California State Transportation Agency
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) is a cabinet-level executive agency of the state of California tasked with developing and coordinating transportation policies and programs across multiple modes, including highways, rail, aviation, maritime, and public transit, to support the state's mobility, safety, and economic objectives.[1][2]
Established on July 1, 2013, through Governor Jerry Brown's Government Reorganization Plan No. 2, CalSTA succeeded the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, streamlining state government by consolidating transportation-focused entities and reducing the number of major agencies from twelve to ten.[3][4]
Headed by Secretary Toks Omishakin, who was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in February 2022, the agency oversees key departments and boards such as the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), California High-Speed Rail Authority, California Transportation Commission (CTC), and others responsible for infrastructure maintenance, enforcement, licensing, and project funding allocation.[5][6]
CalSTA's core functions include policy formulation for intermodal coordination, resource allocation for transportation improvements, and integration of safety, environmental, and equity considerations into state planning, though subordinate agencies like Caltrans have faced audits revealing instances of project mismanagement and overbilling.[1][7]
History
Formation in 2013
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) was established on July 1, 2013, through Governor Jerry Brown's Government Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 2012, which consolidated fragmented transportation oversight functions previously housed under the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.[3][8] This plan transferred policy and administrative responsibilities for key departments—including the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Department of Motor Vehicles, and California Highway Patrol—into a unified structure to centralize decision-making on statewide mobility issues.[9][10] The reorganization was driven by administrative imperatives to enhance efficiency, reduce redundancies, and improve inter-agency coordination amid fiscal pressures, reducing the total number of state cabinet-level agencies from 12 to 10.[11][12] Proponents argued that scattering transportation duties across entities had led to siloed operations and delayed project delivery, with the new agency positioned to provide unified policy direction without assuming direct operational control.[13] Initial implementation focused on transitional staffing and integration, supported by an administrative program budget of approximately $872 million for fiscal year 2013–14, covering oversight and planning activities separate from the larger operational budgets of subsumed departments.[13] Brian P. Kelly was appointed as CalSTA's first secretary on July 1, 2013, bringing prior experience in transportation policy from roles in the state legislature and gubernatorial administration to lead the nascent agency.[14] His tenure emphasized aligning the agency's framework with broader state goals for infrastructure investment and regulatory streamlining during the post-recession recovery period.[15]Preceding Organizational Changes
The origins of organized state-level transportation governance in California date to March 27, 1895, when the legislature enacted Senate Bill 805, establishing the Bureau of Highways as the first dedicated agency to evaluate the state's rudimentary road network—primarily local wagon roads and trails—and propose systematic improvements, including classification into state, county, and district highways.[16][17] This body, comprising three commissioners, marked a shift from ad hoc local maintenance to centralized assessment, though its authority was limited by scant funding and reliance on county cooperation for implementation. Subsequent decades saw incremental expansion: the Bureau evolved into the Division of Highways under the Department of Public Works by the early 20th century, focusing on engineering surveys, bond-funded construction, and the designation of primary state routes. In 1961, amid postwar infrastructure demands and vehicle registration growth, the state created the Highway Transportation Agency via Chapter 2073 of the Statutes, consolidating oversight of the Department of Public Works (encompassing highways and aeronautics), Department of Motor Vehicles, and California Highway Patrol under a single administrator to enhance interdepartmental coordination on safety, funding, and planning.[18] By 1972, escalating freeway construction needs and fragmented operations across divisions prompted legislative unification, resulting in the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), which commenced full operations on July 1, 1973, absorbing highway design, maintenance, and traffic management functions previously siloed within the Division of Highways and related public works units.[19] This restructuring aimed to centralize expertise amid annual budgets exceeding hundreds of millions for interstate and state route expansions. The California Highway Commission, established earlier for route adoption and bond allocation, persisted until 1978, when Assembly Bill 402 reorganized it into specialized successors—including the California Transportation Commission for fund programming— to address policy silos created by modal-specific demands like rail and aviation integration.[20] Preceding the 2013 creation of CalSTA, transportation entities operated under the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (formerly Business and Transportation Agency since the 1960s), which bundled Caltrans, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and other boards with unrelated housing, consumer protection, and economic development duties across 14 departments. This expansive structure, while enabling some cross-sector synergies, fostered oversight diffusion, as evidenced by overlapping jurisdictions in areas like freight logistics and emissions standards, where transportation priorities competed with non-transport mandates; such fragmentation underscored the rationale for segregating transportation into a dedicated cabinet-level entity to sharpen policy alignment and resource allocation.[21]Organizational Structure
Leadership and Governance
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) is headed by the Secretary of Transportation, appointed by the Governor of California to provide statewide policy leadership and coordination across transportation sectors.[5] The secretary oversees high-level strategy for the agency's eight constituent entities—such as the Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles—focusing on alignment with gubernatorial priorities rather than direct management of their operations.[1] As of October 2025, Adetokunbo "Toks" Omishakin serves as the fourth secretary, having been sworn in on February 3, 2022, following his prior role as director of the California Department of Transportation.[5][22] CalSTA's governance incorporates semi-independent bodies to ensure structured decision-making, notably the California Transportation Commission (CTC), a nine-member panel appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate.[20] The CTC, housed under CalSTA's umbrella, holds statutory authority for programming and allocating billions in state and federal funds for highways, rail, transit, and active transportation projects, guided by criteria emphasizing measurable outcomes in congestion relief, safety improvements, and emissions reductions.[23] This allocation process relies on empirical data submissions from operating entities, enabling performance-based prioritization independent of the secretary's direct influence.[23] Accountability mechanisms tie CalSTA leadership to executive and legislative branches, with the secretary required to submit annual reports on agency progress to the governor and testify before legislative committees on budget execution and policy effectiveness.[1] Oversight emphasizes quantifiable metrics, such as project delivery timelines and return-on-investment analyses, as integrated into the CTC's fund programming guidelines and CalSTA's strategic planning framework.[23][24] These structures promote causal linkages between policy directives and tangible infrastructure outcomes, while mitigating risks of politicized resource distribution through the CTC's data-centric protocols.[23]Overseen Entities
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) oversees eight semi-autonomous entities that implement transportation-related programs across highways, vehicles, safety, rail, maritime navigation, and funding allocation, with CalSTA focusing on policy coordination rather than direct operations.[6] These organizations maintain independent leadership and budgets but align with CalSTA's overarching strategic goals, such as enhancing mobility and safety through shared data and joint initiatives.[1] Interdependencies exist, for example, where highway infrastructure maintained by one entity supports enforcement activities of another, and licensing data informs planning efforts.- California Department of Transportation (Caltrans): Responsible for planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining over 50,000 miles of state highways, including bridges and tunnels, while also providing engineering support to local governments and advancing multimodal freight and public transit integration.
- Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV): Handles issuance of driver's licenses, vehicle registrations, identification cards, and commercial vehicle oversight, processing over 30 million transactions annually to ensure compliance with safety and emissions standards.
- California Highway Patrol (CHP): Enforces traffic laws on state highways, conducts accident investigations, provides emergency services, and supports organized crime prevention, operating with approximately 7,200 uniformed officers statewide.
- California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA): Develops a 500-mile electrified rail network connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles and beyond, managing federal and state funding for construction phases initiated under Proposition 1A in 2008.
- California Transportation Commission (CTC): Programs and allocates billions in transportation funds from sources like the State Highway Account and gas taxes, approves major projects, and sets performance measures for the state's $100+ billion infrastructure portfolio.
- Office of Traffic Safety (OTS): Administers grants for collision reduction programs, coordinates data-driven safety campaigns, and partners with local agencies to target high-risk behaviors, contributing to a 10% decline in traffic fatalities from 2015 to 2022 through evidence-based interventions.
- Board of Pilot Commissioners (BOPC): Licenses and regulates maritime pilots for safe vessel navigation in the Bays of San Francisco, Monterey, and Humboldt, ensuring compliance with federal and state standards to prevent collisions and groundings in these critical ports.
- New Motor Vehicle Board (NMVB): Adjudicates franchise disputes between auto manufacturers and dealers, enforces warranty protections for consumers, and regulates dealer protests against new dealership approvals to maintain fair market competition.