Newsom vetoes bill that would have let California students ride free on public transit

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed this week a bill that would have let California students ride public transit for free, according to LAist.

Assembly Bill 1919, which had bipartisan support, would have established the five-year Youth Transit Pass Pilot Program. Caltrans would have run the program, managing grants to transit agencies that applied for funding.

K-12 students, along with students enrolled in state community colleges, California State University, or the University of California systems would have been eligible, LAist reported.

Newsom said the bill was too costly.

“…the bill requires the creation of a new grant program that was not funded in the budget,” Newsom wrote in a letter after the veto. “Bills with significant fiscal impact, such as this measure, should be considered and accounted for as part of the annual budget process.”