On July 1, 2013, Brian P. Kelly was sworn in as the first secretary of the new California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), which has replaced the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BT&H) with a new agency focused solely on transportation. Kelly had previously been running BT&H since March 2012 when Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed him to lead that agency.

As Acting Secretary, he oversaw 12 departments and several economic development programs and commissions consisting of more than 45,000 employees and a budget of $18 billion — a budget larger than most states in the nation.

The new CalSTA portfolio remains one of the largest in the State of California. Its operations address myriad of transportation issues that directly impact the state’s economic vitality and quality of life including public safety, construction and maintenance, and intercity and high-speed rail.

Kelly has been at the center of most of the major transportation policy decisions in the state of California for the past decade and a half, having served as chief transportation policy consultant for four successive Senate President pro Tempores.

Kelly was executive staff director for Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg since 2008. He was executive principal consultant for Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata from 2004 to 2008, principal consultant for Senate President pro Tempore John Burton from 1998 to 2004, and assistant consultant for Senate President pro Tempore Bill Lockyer from 1995 to 1998.