Legislative Advocacy

BART’s federal and state advocacy efforts are guided by annual goals adopted by the Board of Directors. The goals reflect BART’s legislative priorities and provide guidance for the District's activities in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento.

2026 Federal Advocacy Goals

• Educate our Congressional delegation on BART's self-help efforts and the regional transportation revenue measure, including proposed expenditure plan, phased financial efficiency review, and accountability measures as well as the impacts of not securing additional operations funding.
• Within Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations and the surface transportation reauthorization process, advocate that funding levels for transit and passenger rail be maintained at least at the level authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)/Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA); seek new formula funding to support transit operations and state of good repair capital investments.
• Seek programmatic changes within reauthorization that are favorable to BART such as removing duplicative permitting requirements, increasing funding flexibility, and addressing administrative obstacles.
• Submit Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending requests to federal delegation to support priority projects.
• Continue national, state, and regional advocacy regarding funding for transit security and operations in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• Provide our Congressional delegation and the Administration on the successes of BART's safety initiatives including increased police presence, Next Generation Fare Gates, and the efforts of the Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau.
• Support increased appropriations and pursue federal grant opportunities for BART activities related to anti-terrorism, cybersecurity, vandalism, and emergency response.
• Protect federal grants awarded to BART from the threat of recission.
• Explore opportunities to improve BART's eligibility and competitiveness under existing and potential new grant programs for priority capital projects, transit improvements on airport property, and activities related to homelessness.
• Support federal funding and financial tools for active transportation projects and transit-oriented development (TOD).

2026 State Advocacy Goals

• Negotiate with the Department of Finance (DOF) on terms of a state loan or other financing options to provide short term operating assistance and advocate that the Legislature take budget action in early 2026 to approve funding.
• Educate the Bay Area legislative delegation on BART's work to comply with financial efficiency requirements within Senate Bill (SB) 63 (Chapter 740, Statutes of 2025) as well as ongoing efforts to reduce costs, operate more efficiently, and grow ridership and the impacts of not securing additional operations funding.
• Advocate that transit funding within the FY 2027 State Budget not be eliminated, shifted, or used for non-transit purposes.
• If the state's budget situation allows, submit member budget requests that align with BART priorities.
• Seek to extend "hold harmless" statutory relief for State Transit Assistance (STA) and Transportation Development Act (TDA) farebox requirements through FY 2029.
• Explore opportunities to improve BART's eligibility and competitiveness under existing and any potential new state grant programs as well as pursue funding through the Cap-and-Invest program's expenditure plan for BART priority projects and programs.
• Partner with the California Transit Association (CTA) and other transit partners on the implementation of Transit Transformation Task Force recommendations, including long-term statutory and regulatory changes, flexibility in state funding programs, and enhance value capture for transit agencies.
• Engage in legislative efforts concerning transit worker and rider safety and educate our delegation and Administration on the successes of BART's safety initiatives; explore opportunities for state funding to support BART's quality of life initiatives.
• Engage in development of technical clean-up language for SB 79 (Chapter 512, Statutes of 2025) and support legislation to expanding tax increment financing and grant applications for TOD and related infrastructure.
• Support legislative efforts to refine California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions for transit projects and explore other opportunities for permitting reform.

Legislative Positions

Every year BART engages in advocacy efforts on federal and state bills that are of critical importance to the District. Often the Board of Directors will support or oppose specific bills according to their adopted goals and priorities. Each section will be updated as bills are introduced. 

State Legislation (2025 - 2026 Session)

Federal Legislation (119th Congress)

For questions regarding BART’s Legislative Advocacy Program contact:

Alex Walker

Manager of Government Relations and Legislative Affairs

[email protected]

510-464-6173