Freeze in Transfer of Airport Funds Urged

Concerned about its impact on federal funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden has proposed freezing the recent transfer of $31 million from Los Angeles International Airport to the city’s general fund.

In a motion introduced Tuesday, Holden suggested that none of the funds be spent and that they be returned to the airport after a review by the council’s Budget and Finance Committee that would include public hearings. He expressed concern that recently passed federal legislation that calls for a dollar-for-dollar reduction in MTA funding for any money “illegally” diverted from the airport could jeopardize the region’s bus and rail service.

Federal law prohibits the use of airport revenue for any nonaviation purposes, but there is a dispute over whether the $31 million in repayment for decades-old loans from the general fund is governed by that rule.