that logistics companies like Expeditors play in the global supply chain. The Port of Los Angeles celebrated being on pace to exceed 10 million container units for only the second time in its 117-year history, thanks to the women and men of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the trucking industry, terminal operators, rail partners, and many others whose efforts continue to elevate the Port of Los Angeles to new heights.
SCAG Executive Director Attends Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting
SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise visited Washington, D.C. for the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Annual Meeting in early January. A division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, TRB’s mission is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The annual meeting covers all transportation modes, with sessions addressing topics of interest to policymakers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. While in D.C., Kome Ajise held several one-on-one meetings outside of the conference, including Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), marking her first official meeting as a member of Congress; Richard Cesar, senior director of Federal Affairs and National Engagement in the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass; and Elaine Nessle, executive director of the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors.
SCAG Represented at Riverside State of the City
SCAG Second Vice President Ray Marquez (Chino Hills), Executive Director Kome Ajise, and Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer Javiera Cartagena attended the 2025 Riverside State of the City. They joined Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, also chair of the SCAG Legislative/Communications and Membership Committee Chair and the Big City Mayors Coalition, in celebration of the city’s success. Mayor Lock Dawson presented the prior year’s accomplishments and highlighted plans for a resurgent and innovative Riverside.
