Interesting progress on a commuting-related bill in California that was circulated on the TDM listserv. (Okay, I find it exciting but maybe not everyone does!)

cheers, Beth

"California Senate Bill 582, authored by state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), is now on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk and awaiting the Governor’s signature after passing both houses of the state Legislature last week. The bill, which was jointly sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), aims to reduce both traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions by establishing a four-year pilot program under which local air districts and metropolitan planning organizations could require employers with 50 or more employees (or, at the agencies’ discretion, 20 or more employees) to adopt commute benefit policies that offer workers one of the following:

* the option to pay for their transit, vanpooling or bicycling expenses with pretax dollars, as allowed by federal law;

* a transit or vanpool subsidy of $75 per month;

* a free shuttle or vanpool operated by or for the employer; or

* any employer-chosen alternative to these options that can be demonstrated to provide an equal or greater benefit."