Infra Insight Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns and economic disruptions have severely affected the usual revenue sources that local governments have used to fund public improvements and transportation services – e.g., distributions of state and federal gas tax revenue, local sales taxes and property taxes. Local governments might consider creating parking benefit districts (“PBDs”), which can provide modest amounts of revenue. PBDs, along with other creative ways to raise revenue, can help fill in funding gaps for local improvements and services.

A PBD is a geographic ...

Governor Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill 288 (the “Sustainable Transportation COVID-19 Recovery Act”), which will temporarily add new exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) statute. The purpose of SB 288 is to fast track transit and sustainable transportation projects, provide a boost to public transit agencies affected by COVID-19, aid economic recovery by producing jobs, and reduce driving and GHG emissions. 

These statutory exemptions may help expedite environmental review of transportation projects that are specifically ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, both the public and private sectors have been working to understand the market’s response and search for solutions addressing the pandemic’s unprecedented impacts. On April 2, 2020, Young Professionals in Infrastructure hosted a webinar, “P3s and the Current Pandemic: Industry Perspectives on COVID-19 Impacts.” The panel provided perspectives from a lawyer, an insurance broker, a developer, and a rating agency on dealing with COVID-19. Here are the key takeaways from the webinar ...