SBCAG STAFF REPORT

SUBJECT: Federal Transit Stimulus Funding for Santa Barbara County

MEETING DATE: April 15, 2021 AGENDA ITEM: 4I

STAFF CONTACT: Dylan Tonningsen

RECOMMENDATION: Receive and a file summary of federal transit stimulus funding made available to Santa Barbara County and the projects programmed with the stimulus funds.

DISCUSSION: Since March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Congress has passed a series of federal stimulus packages which includes funding for public transit agencies to support capital, operating, and other expenses generally eligible under the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 (Urbanized Area), Section 5310 (Elderly and Disabled) and Section 5311 (Rural Area) formula programs. The funding has been made available in three separate packages known as CARES Act, CRRSSA and the American Rescue Plan. The table below provides national funding amounts.

Date Total Funding Nationwide CARES Act (First Package) 3/27/20 $25 Billion CRSSA (Second Package) 12/27/20 $14 Billion American Rescue Plan (Third Package) 3/11/21 $30.5 billion Total $69.5 Billion

In total, $54.7 million has been allocated to eligible Santa Barbara County recipients of urbanized areas (FTA 5307), $113 thousand to Santa Barbara County recipients under the Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program (FTA 5310) and $1.6 million to Santa Barbara County recipients of rural area formula funds (FTA 5311). Funding has been provided at a 100-percent federal share with no local match required to support transit operators with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The summary of all Federal transit stimulus funding and programmed projects for Santa Barbara County can be found in Attachment A.

CARES ACT (First Package – March 2020): In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to provide supplemental funding for capital, operating, and other expenses generally eligible under the FTA Section 5307 program and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5311 Rural Transit program to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was allocated in two phases. All Santa Barbara County transit operators for the Urbanized Areas of Lompoc, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria received funding under the first phase of the CARES Act (FTA 5307), totaling $32.8 million. After discussions with the transit operators, the representatives for the , Santa Barbara MTD and Santa Maria Area Transit area transit operator agreed to sub-allocate $400,000 each to SBCAG to support the . Collectively, the Clean Air Express received $1.2 million as a sub- recipient under the FTA 5307 CARES Act Phase I program. Additionally, under the Santa Maria UZA

apportionment, the City of Santa Maria provided San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority $1,300,691 for Route 10 operating assistance (Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo) while Guadalupe Transit received $417,664 for operating assistance.

The second phase of the CARES Act included funding under the FTA Section 5311 program. Santa Ynez Valley Transit received $120,000, Guadalupe Transit Received $200,000, and SBCAG received $242,700 for operating assistance.

CRRSAA (Second Package – December 2020): On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA), which supports the transit industry during the COVID-19 public health emergency. This includes operating expenses to maintain transit services as well as paying for administrative leave for transit personnel due to reduced operations during an emergency.

In California, CRRSAA FTA 5307 and 5311 program funds are administered by Caltrans Division of Mass Transit, with funds apportioned to each region on the basis of non-urbanized area population. Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (SBMTD) was the only traditional FTA 5307 recipient in our region to receive funding under CRRSAA with an amount of $4.481 million. This was because by statute, the total allocated amounts for urban areas may not exceed 75% of 2018 National Transit Database reported operating costs. Those urbanized areas that exceeded that amount were not allocated CRRSAA funds.

Regarding FTA 5311 CRRSAA funding, the Santa Barbara County region was allocated $768,695. After meetings with eligible operators, the funding was distributed between SYVT, City of Guadalupe and SBCAG as eligible recipients. Santa Ynez Valley Transit received $100,000, while Guadalupe Transit and the Clean Air Express each received $334,348.

CRRSAA also included $50,000,000 for the FTA 5310 Program (Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program) nationally. California received an apportionment of $1,374,683 to be distributed to the Small Urban and Rural Areas. Caltrans determined the most efficient way to maximize the use of federal dollars is to distribute the Federal Act funds to existing 5310 subrecipient agencies rather than contingency projects. SMOOTH, Community Partners in Caring, and Easy Lift all respectively received $37,674. These funds can only be used on Operating Assistance which includes payroll, fuel, cleaning supplies, purchase of PPE, etc.

American Rescue Plan Act (Third Package – March 2021): The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), which President Biden signed on March 11, 2021, includes $17.7 million in federal stimulus funding for Santa Barbara County Urbanized Operators as they continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and support the President’s call to vaccinate the U.S. population. It is still be determined on how much FTA 5311 ARP funding will be available for our region.

The recommended actions do not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Section 15378(b)(4) of the CEQA Guidelines, because they consist of the creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities, which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant impact on the environment.

Future Funding SBCAG staff will inform our local partners and the SBCAG Board with any updates on additional stimulus funding that is allocated to the Santa Barbara County region.

ATTACHMENT: A. Federal Stimulus Transit Funding Summary

2 Attachment A 2020 ‐ 2021 TRANSIT STIMULUS FUNDING SUMMARY Stimulus Category Agency/Operator Program Sub‐recipient Amount Received Project SLORTA $1,300,691 Operating Assistance $10,202,225 Operating Assistance SMAT FTA 5307 Guadalupe Transit $417,664 Operating Assistance SBCAG (Clean Air Express) $400,000 Operating Assistance SBCAG (Clean Air Express) $400,000 Operating Assistance COLT FTA 5307 CARES ACT PHASE I $3,410,420 Operating Assistance SBCAG (Clean Air Express) $400,000 Operating Assistance SBMTD FTA 5307 $15,990,496 Operating Assistance Guadalupe Transit FTA 5311 $69,061 Operating Assistance SYVT FTA 5311 $224,445 Operating Assistance TOTAL CARES ACT PHASE I FUNDING: $32,815,002 Guadalupe Transit FTA 5311 $200,000 Operating Assistance SYVT FTA 5311 $120,000 Operating Assistance & Capital CARES ACT PHASE II SBCAG (Clean Air Express) FTA 5311 $242,700 Operating Assistance TOTAL CARES ACT PHASE II FUNDING: $562,700 SBMTD FTA 5307 $4,481,888 Operating Assistance SYVT FTA 5311 $100,000 Vehicle replacement Guadalupe Transit FTA 5311 $334,348 Operating Assistance SBCAG (Clean Air Express) FTA 5311 $334,348 Operating Assistance CRRSAA Easy Lift FTA 5310 $37,674 Operating Assistance Community Partners in Caring FTA 5310 $37,674 Operating Assistance SMOOTH FTA 5310 $37,674 Operating Assistance TOTAL CRRSAA FUNDING: $5,363,605 SMAT FTA 5307 $1,266,629 Operating Assistance AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN COLT FTA 5307 $582,214 Operating Assistance ACT SBMTD FTA 5307 $15,863,011 Operating Assistance TOTAL AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDING: $17,711,854 TOTAL FTA 5307 STIMULUS FUNDING: $54,715,238 TOTAL FTA 5310 STIMULUS FUNDING: $113,022 TOTAL FTA 5311 STIMULUS FUNDING: $1,624,901 TOTAL TRANSIT STIMULUS FUNDING $56,453,161