Caltrans nominee Dina Eltiwanze wins Rules Committee backing to advance to full Senate

Dina Eltiwanze, Gov. Newsom's nominee to lead the California Department of Transportation, was advanced to the full California State Senate for confirmation after a 5-0 vote by the Senate Committee on Rules.

Eltiwanze used her opening remarks to cite 28 years of service at Caltrans and framed the agency's priorities as safety, equity, climate resilience and workforce development. "Transportation is the backbone of [California's] economy," she said, adding that the department must deliver a multimodal system that serves every age, ability and income level.

Much of the committee's questioning focused on operational risks and policy changes that could affect Caltrans projects. Vice Chair Grove pressed Eltiwanze about a recent state-court order that temporarily required the DMV to maintain licenses for some immigrant truck drivers and whether Caltrans could protect about $160 million in highway funds tied to trucking capacity. Eltiwanze said the department would prioritize emergency and safety projects and try to offset impacts through redistribution and using other funding sources. She estimated the number of affected truckers in California at about 17,000 and noted a nationwide shortage of roughly 80,000 drivers.

Grove also pressed for a timeline on a truck climbing lane on Highway 58. Eltiwanze said Caltrans has committed engineering funds to make the project "ready to list," and that the capital phase under consideration would rehabilitate about 45 lane-miles of pavement and add roughly 2 miles of truck climbing lane to improve safety on the corridor.

Senator Laird asked about climate adaptation work on coastal corridors damaged by sea-level rise and atmospheric-river flooding. Eltiwanze described statewide vulnerability assessments, partnerships (including a coast management plan), vegetation-control work with CalFire and an annual Vegetation Control expenditure she put at about $86 million. She said the department is doing short-term repairs while planning longer-term resilience projects.

Senator Jones and others asked about Caltrans' work on road-user charges as a response to declining gas-tax revenue. Eltiwanze said Caltrans and partners have run pilots and expect a draft report on those pilots before the end of the year (she said a July draft is anticipated), and that the department will provide its research to inform legislative discussion.

On disadvantaged-business and certification issues, Eltiwanze described guidance issued after an interim federal ruling that narrows race- and gender-based criteria. Caltrans has launched a reevaluation process for DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise) certifications, held webinars, set up one-on-one assistance and aimed to complete as many re-evaluations as possible within a 45-day window before seeking federal approval to restore program activity.

Lawmakers also questioned the nominee on recycling of asphalt millings and the cost implications if regional facilities could no longer accept Caltrans'generated materials; Eltiwanze said Caltrans emphasizes recycling during repaving but did not have details on every disposal facility.

Several labor groups, regional transportation authorities and industry groups offered public support for Eltiwanze during the hearing, including the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, the California Conference of Operating Engineers, the Southern California Association of Governments, Metrolink, Google Cloud and the California Transit Association.

After public testimony, Vice Chair Grove moved to refer the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation; the committee recorded ayes from all five members present and approved advancement by roll call, 5-0. The nomination now goes to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.