(The Center Square) – A California bill that has passed the State Assembly and now faces the Senate Appropriations Committee would codify an executive order requiring California Department of Transportation projects to aim to reduce vehicle miles traveled, or at least not contribute significantly to VMT growth. Because the vehicle miles traveled and other components of the state’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation that the bill, AB 7, would codify are part of an existing, but flexible executive order, critics worry that codifying the rules – which Governor Newsom has previously rejected – would remove flexibility CalTrans needs to maintain and sustain existing and future transportation infrastructure.