Lieu Bill to Bring Rail Service to LAX Continues to Surge Ahead

Sacramento, CA – Late yesterday, the Assembly Local Government Committee approved AB 889, a bill by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Senator Jenny Oropeza (D-Carson) that would create a single-purpose entity charged with connecting the Metro Green Line to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  The vote was 6-0, with one abstention.  Through two committees, the bill has enjoyed bipartisan support, and has not received a single “no” vote.

“This bill now has an amazing amount of momentum,” Lieu said.  “I want to thank my colleagues of both sides of the aisle for supporting this effort.  Completing the Green Line is a long-overdue project that will benefit the entire region.”

The MTA originally built the Green Line in 1994 with the idea of running rail service into the airport.  The line, however, stops in El Segundo, just 1 mile short of the airport, turns South, and comes to a final end in Redondo Beach.  13 years later, MTA is still unable to give a convincing reason why the project has never been finished.

The impetus for bringing this legislation forward now is the planned modernization of LAX, plans for which will be coming forward soon.  A broad consensus is developing that any modernization must include rail service into the terminal area.

Lieu and Oropeza are partnering on this bill with LA City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, who represents the airport and the surrounding areas.  The three, along with Congresswoman Jane Harman, LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, and more than 50 other elected officials from the South Bay, have formed the “Green Line Coalition,” an organization to promote the completion of the Line.

"I am thrilled to see so much support for the Green Line extension," Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl said. "We are moving forward and quickly approaching our dream of a rail line into LAX."

For more information on AB 889, please visit www.assembly.ca.gov/lieu or www.greenlinecoalition.com.