News

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Quality jobs provide a foundation for economic growth and resilience against economic downturns. However, like many regions, Southern California has traditionally lacked data or frameworks to measure the quality of jobs in its large, complex economy. There are a wide range of approaches for measuring job quality overall—a task that becomes even more difficult when considering the nuances and limited data availability in a single region such as Southern California.  

Yesterday, the Legislative Leadership in the Assembly and Senate announced the Joint Legislative Budget Plan. Thanks to the collective advocacy efforts of SCAG and its partners, the Joint Legislative Budget Plan restores funding for several programs cut under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January Budget proposal and May Revision. 

SCAG is thrilled to announce its partnership with Cal Poly Pomona’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning to provide the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Training Program, tailored for planning professionals in each of the six SCAG counties. Developed from insights from the Regional Data and Services Experience Survey, this two-and-a-half-day program will equip attendees with GIS skills to effectively tackle real-world planning challenges.

Who Should Attend

Planners, GIS technicians, engineers, management analysts and other professionals from local jurisdictions across the SCAG region are encouraged to participate.

On March 28, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15—the policy directive that establishes rules for maintaining, collecting and presenting race and ethnicity data for federal agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau—for the first time since 1997.  

The revised Statistical Policy Directive requires federal, state and local agencies (including the U.S. Census Bureau) to: 

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its second 2024 quarterly discussion on the state of the regional economy. In addition to discussing employment, the labor market and the macro-economy, economists discussed the causes and implications of challenges in the California insurance market and the outlook for the region’s logistics industry. The following overarching themes emerged from the conversation:

Executive Director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Kome Ajise released the following statement regarding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May Budget revision, announced today, which cuts funding for the Regional Early Action Planning Grants (REAP 2.0) program:

Governor Newsom’s proposed draft fiscal year 2025 state budget could reduce SCAG’s $246 million Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 allocation by 50 percent. SCAG staff have already allocated $192 million through formula-based and competitive programs. SCAG, with strong support from state leadership, is advocating for the governor to reconsider these cuts.

Seven innovative projects across the six-county region were honored by SCAG at the 2024 Sustainability Awards ceremonies at the 2024 Regional Conference and General Assembly on May 2 in Palm Desert. These projects are integral to accomplishing the goals of the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and promoting a more mobile, sustainable and prosperous region.   

Student showcase winners were invited to attend SCAG’s Regional Conference & General Assembly in Palm Desert as SCAG conference fellows. The “Student Showcase” poster and StoryMap competition challenged students to think innovatively and meaningfully to tell a story, provide insight, showcase plans and projects, engage supporters and stakeholders, illustrate the possibilities of data and highlight the usefulness of open data at the regional level.  

JURY AWARD

A panel of judges selected one poster and one StoryMap for the “Jury Award. ” 

SCAG announced the awardees of its 14th annual scholarship program, helping to inspire and support the next generation of public servants. SCAG received a record total of 115 applications from throughout the SCAG region.  

More than 800 local and regional leaders from across Southern California gathered in Palm Desert this week to discuss challenges and opportunities facing one of the nation’s largest economic and population centers. 

Hosted by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the 59th Annual Regional Conference and General Assembly focused on the housing crisis, retaining and attracting more high-quality jobs and the future of transportation. 

2023-24 Regional Council President Art Brown closed out his term at the 2024 Regional Conference and General Assembly by sharing the “2023-24 President’s Report,” a detailed report of SCAG’s accomplishments since the beginning of his term at last year’s General Assembly in May 2023. SCAG also debuted the 2023-24 Year in Review video, highlighting SCAG’s most significant accomplishments over the same period and celebrating the leadership and collaboration that made it possible.

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General Assembly Elects 2024-25 Board Officers 

The General Assembly approved the nominations for the SCAG 2024-25 Board Officers as recommended by the Regional Council: Hon.

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-27 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura  and Various Counties. The Public Review period starts on April 9, 2024 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on April 18, 2024.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at /2023-proposed-amendments.

Please note that some of the changes or project additions may be for projects funded with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 funds. This public involvement opportunity is provided to meet the public involvement requirements for the program of projects.

SCAG is pleased to announce the Keynote Speaker for the 59th Annual Regional Conference and General Assembly, May 2-3 in Palm Desert. 

Keynote Speaker: Sarita Maybin, Communications Expert and Author 

Successful collaborative partnerships depend on effective communication, especially for communities and organizations in diverse settings like Southern California. This keynote presentation will share proven communication strategies to achieve positive change while navigating challenges and obstacles.  

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Connect SoCal 2024 Approved 

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), as the lead agency pursuant to  California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), has prepared a 2024 proposed Final Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) (State Clearinghouse No.: 2022100337) for the proposed 2024-2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), also referred to as “Connect SoCal 2024,”, “2024 RTP/SCS,”, “Plan”, or “Project.” The 2024 PEIR is a programmatic document that presents a region‐wide assessment of potential environmental effects of Connect SoCal 2024.   

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SCAG recently published a Local Investments Dashboard to gather information about local efforts throughou

Southern California is notably diverse, with communities and individuals originating from all over the world and contributing food, music, events and more to the culture of our cities and neighborhoods—but Southern California has a long way to go in making sure that everyone, and all genders, benefits from its immense economic power. 

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Regional Early Action Planning Grant Program of 2021 (REAP 2.0) Advocacy Updates 

Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget announced on Jan.