transport reportthe u.s. dot highway trust fund ticker anticipates a shortfall for the highway...
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Offices: NCSL Headquarters, 7700 East First Place, Denver, CO 80230 State-Federal Relations, 444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20001
Ball Rolling on Reauthorization
U.S. Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-
Calif.) said during a Feb. 12 hearing that
the committee is aiming to approve a long-
term federal surface transportation
reauthorization bill in April. The bill will not
include funding provisions, however, as
funding falls under the Senate Finance
Committee.
According to the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), a new five- or six-year bill
will likely require an additional $100 billion
on top of existing revenues to maintain
current spending levels. To raise those
revenues, Senator Boxer has said she
favors moving from the per-gallon federal
gas tax to a tax levied “upstream” at the
wholesale level—similar to the approach
some state legislatures took in 2013.
Meanwhile, U.S. House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee chair Bill
Shuster (R-Pa.) came out this month
against raising the federal gas tax, saying,
“economically, it is not the time... We've
got to figure out a different way at this
point in time.”
Federal News and Trends . 12
MAP-21 Working Group ....... 2
Tribute to Rep. Wallis ............ 3
2014 Funding Proposals ......... 3
Natural Gas Infrastructure .... 4
Southwest Chief Rail Line ..... 4
Rep. Austin at PPP Panel ....... 5
Upcoming Free PPP Events ... 5
NCSL Traffic Safety Webinar 5
New NCSL Resources ............ 5
Other New Reports ................ 6
IN THIS ISSUE:
TRANSPORT REPORT
February 2014 Volume 5: Issue 2
News, Trends and Analysis Provided by NCSL’s Transportation Programs
FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION
NEWS AND TRENDS
Negative HTF Balance in 2014?
The U.S. Department of Transportation
(U.S. DOT) has forecast that the Highway
Account of the federal Highway Trust
Fund may have a negative balance as
soon as this August, leading U.S.
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx
to warn that the fund will “bounce checks”
to states if Congress fails to find a funding
solution. The Mass Transit Account
appears to be able to stay solvent through
the end of FY 2014.
The U.S. DOT Highway Trust Fund Ticker anticipates a shortfall for the
Highway Account of the HTF before Sept. 2014.
The U.S. DOT’s report was followed
closely by CBO projections that highway
and transit spending levels may exceed
revenues collected by $13 billion in FY
2015, adding up to a cumulative deficit of
$172 billion through FY 2024.
Ben Husch
State-Federal Relations
NCSL-D.C.
202-624-7779
Jaime Rall
Transportation Program
NCSL-Denver
303-856-1417
NCSL CONTACTS:
2
President Talks Transportation
In his Jan. 28 State of the Union address,
President Obama spoke of his proposal to
reform corporate taxes and use the savings
for “rebuilding our roads, upgrading our
ports, unclogging our commutes—because
in today’s global economy, first-class jobs
gravitate to first-class infrastructure.”
The 2014 State of the Union address. Photo: Whitehouse.gov.
The president also promised to
streamline the permitting process, urged
Congress to complete waterways and
surface transportation bills this summer,
supported natural gas fueling stations, and
said he’d set new fuel efficiency standards
for trucks “so we can keep driving down oil
imports and what we pay at the pump.”
New Bike and Ped Infrastructure Bill
On Jan. 29, U.S. Representative Albio
Sires (D-N.J.) introduced the New
Opportunities for Bicycle and Pedestrian
Infrastructure Financing Act of 2014 (H.R.
3978). The bill would set up a pilot credit
assistance program, similar to the
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, to help
communities advance bicycle and
pedestrian projects.
Connected Vehicles Get Go-Ahead
The National Highway Traffic and Safety
Administration (NHTSA) has announced it
will take steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle
(V2V) wireless communications for light
vehicles. V2V would allow vehicles to “talk”
to each other to exchange basic safety
data, such as speed and position, to help
reduce accidents. A 3,000-vehicle road test
of V2V technologies ended in Aug. 2013.
Breakthrough on Waterways Bill
The House and Senate are reportedly
“back on track” on Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA) talks. Both
chambers approved versions in 2013 and
began negotiations over a final version last
fall. If approved, WRDA will provide billions
in funding for water infrastructure projects.
DOT Issues Bakken Fines
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA) found on
Feb. 4 that oil being transported from the
Bakken Shale was not, in some cases,
properly classified. PHMSA has issued a
total of $93,000 in Notices of Proposed
Violations to oil companies. As NCSL
reported last month, Bakken oil has been
involved in several recent rail accidents.
Keystone XL Study Released
The U.S. Department of State has issued
its final environmental impact study on the
proposed 875-mile Keystone XL pipeline.
The study notes that emissions will be 28 to
42 percent higher if the pipeline is not built
and the oil is instead transported by rail.
Join NCSL’s New MAP-21 Working Group!
Reauthorization of the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), due to expire on Sept. 30, 2014, is a top priority for Congress this year. MAP-21 and its successor are critical to states, providing billions in federal funding each year for transportation infrastructure. To keep NCSL members informed and involved, NCSL’s Natural Resources and Infrastructure (NRI) Committee has put together a MAP-21 Working Group. It’s not too late to join! If you are a state legislator or legislative staff member interested in joining the working group, please contact NCSL’s Ben Husch.
Federal News and Trends (cont. from p. 1)
3
Representative Wallis will
be truly missed at NCSL.
In 2013, six states and D.C. enacted bills likely to increase overall gas taxes. Virginia’s gas tax rate
will depend on whether Congress allows states to collect sales taxes from out-of-state retailers.
Representative Sue Wallis (R-Wyo.), a
four-term state lawmaker, passed away
unexpectedly on Jan. 28. She was 56.
Representative
Wallis, known to be a
hardworking and well-
liked legislator, was
“tenacious in her
beliefs, and…
unconventional in her
beliefs,” according to
a recent article.
Representative Wallis was a vice-chair of
NCSL’s Natural Resources and
Infrastructure Committee and co-chair of
NCSL’s Agriculture Task Force, and had
previously served on NCSL committees
that focused on agriculture and energy
issues. She was also a noted cowboy
poet. Her passing recalls to us these lines
from one of her poems titled “The True
Infrastructure of the Legislature”:
We are an institution, true,
But a human one.
As 2014 legislative sessions
get underway, it looks like it
will be another big year for
transportation funding
measures. So far, at least
Idaho, Iowa, New
Hampshire, New Mexico,
South Carolina and Utah
have introduced bills to
raise overall state gas taxes
or index them to inflation.
At the same time, some states may see
a reversal of actions from 2013. On Feb.
26, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe
signed a bill to repeal a hybrid vehicle fee
that was part of last year’s transportation
funding overhaul. In Massachusetts, a
petition has been filed to place an initiative
on this year’s ballot that will challenge the
legislature’s 2013 action to index gas taxes.
Last year, legislatures in Maryland,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont,
Virginia, Wyoming and the District of
Columbia acted to increase overall state
gas taxes. All but Wyoming moved toward
a tax that tracks with the economy to some
degree, either by tying the rate to inflation
or basing it on the price of fuel. In contrast,
no state enacted a gas tax increase of any
kind in 2010, 2011 or 2012. For details, see
NCSL’s Transportation Funding and
Finance Legislation Database.
2014: ANOTHER BIG YEAR FOR FUNDING?
A TRIBUTE TO REPRESENTATIVE SUE WALLIS
Did You Know?
NCSL offers no-
cost, online, publicly
accessible,
searchable bill-
tracking databases
on more than 30
topics, from
agriculture to youth.
Find up-to-date and
comprehensive
information about
transportation-
related bills from
across the states in
our databases of
traffic safety,
transportation
access and
mobility, and
transportation
funding and finance
legislation.
(And, if you know
of a bill in your state
that we haven't
seen yet, please let
us know!)
4
U.S. Representatives Sam Graves (R-Mo.)
and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) introduced three
bills on Jan. 28 to expand natural gas use
UPS already has an extensive natural gas fleet. Photo: Cartalk.
in the long-haul trucking industry and help
meet the transportation sector’s growing
demand for alternative fuels. The bills
would establish natural gas fueling
corridors (H.R. 3938), create a task force to
evaluate the challenges of transitioning
from diesel fuel to natural gas (H.R. 3937)
and provide an interstate weight limit
exemption for natural gas vehicles to
account for the heavier weight of natural
gas tanks (H.R. 3940).
Several states have already passed
weight limit exemptions to allow natural gas
vehicles to carry more freight without being
penalized. In 2013, Indiana and Ohio
passed bills (HB 1324 and HB 51,
respectively) that allow a natural gas
vehicle to exceed the state’s gross vehicle
limit by 2,000 pounds. In addition, Colorado
allows alternative fuel vehicles, including
natural gas vehicles, to exceed the gross
vehicle weight rating limits by 1,000
pounds, but this exception does not apply
to alternative fuel vehicles using the
interstate system.
The Southwest Chief Amtrak rail line may
soon take a different route from Chicago to
Los Angeles. Amtrak is considering moving
to a more southerly route through
Oklahoma and Texas, bypassing towns in
Kansas, Colorado and northern New
Mexico if those states do not commit to
additional funding for track upgrades and
maintenance. Each state would have to
provide $40 million over 20 years.
The Colorado legislature is debating HB
1161, which would create a commission to
explore the issue, coordinate with the other
two states, and study the possibility of
adding service to Pueblo, southern
Colorado’s largest population hub. In New
The Southwest Chief pauses at a station. Photo: New York Times.
Mexico, lawmakers considered leveraging
oil and gas severance revenue for bonds to
pay their share, but instead are studying
the issue this summer.
"SOUTHWEST CHIEF" TO GO FARTHER SOUTH?
PUMPING UP NATURAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE
Did You Know?
NCSL offers many
ways to get the
latest policy news,
from our website
and blog to
Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube.
Stay connected:
5
Representative Austin at the Feb. 11 Congressional roundtable on PPPs.
It was standing room only on Feb.11 when
Representative Terri Austin (D-Ind.)
participated in a roundtable discussion with
the U.S. House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Special Panel on
Public-Private Partnerships. The panel was
recently created in response to interest
from the public in finding innovative ways to
finance infrastructure projects.
Representative Austin, a former co-chair
of NCSL’s Partners Project on Public-
Private Partnerships and vice-chair of
NCSL’s former Transportation Committee,
was asked to talk about her experience
with PPPs. She also shared with the bi-
partisan panel her experience in crafting
NCSL’s Public-Private Partnerships for
Transportation Toolkit, which was just
updated on Feb. 10.
A limited number of complimentary places
are available to state legislators and
legislative staff at the Marketmaker Group
US P3 Infrastructure Finance Forum on
March 20, 2014, in New York City, and the
26th Annual ARTBA Public-Private
Partnerships in Transportation Conference
on July 16 – 18, 2014, in Washington, D.C.
Contact NCSL’s Jim Reed for more details.
Autonomous Vehicles: On the Road to New Technologies
Self-driving cars are designed to remove human error by
recognizing other cars and hazards and choosing the best route
to a destination. Many see the production of these vehicles as a
possible economic boom for their state, but many legal and policy
questions remain. Read this new NCSL LegisBrief to learn more.
NEW NCSL RESOURCES
PAST NCSL PROJECT CHAIR TALKS PPPS IN D.C.
UPCOMING PPP EVENTS FREE TO NCSL MEMBERS
FREE NCSL WEBINAR!
Technology to Combat Drunk Driving: Ignition Interlocks
Tuesday, March 4, 2014, at 2 pm ET/ 1 pm CT/ Noon MT/ 11 am PT
All 50 states have some sort of ignition interlock law that is used as a tool to stop those convicted from driving after drinking.
This webinar will discuss how ignition interlocks work, the new NHTSA Model Guideline for State Ignition Interlock Programs, challenges states face in strengthening their programs and new technology being developed to combat drunken driving.
This webinar is free for all participants.
The Future of Transportation Infrastructure Investments
This AED report and summary offer a menu of state funding and financing
mechanisms to facilitate transportation infrastructure investment.
Ignition Interlocks: What You Need to Know
This is the second edition of NHTSA’s ignition interlock toolkit for
policymakers, highway safety professionals and advocates.
2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index
This AAA Foundation annual report sums up survey results about behavior
and perceptions related to crashes, impaired driving and cell phone use.
Critical Issues in Transportation: 2013
TRB’s Executive Committee has identified a set of critical transportation
issues and their likely impact on the nation’s economy and quality of life.
The Road Ahead: County Transportation Funding and Financing
This NACo study analyzes county revenue sources for roads and bridges,
as well as funding challenges and solutions, across 48 states.
Use of Motorcycle Helmets: Universal Helmet Laws
The Community Preventive Services Task Force has released a
systematic review of motorcycle helmet laws and their real-life effects.
Ten Reasons Why Per-Mile Tolling Is a Better Highway User Fee…
This Reason Foundation brief argues that a per-mile charge with all-electronic
tolling is a better highway user fee than per-gallon fuel taxes.
A Very Brief History of Why Americans Hate Their Commutes
As part of its “The Future of Transportation” series, Atlantic Cities has
published a Web brief on the history of America’s commuting habits.
Did You Know?
Every month, we
scour press
releases, e-mails,
websites and
newsletters to find
new transportation
publications that will
be of interest to
state legislators and
legislative staff.
But there is so
much new research
each month that we
can only hit the
highlights.
If you're looking for
more materials than
we can list, try
subscribing to one
of our go-to
resources, the
TRB Transportation
Research
E-newsletter. This
weekly e-mail offers
a wealth of federal,
state, academic and
International
transportation
research activities.
NEW TRANSPORTATION REPORTS
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