Overview
- AB/SB 117 authorizes the California State Transportation Agency to loan $590 million from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for BART, Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit.
- MTC will disburse short-term operating loans and repay CalSTA over 12 years with interest-only payments for the first two years at a rate tied to the state’s Surplus Money Investment Fund.
- Repayment is secured by State Transit Assistance revenues and the measure includes safeguards intended to avoid impacts on existing capital projects.
- Officials say the loan is designed to stave off service reductions that had been slated for the summer and to protect service for more than three million monthly riders.
- The package is smaller than the $750 million lawmakers earlier sought, and BART has indicated it may not tap the loan unless the 2026 funding measure passes or another reliable revenue source is secured.