Congratulations, California!On September 14, 2016,  Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1613, an amendment to the 2016 budget which redirects $900 million in cap-and-trade funds to greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Included within AB 1613 was $10 million in new funding for the Active Transportation Program (ATP). For months, the American Heart Association Western States Affiliate worked closely with key decision makers to secure additional funding for the ATP, at one point working towards a $100 million appropriation.

While those efforts were successful in the California Assembly, they were not successful in the California Senate. However, the staff continued to push for additional funding for ATP and in the end, were successful in securing dollars within the final version of AB 1613.The ATP was created in 2013 to encourage increased use of active modes of transportation, such as walking and biking. The ATP consolidates various transportation programs, including the federal TAP dollars, the state Bicycle Transportation Account, and other federal and state Safe 

Routes to School programs into one program with the overall goal of increasing the proportion of biking and walking trips, increased mobility and safety for non-motorized users, increased public health efforts around safe routes to school, and ensuring that disadvantaged communities are able to access needed resources, among other goals.

September 2016